Who is Poised to Smash Semifinals?

May 2nd, 2025

In partnership with

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Why Adler, Pepper, and Loewen are near-locks to punch their tickets to Albany.

  • Stacking AbMats? Pamela Gagnon says you’re doing it wrong.

  • Gazan opts out of Semis to earn Games spot at Norcal.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
❝

She looks better than she ever has. I think she’s going to have an unbelievable year, and we’re ready to prove all of that in person.”

Justin Cotler, Underdogs Athletics head coach, on his top athlete’s 2025 prospects
CROSSFIT GAMES

6 Athletes We Expect to Crush In-Affiliate Semifinals This Weekend

Credit: Sara Ines Chew

On Monday, CrossFit announced the individual In-Affiliate Semifinals workouts, giving us a clearer picture of what this weekend’s online competition will look like for the men and women competing for 11 invitations each to this summer’s CrossFit Games in Albany, NY.

One big thing: This weekend’s In-Affiliate Semifinals are arguably more similar to Quarterfinals of the past four years than they are to recent in-person Semifinals events.

Considering this, only 18 total athletes, including both men and women, have finished inside the top 30 in the Quarterfinals in all three past seasons. 

  • Four of them include Loewen, Raptis, Adler, and Pepper, which also bodes well for them this weekend.

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SPEED READS

💪 ❤️ Cole Sager Officially Retires: ICYMI, 11-time Games veteran Cole Sager officially announced his retirement from CrossFit competition earlier this week.

🌎 🇪🇸 Free Velites x WFP Wristbands: With a week until the first WFP tour stop, now is the time to sign up to get a free pair of Velites wristbands!

🌎🏆 Rich Froning and Crew Meet WFP: The 🐐 and crew recap their behind-the-scenes meeting with Will Moorad and Saxon Panchik of the World Fitness Project. They praised their athlete-first goals but raised questions about affiliate value, transparency, and the need to “own” their role as a potential CrossFit competitor.

🏃🤖 Rise of the Machines: Here’s a fun read about 21 robots who raced against thousands of humans in a half-marathon in Beijing this month. Get the details here.

 🧑‍💻🏋️ Fantasy Fitnessing is Back!: Love fantasy sports? Draft three men and three women for the WFP Tour I Salary Cap Challenge! Join the Morning Chalk Up league—top score wins!

ICYMI: Elite athletes. No spectators. All focus. PRVN Fitness takes on Semifinals.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

The 3-AbMat Handstand Push-Up 

Credit: CrossFit Media (Mid-Atlantic Regionals, 2012), courtesy of Pamela Gagnon

I know it’s handstand push-up day when I see three AbMats stacked against a wall. And yes, that makes me cringe a little.

I get it; it’s fun to get upside down and press like the rest of the RX class, but how much closer are we ever getting when we do “bro” reps of handstand push-ups?

Still not convinced? Let’s consider a scenario with a healthy and mobile athlete – would you ask them to perform a quarter-depth squat with 95 pounds on the bar, or would you deload the bar to 75 pounds so they can achieve a full range of motion? 

  • Any good coach would advise them to do the latter because a full range of motion allows an athlete to move through stretch and contraction at full capacity, thereby activating more muscle fibers.

THINGS TO…

…BOOK

A Fitness Retreat and Getaway with CompTrain

Join Ben Bergeron and the CompTrain crew for a three-night fitness retreat on Croatia’s stunning coast — featuring daily workouts, recovery, great food, and plenty of time to relax or explore.

…READ

CrossFit’s Semifinals FAQ

Take a look at the frequently asked questions for this weekend’s Individual Semifinals. The Games roster backfill process is important (and also outlined in the rulebook here.)

…KNOW

Are You a Hobbyist or Athlete?

On this episode of the Corpus Animus Podcast, Training Think Tank coaches Max El-Hag, Adam Rogers, Mike McGoldrick, and Kyle Ruth discuss athletes who want to train like competitors without actually competing.

CROSSFIT GAMES

Gazan’s Gamble – Why the Games Vet is Skipping Semis to Go All-In on Norcal

Credit: @alexgazan_ / Instagram

A couple of hours after this weekend’s In-Affiliate Semifinals workouts were announced, three-time CrossFit Games veteran Alex Gazan met with her coach, Justin Cotler, to “talk through all of the workouts.”

However, when they started chatting, they realized it wasn’t in Gazan’s best interest to participate at all.

  • “At first, the thought was [it’s] silly not to do it, but in our gut, we both felt like it wasn’t worth going through the stress and the chaos of an online competition,” Cotler said.

That being said, Gazan still very much wants to qualify for the CrossFit Games this summer. She just wants to do it in person at the Northern California Classic in Sacramento, CA, in June, which is one of this season’s 10 In-Person Qualifying Events (IPQE). She is confident that she will succeed.

  • “On the topic of believing in myself, I’m banking on trusting the work. There’s no reason I shouldn’t get a spot in NorCal,” Gazan said. 

HIGHLIGHTS

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