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Who Earned a Games Ticket at the TFX Invitational
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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.
In today’s edition:
TFX Invitational is a wrap — see who punched their ticket to the Games.
2025 is wide open: 10+ contenders for the Games and WFP podiums.
Parents: When to train vs. when to sleep.
WFP Tour Stop I delivered, and the 2026 Pro Card race is already heating up.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
These invites recognize them as two of the most promising, rising stars in the WFP.”
THE FITTEST EXPERIENCE INVITATIONAL
Elite Men (Qualifiers in bold) | Elite Women (Qualifiers in bold) |
|---|---|
1. Nick Mathew — 637 | 1. Olivia Kerstetter — 682 |
2. Chris Ibarra — 625 | 2. Sydney Michalyshen — 619 |
3. Jacob Marlow — 598 | 3. Hannah Black — 580 |
4. Nate Ackermann — 571 | 4. Rachel Noel — 577 |
5. Drake Lewis — 541 | 5. Caitlin Bernardin — 568 |
6. William Leahy — 508 | 6. Rebecca Fuselier — 547 |
7. Matt Brady — 493 | 7. Alison Scudds — 544 |
8. Travon Benton — 484 | 8. Morgan Porter — 526 |
9. Nikita Yundov — 466 | 9. Zoe Warren - 514 |
10. Casey Strong — 466 | 10. Ally Zierke — 505 |
Full leaderboard at Competition Corner.
COMPETITIONS
Why This Season Just Might Be the Most Exciting One Yet
Credit: World Fitness Project
The World Fitness Project’s (WFP) Tour Event I is done and dusted, and to say the least, it provided an entertaining show for sports fans.
In both the men’s and women’s competitions, determining the top three spots came down to the final event. Ultimately, Austin Hatfield and Alex Gazan triumphed after an unpredictable competition in which the leads were never secure.
Tour Event I set the stage for the rest of this season, which we believe has the potential to be one of the most entertaining in history for fans. But why?
Because of the number of women we believe can challenge for the podium and the top spot, both at the WFP Finals in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December, and at the CrossFit Games in August in Albany, NY.
As for the men, there’s an exciting changing of the guard happening right now, so to speak, that makes the season more wildly unpredictable than ever.
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SPEED READS
💪🥇 Catch Up on the 2025 World’s Strongest Man: The 2025 World’s Strongest Man competition went down this weekend in Sacramento, CA. The BarBend team was on the ground, providing live event-by-event competition coverage. Get caught up.
2025 Games Qualifier, Colten Mertens Takes on Friendly Fran: Can the fan favorite pig farmer and Games veteran take down Mat Fraser’s world record time on the brutal three-rounder from Stage 1 of the 2020 CrossFit Games?
🌶️ 🥵 James Sprague Does the One Chip Challenge: On the latest Boys Interrupted episode, the 2024 Fittest Man joins Dallin Pepper, Jayson Hopper, and Justin Medeiros to recap WFP Tour I, talk trash, and take on his Open punishment — the One Chip Challenge.
🎟️ 😰 Last Chance Qualifier Details: From June 12 to 16, the top 50 non-Games qualifying athletes from In-Affiliate Semifinals and the top 10 non-Games qualifying athletes from each In-Person Qualifying Event will have a chance to take on five online workouts, programmed by CrossFit coaches from around the world, for one final Games invitation. Learn more here.
🤝 🏆 Community Cup Registration Is Live: Register now for CrossFit’s Community Cup, presented by Yeti, and test your mid-season fitness. More details here.
ICYMI: Ready for Murph? Honor Lt. Murphy with purpose and preparation.
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
The Sleep vs. Workout Dilemma – What Busy Parents Need to Know
Credit: @benbergeron / Instagram
You're up at 5 a.m. for your morning workout, then handle a full day of work, followed by family time—all while functioning on interrupted sleep from kids' nightmares, bedwetting, or teething.
Sound familiar?
On a recent episode of the Chasing Excellence podcast, we tackled this common dilemma from Craig, a detective and father of three who's struggling to balance his intensive workout routine with his need for sleep.
The Sleep-Exercise Equation
When juggling parenting responsibilities, work demands, and fitness goals, something eventually gives — often, it's sleep.
But how can you determine when to push through tiredness for that workout versus when to prioritize rest?
COMPETITIONS
5 Takeaways From The World Fitness Project Tour Event I
Credit: Scott Freymond
The World Fitness Project Tour Event I is behind us, and we’re still recovering from three days of elite competition. Alex Gazan and Austin Hatfield emerged victorious in the Pro Division, while Jennifer Muir and Tudor Magda were crowned winners of the Challenger Division.
Three days, six events, and countless conversations with athletes, coaches, fans, and friends have resulted in numerous takeaways. For now, however, we have narrowed it down to five.
9 Athletes Are Currently in a Position to Earn a 2026 Pro Card
Six women and three men who qualified for the Pro Division through the online qualifier finished in the top 20 in Indianapolis, placing them above the cutline for a 2026 Pro Card.
It is early, but these results will be significant come December.
Men
Colten Mertens – 410 points (9th)
Chris Ibarra – 352 points (16th)
Nick Mathew – 336 points (18th)
Women
Fee Saghafi – 392 points (11th)
Oda Lundekvam – 376 points (13th)
Anhika Greer – 368 points (14th)
Lexi Neely – 360 points (15th)
Vår Thurmann-Moe – 336 points (18th)
Sydney Michalyshen – 320 points (20th)
HIGHLIGHTS
Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise? Send us a tip.
☕️🤣Check out how Arielle Loewen and her mini get their day started together.
Great job to Games athlete Irene Wanandi of Singapore, who competed in Adaptive Semifinals last weekend.
Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr is putting some finishing touches on her Torian Pro prep, looking strong!
Emily de Rooy is getting ready for Torian Pro as well, putting in some work on heavy snatches. Will we see another round of Heavy Isabel?
🔥💪Check out 71-year-old Debbie of New Zealand, crushing a HYROX race. Well done, Debbie!
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