🧠 Why Gabi Migała Walked Away From the CrossFit Games

July 16th, 2026

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • 🧠 Gabi Migała explains why she chose long-term happiness over another appearance at the CrossFit Games.

  • 📱 WODProof's new AI analyzes rowing and wall balls to help athletes train better.

  • 👣 Velous is bringing recovery footwear to the CrossFit and HYROX communities.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
❝

I'm creating a new Gabi, a different Gabi, maybe, or hopefully an even better one. And not only a better athlete, but a better person.”

Gabi Migała on her 2026 CrossFit Games decision.
PROFILE

Inside Gabi Migała’s Decision to Step Back from the 2026 CrossFit Games

Credit: Crispy Dudes

This time last year, Gabi Migała never would have imagined she’d be where she is today: a Games qualifier, the 2026 MAD Fitness Festival champion, celebrating small wins in her fitness journey every day, fully recovered from both Achilles tendon ruptures, and withdrawing from the CrossFit Games. 

Earlier this month, Migała shared on Instagram that she wouldn’t be traveling to San Jose, California, to compete, but would instead focus her entire attention on the Rogue Invitational in October. 

  • “I was very nervous about writing this post because I just don't want to come across like I'm stepping away because I'm afraid. Or I feel like I'm going to underperform,” Migała told Morning Chalk Up.  

She had reached a point that’s relatable only for some. She no longer felt joy in what she was doing, but instead she found herself deeply unhappy, unsettled, and constantly comparing herself to the person she was before her injury.

  • “It was the most challenging time I had since I started my career. Because I feel it's so hard not to compare yourself to the version of you before the injury. And I'm not going to lie – I think I was quite fit when this happened,” Migała said. 

“So all I do is constantly compare myself to myself,” she continued. And instead of just focusing on small wins, which I had every day, I would just think, ‘I'm not even close to cleaning this or snatching this or running this time. I'm so far behind.”

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SPEED READS

🎟️🔥 Games Tickets Still Available: The 2026 CrossFit Games tickets are available now, and plenty of great seats are still available! Get your tickets and get to San Jose next week!

💪🎯 Fitness Isn't Just Strength or Cardio: A new CrossFit Essentials article revisits the methodology's foundation — the “10 General Physical Skills” — arguing that true fitness means developing broad capacity, not specializing in one area.

👨‍🏫📈 Great Coaches Aren't Always Great Business Owners: A new ISSA report highlights a growing "readiness gap," finding that while personal trainers excel at coaching clients, many lack the business skills needed to build sustainable careers or help gyms grow.

🇺🇸🪖 More Than a Hero WOD: Learn the story behind Jack's Triangle, honoring Marine Cpl. Kevin "Jack" Dempsey through the memories of his friend and fellow Recon Marine, Brad Anderson. It's a reminder that Hero workouts commemorate real people—not just hard workouts.

ICYMI: 2026 CrossFit Games Updates: What We Know So Far (Rx article)

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

WODProof Named Official HYROX Digital Training Partner, Adds AI Coaching

Courtesy of WODProof

WODProof, the workout-recording and judging platform born from CrossFit, is expanding into HYROX as the race format's newest official Digital Training Partner.

The partnership brings WODProof's AI-powered movement analysis to two of HYROX's most decisive stations: rowing and wall balls.  

  • The initial rollout includes an AI Rowing Coach, an AI Wall Ball Judge & Coach, and two structured HYROX training programs developed by top athletes and coaches. All are designed to provide competitors with real-time feedback using only a smartphone camera.

A Sport Built on Standards, Training That Isn't

HYROX has become one of fitness's fastest-growing competitions by keeping the competitive side simple: a standardized course, known stations, and a clear goal athletes can train toward for months at a time. Training, however, hasn't offered the same precision. 

  • Competitors often log hours of work without reliable ways to assess movement quality or catch small technical breakdowns – such as a hitch in the rowing stroke or a shallow wall-ball squat – that drain energy and time over the course of a full race.

That's the gap WODProof is aiming to close.

INDUSTRY

Velous: The Recovery Sandal You Might Be Missing

Credit: @velousfootwear / Instagram

Tim Bartels was experiencing knee pain so severe that he was seriously considering surgery. At the time, orthotics were his best friend, but even they weren’t preventing the pain anymore.

At the same time, he couldn’t find any recovery sandals on the market with cushioning and stability, “a little more of an ergonomic shape to them,” he explained. Wearing sandals in the summer just wasn’t an option for Bartels. Until he decided to develop his own. 

In 2022, he teamed up with two partners, and their recovery footwear company, Velous, was born.

For 15 percent off and free shipping, use code MorningChalkUp15.

The Velous story: Bartels first launched Velous to the running community, but the brand has naturally expanded into other sports. Bartels aspires to serve athletes in both CrossFit and HYROX because he knows the value his recovery sandals and shoes can provide to these communities. 

  • “The amount of stress and pressure those athletes put on their feet during a workout is a lot. And we want to be a solution in their gym bag, to and from the gym, to be able to help them recover,” said Bartels, who worked for both Nike and Adidas at one time in his career.

HIGHLIGHTS

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