How Two CrossFit Games Veterans Just Made History

June 13th, 2024

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • The “Cardiac Kid” Cole Sager and Iceland’s perennial fittest man, Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson, did it again, qualifying for their 11th consecutive CrossFit Games. To celebrate this dual achievement, check out 11 fun facts about each man’s career.

  • First-time Games qualifier Chris Ibarra moved to Kansas City, MO, in the off-season; his first call was to Games veteran Jacob Heppner. Fast forward to Semifinals, and the youngster, now training in Heppner’s barn, secured his spot in Fort Worth this summer.

  • Nonprofit CrossFit affiliate Upstate Nevada offers “Adaptive Friday” classes to bring community members together to build understanding through comradery.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I was very surprised with Vellner’s speed—this old guy can move! I didn't tell him that, but man, that guy can run! He’s 34, and he is running like he’s a teenager.” - First-time Games qualifier Chris Ibarra (playfully) on competing against a CrossFit Games legend

CROSSFIT GAMES

Credit: @samuelveducheau_, @thefittestshots, and @crossfitgames / Instagram

11 Fun Facts to Celebrate Cole Sager’s and Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson’s 11 CrossFit Games Qualifications

At the 2024 European Semifinal, Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson became the first CrossFit athlete to earn a trip to 11 consecutive CrossFit Games. 

The following week at the North America West Semifinal, Cole Sager joined him in this exclusive club.

In recognition of their 11 invitations to the CrossFit Games, here are 11 fun facts from each man’s career thus far:

Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson

1. BKG is one of only three men to have finished on the CrossFit Games podium in both Carson, CA, and Madison, WI. He finished third at the 2015 CrossFit Games and third again in 2019.

  • Mat Fraser and Patrick Vellner also stood on the podium in both Carson and Madison

2. He won Murph at the 2015 CrossFit Games with a time of 38:36.21 and finished fifth in the partitioned version of Murph tested at the 2016 Games (38:06.84).

3. Guðmundsson has the most top-10 CrossFit Games finishes in a career with eight.

  • He’s tied with Mat Fraser and Noah Ohlsen

4. In 128 career CrossFit Games events, BKG has only finished worse than 25th in 12 of them. Six of the 12 happened in 2014, his rookie year at the CrossFit Games.

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SPEED READS

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🏋️‍♀️💙Reps4Recovery is Hiring: The 501(c)(3) organization that uses fitness and community to combat substance abuse disorder is hiring a new executive director. Learn more and apply now! 

📋📋 Unofficial 2024 CrossFit Games Rosters: Although the final leaderboards are pending until the completion of drug testing and any backfills, check the full Individual and Team CrossFit Games fields now.

🥇🏃New HYROX World Champions: Congratulations to Alex Roncevic and Megan Jacoby, who are the 2024 HYROX World Champs, taking the men’s and women’s elite medals.

  • According to a press release, this was HYROX’s “most successful season ever with a landmark event [the World Championships] welcoming 4,200 athletes and 6,000 spectators to the Palais Des Expositions” in Nice, France. Check out the full live stream now.

⬆️🏋️‍♀️ UPLIFT Challenge: UPLIFT is an annual fundraiser workout initiative created and organized by Mark Moss to help bring awareness to suicide and suicide prevention.

  • Every month, UPLIFT runs a challenge with great prizes — this month, WODZombie and Hero Barbell. Check it out and learn more.

📸🎥 Dylan and Susana's Lost Gear Recovery: At the North America West Semifinal by West Coast Classic, two friends of the Morning Chalk Up, Dylan Shoemaker and Susana Rodriguez Mata, who are photographers/creators in CrossFit media, had some of their valuable camera equipment stolen.

  • Heber Cannon of the Buttery Bros arranged a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to replace the lens and the camera. Check it out and help if you are able.

🔥💙 Geaux CrossFit x Working with Larger Bodies: Later this summer, Geaux CrossFit in Baton Rouge, LA, will host the Working with Larger Bodies seminar. The seminar will provide members and the broader community with access to expertise and resources about fitness, nutrition, and working with athletes with varying needs for movement adjustments. Register now!

📊📈 Rogue Invitational Qualifying System: The Rogue Invitational announced a new qualifying system for its annual event, which is moving to Aberdeen, Scotland, in 2024.

  • From the announcement: “Over the past few years, we have been working on the method to select the best CrossFit athletes in the sport. This system takes into account the most recent event performance along with the last five years. There is a predictive component to replace missing scores due to various life events.”

  • The post clarified that Rogue “reserve[s] the right to invite anyone but plan on using this to choose a MIN of 10 along with 5 MIN from the Q.”

  • Check out more details on the qualifying system and search for athletes here.

ICYMI: Abbie Domit secured her second career invitation to the CrossFit Games by winning the North American West Semifinal. Learn more about her career as she embarks on the toughest two months of training in the Games season calendar.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Credit: @herculus_photography

CrossFit Games Rookie Spotlight: How Training with Jacob Heppner Helped Chris Ibarra Earn His First-Ever Games Invite

The programming this year at the CrossFit Games Semifinals was classic CrossFit. 

Simple, elegant, and brutal—it rewarded veterans at the sport. 

However, eleven male rookies made the cut and are heading to Texas this summer to compete at the Games. 

  • Chris Ibarra is one of them. The only male rookie to qualify out of the stacked North America West Semifinal, Ibarra’s home base is Kansas City, MO, where he moved in January with his girlfriend. 

Already training for the season, Ibarra needed a new place to call home in this new city. 

Ibarra’s first call was to Jacob Heppner.

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COMMUNITY

Credit: Matt Llanos

Nevada Gym Offers “Adaptive Fridays” Class for Everyday Members

Seated Ski-Erg pulls and arms-only Echo bike cals are just some modifications adaptive athletes often face. 

  • Very rarely do everyday CrossFitters have to consider such changes to a workout, which is partly why nonprofit CrossFit affiliate Upstate Nevada has started to host a class where all members have to perform workouts the way an adaptive athlete would. 

Some background: Kyla Romero, the manager at Upstate Nevada, started doing “Adaptive Fridays” just this year after wanting to show more support for the adaptive community. 

Upstate Nevada is a nonprofit gym that provides reduced-price and free memberships to “Everyday Heroes.” 

  • Half-price memberships are offered to first responders, military personnel, teachers, and nurses. 

Free memberships are provided for children, teens, and adults with physical and cognitive impairments and their families. 

  • “The last Friday of every month, we have all of our classes perform a workout the way an adaptive athlete would. So that could be seated where we have everybody sit on a box and do a whole workout seated on a box, or without the use of their legs,” Romero told Morning Chalk Up in an interview. 

The workouts vary each month and feature equipment or modified movements that adaptive athletes use, depending on how the workout is programmed. 

“It's just our way of showing support and bringing awareness to the disability community and also bringing awareness to the ability that these individuals have,” said Romero.

HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise? Send us a tip.

  • 🤸‍♀️Great job to Morning Chalk Up’s Sarah Appleby on the 360 pirouette handstand walk.

  • Check out this double-under challenge from Brandi and Rikki from CrossFit CLT in Charlotte, NC. Grab a friend and try it out!

  • Congratulations to the crew at CrossFit Circa in the UK on their first month in their new space.

  • Congratulations to everyone on their RX Gymnastics weekly wins! Check out all the new skills unlocked.

  • 💪Nice work to Maddie Sturt, getting in that pre-Games grunt work training.