Resurgence

Saving the games and saving the athletes

was not like the priority, right?

It'’s like saving CrossFit.

CrossFit games started as a back yard barbecue in 2007

and grew to an amazing spectacle

with hundreds of thousands competing every year.

It'’s broken right now.

Well, we'’re in Coronaland.

The whole world was shut down by COVID-19

and the fitness industry took a huge hit.

Eighty-nine percent of all gyms across the globe closed,

and 96% of all gyms in the United States closed.

The event that inspired millions

wasn'’t about to cancel or postpone.

I just want to compete, and I want to be proud

of all my hard work.

But could they put on an event during a global pandemic

worthy of crowning the Fittest on Earth?

Yeah, it'’s pretty wild.

It'’s crazy, here we are

a few months away from the games.

A month ago, I was totally planning

to have the games in Madison again,

and then all this craziness happened with COVID

and the current climate of the world.

And we started talking about cancelling the games.

Some people suggested doing a small private event,

a small private event here, and we started exploring that,

and it looked like it'’s something we can pull off,

it looks like there'’s a chance we can do it.

We won'’t have fans, we won'’t have jumbotrons,

we won'’t have so many of the things

we normally have.

We'’re gonna flex from Madison to here with limited time

to save the games essentially.

The message we'’re trying to send here

with still doing some sort of competition

is we'’re gonna fight,

our affiliates are gonna fight,

the community is gonna fight,

and we'’re gonna get through this pandemic,

we'’re gonna get through this craziness,

and we'’re all gonna come out of it much stronger.

It'’ll be wild for the athletes, but there'’s one thing,

no matter how different everything feels,

we'’re still gonna find

the fittest man and woman alive.

They'’re in for a fucking wild ride.

They'’re gonna enter this weekend,

it'’s gonna feel very different,

and they'’re gonna exit the weekend going,

"What the fuck just happened?"

What up, dude?

Day One, baby, we'’re good.

Ready to get the show on the road. Year seven.

Have you taken your temperature this morning?

I haven'’t taken my own temperature,

but I'’ve taken other people's.

97.3.

Blast me.

96.8.

-Mat, how are we doing? -What up, what up?

-You sleep good? -Dude, eight hours last night.

-Eight? -Yeah.

You guys get good sleep?

You get some good sleep too?

I was in bed for a long time, yeah.

-Are you guys in the same room? -Yeah.

-Do you keep her up? -I'’d like to think I don't,

but I reckon I probably do.

-You think he does? -Yeah, he does.

Do you know all the events for today?

Not yet, no.

When you walk out, guys,

the shuttle straight ahead is for men

and the shuttle to your right is for women.

Those athletes are showing up to the Ranch

for the first two events of a five-event day.

I don'’t think we've had a five-event day

at the CrossFit Games in a very long time,

so it'’s really exciting.

There is gonna be a push to test it

beyond what I think they even imagined,

they'’re expecting or how they expect to be pushed.

So I'’m really excited.

Have you competed at the Ranch before?

What'’s it like being out here at the Ranch

for the first time?

It smells like a farm.

The videos of the hill, they don'’t give justice

to the elevation.

I was surprised how steep it looks.

That'’s gonna be fun.

Rob made this little brush thing

that folds over the bar and he roughs it.

It works good.

?

What was that?

I'’m not doing that again.

Just one time.

This is where it all started.

This is the birthplace of the CrossFit Games.

There'’s always hallowed ground.

You know, Lambeau Field in football,

Madison Square Garden in basketball.

The Ranch is that hallowed ground

for the CrossFit Games.

It'’s really cool to go back to the Ranch

just because of all the history there.

"The Ranch."

You know, for me, it'’s just another competition venue.

A lot of people do see it as like a nice tie,

return to home and all that,

and that'’s cool, and I'’m glad people do.

For me, it was just let'’s get this done,

let'’s make it happen, let'’s do it.

This year, the first day'’s events

were all of the events that the athletes competing

in the 2007 games completed throughout the weekend.

2007 reloaded is what will kick things off here

and it is an homage to that hopper event

that took place way back in 2007.

And with that, the 2020 Reebok CrossFit Games

are underway at the Ranch in Aromas, California.

Like, the very first three, two, one, go,

and then everyone starts rowing

and just like the "whoosh, whoosh,"

and you'’re like, "Where'’s the music?"

There was no one.

There wasn'’t even music.

You could hear everything.

You could hear them breathing hard.

You could hear the weights hitting them in the shoulders.

It felt like it was glamping in a way.

We'’re in the rugged, raw still ranchy atmosphere,

but then it had the beautiful bar

with the beautiful weights,

and everything was clean and pristine.

Athletes working through that 1,500-meter row

to start this off, and then it'’s five rounds

of the shoulder-to-overhead and the bar muscle-ups.

With only five, there is no room for error.

You got to protect that pace on the row

and then make sure you stay unbroken and efficient

on the later parts.

It'’s ridiculous to go fast on the row.

That'’s just a buy-in.

You just have to be able to get off the rower

plus or minus a few seconds of the other and you'’re good.

And Haley Adams will be the first woman off the rower.

She is on to her first round of ten bar muscle-ups

-and getting right to work. -When I heard the workout,

I was super excited because I really like

shoulder-to-overhead and low bar muscle-ups,

so I knew I could do well on that workout.

I was the last person off the row,

which wasn'’t too big of a surprise.

I was kind of expecting it.

Fraser ripping through

those seven shoulder-to-overheads.

Thirty-two, he'’ll be done with his first round.

He is done and Mat Fraser now in front.

There was quite a bit of separation.

You could tell very quickly

who attacked the workout appropriately

for their skill set and who didn'’t.

I like how Haley is still sticking with Tia.

Last year, I was still trying to take grasp of it

because I just couldn'’t believe

that I was just keeping up with them

and competing right next to them

and even beating them in workouts.

I looked up to them and I still do

because they'’re older than me

and they'’ve set the path to the sport.

Fraser is on his third round of shoulder-to-overhead.

He has yet to break any of these up.

And he is in the lead all by himself right now.

I really like the tempo that Medeiros is coming out with.

Being a rookie at the CrossFit Games

and already trying to take it to the field.

To throw down with those guys in the very first workout

was--was crazy.

Two women battle right now as Tia Toomey sits in first,

Haley Adams is in second.

And now Toomey is paying close attention

-to what Adams is doing. -That is the game

that you play when there'’s only five in the field,

is Tia was literally standing there

and waiting for Haley to finish her jerks

before she got up onto the bar.

It'’s the start of the weekend.