A Conversation with Laura Horváth

Good morning, and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• Laura Horváth marches to the beat of her own drum, and we got a chance to sit down and talk with the 2023 champ in Germany. Read all about it below.

• One Delaware gym owner added a quarter of a million dollars of annual revenue by offering stretch therapy services to his members.

• With the Open in the rearview mirror, it’s on to the Semifinals and Community Cup. Get all the info you need on the next stage of the CrossFit season today.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I always wanted to be part of that community and realizing that achievement – being on their team, with the help of Kristóf, was a very big milestone for us.” - Laura Horváth, 2023 Fittest Woman on her partnership with Red Bull

PROFILE

A Conversation with Laura Horváth: Big Brands, Big Goals, and the World Fitness Project

One of the most decorated women in our sport, Laura Horváth has held multiple titles in recent years: two-time Rogue Invitational champion, 2024 French Throwdown champion, 2023 TYR Wodapalooza team champion, and 2023 Fittest Woman on Earth. 

While watching her run with a 485-pound yoke, effortlessly flip a 350-pound “Pig,” and rep out 125-pound sandbag squats, one can recognize in Horváth a very different breed of athlete. 

Insurmountable grit, poise, and determination define her as a competitor. 

Leading by Action

Racing through a snatch ladder at the 2024 French Throwdown in Adidas Spezials, arriving at athlete check-in at Fort Worth in a diamond-patterned denim Adidas set, and walking out on the 2024 CrossFit Games, Horváth has never been one to roll with the tide. 

She answers to herself, to her own heart, embracing her unique sense of self. 

• “I never wanted to stand out or anything. It’s not like I think, ‘I want to be different,’ it’s just what comes out,” Horváth told Morning Chalk Up.

This confidence and assuredness in her identity as a person, an athlete, and a professional has set Horváth apart.

SPEED READS

🌎 🏆 WFP Broadcast Team Announced: Broadcast details were announced for the World Fitness Project Tour Event I yesterday.

• Key Details: There will be a free live broadcast, with subtitles and real-time translation available in Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Russian, Arabic, and Korean.

• The Broadcast Team

  • Booth: Jeremy Austin, Tommy Marquez, and Gabi Migała

  • Studio Show: Derek Forest, Annie Thorisdottir, Katrin Davidsdottir, and Seth Page

  • Reporters: Lauren Smith and Amy Bream.

🇦🇺 🐐 Catching Up with Tia-Clair: In a recent YouTube video, the seven-time CrossFit Games champ discussed her focus on HYROX. The GOAT said she will focus on HYROX through the World Championships in June, but she will also attempt to earn her Games ticket at the Torian Pro at the end of May.

😎 🏆 TYR WZA Socal Dates Announced: TYR Wodapalooza is back in action and coming to Huntington Beach on September 19-21 for the second annual TYR WZA SoCal.

• Details about athlete registration, division breakdowns, and the TYR Cup announcements are coming soon.

🌎 🎟️ 2025 Qualifying Event Updates: Here are a few quick updates from some of the 2025 CrossFit Games Qualifying Events.

• Torian Pro: The online qualifier for Oceania’s only In-Person Games Qualifying Event has concluded. Over the next week, organizers will complete the official judges’ review process. Stay tuned.

• French Throwdown: Early Bird Tickets for the French Throwdown, one of two European Qualifying Events, are going fast.

• Far East Throwdown: The online qualifier for Asia’s only In-Person Qualifying Event starts today. Get the details here.

ICYMI: As the dust settles on the 2025 CrossFit Open leaderboard, we take stock of the men’s division as we move into the middle stage of the Games season.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Delaware Gym Owner Adds $250,000 Annual Revenue in Stretch Therapy Memberships

Evans Armantrading has been around fitness for a while.

He first opened CNU Fitness in Delaware, a gym that now has three locations, in 2006. Since then, he has built a well-known brand in his local market known to cater to adults in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, especially those with chronic pain or physical limitations.

Armantrading’s gyms were doing well, but one day, he realized he could offer more.

He noticed one of his clients looked particularly “stressed out,” he told Morning Chalk Up in an interview. So he recommended “a light training week to help decrease her stress.” The next week, though, she didn’t seem any different.

• “I suggested another light week, explaining how it could help her come back stronger and leaner, but she wasn’t interested,” Armantrading explained. Instead, she asked, “Can we just do the stretches we do at the end of the session for the whole session?”

It was a lightbulb moment for Armantrading, who realized that what she was proposing was probably a good idea, not only for her but also for many of his clients and prospective clients.

• “At that moment, I thought about how the body works, how recovery plays a huge role in performance, and realized—why not? That session was the beginning of stretch therapy at CNU Fit.”

Last year, Armantrading’s stretch therapy generated nearly a quarter of a million dollars of additional revenue—$246,266.67, to be exact—across his three locations. 

CROSSFIT GAMES

The Open is Closed – Here’s What You Need to Know About CrossFit Semifinals

With the 2025 CrossFit Open fully in the rearview mirror, we now turn our attention to what comes next. 

For around 99% of Open participants, the Community Cup is on deck, a new event for the 2025 season. 

• CrossFit describes the Community Cup as “a unique format for our local athletes to compete against their peers based on their level earned during the Open.”

This event takes place June 9-15, so you have plenty of time to work on those weaknesses that you found in this year’s Open. 

• Athletes who registered for the 2025 Open and submitted scores for all three workouts can find their level on their CrossFit athlete profile. 

HIGHLIGHTS

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

• 🔥Check out Kriger women Andrea Solberg and Leah Støren race through this handstand-walking course. Do you think anyone can do it faster?

• Great work to Travis Mayer on this 127-kilo/280-pound snatch.

• Check out Bill Leahy squat 217 kilos/480 pounds, not even a year out of reconstructive Achilles surgery. We love to see it!

• 😳Check out this monster clean and jerk from Riley Martin at 166 kilos/365 pounds.

• 💪Well done to Jody of CrossFit Linchpin on this 22-kilo/50-pound weighted pull-up.

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