CrossFit Games 2015: Event Schedule, Dates, Top Athletes and More
The CrossFit Games are apparently the answer to the question, "What would happen if you codified and organized workouts from the various CrossFit regimens, which are often the kinds of things elite athletes do in behind-the-scenes preparation for their respective sports, and tried to make that the actual competition?"
Or, perhaps it's not the answer to a hypothetical, but simply the vehicle to answering a different question: "Who is the fittest person on earth?"
CrossFit seems to have crossed the barrier from fitness fad to legitimate phenomenon, one that could be here to stay. Workout warriors engage in a variety of workouts ranging from plyometrics to Olympic-style weightlifting to old-fashioned calisthenics, throw them all in a blender and then complete them for times or personal bests.
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The 2015 CrossFit Games, which will be broadcast extensively across ESPN platforms, could very well make converts out of its television audience. At any rate, 2015's edition of the Games should once again prove to be another awe-inspiring display of fitness and athleticism.
Here's a rundown of the dates, event schedule, viewing info and top athletes competing at this year's CrossFit Games.
Event Schedule, Dates
Dates: July 21-26
Location: StubHub Center in Carson, California
| Time (PT) | Competition |
| 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Triplet |
| 12:30 p.m - 2:30 p.m. | Thruster |
| 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. | SQT |
| Time (PT) | Competition |
| 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. | Long Chipper |
| 2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. | Double Hanger |
| 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., 3 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. | TBA (individual and team competitions) |
| Time (PT) | Competition |
| 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. | The Sandwich |
| 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. | TBA |
| Time (PT) | Competition |
| 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m., 5:50 p.m. - 8 p.m. | TBA |
| 10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. | Team Synchro |
| 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. | Snatch Speed Ladder |
| Time (PT) | Competition |
| 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., 2 p.m. - 3:45 p.m., 4:50 p.m. - 8:45 p.m. | TBA |
| 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. | Sprint Course |
| Time (PT) | Competition |
| 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. | TBA |
Note: A complete breakdown of the schedule can be found at CrossFit.com.
Viewing Info
Here's a look at the television and live stream coverage, via Joyce Wang ESPNMediaZone.com. According to the report, ESPN3 will be providing additional live coverage of events beyond what is broadcast on television.
| July 21 | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Masters and Teenagers | ESPN3 | Live |
| July 22 | 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Individual and Teams | ESPN3 | Live |
| July 22 | 3 p.m. - 7:40 p.m. | Individual and Teams | ESPN3 | Live |
| July 22 | 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | Masters and Teenagers | ESPN3 | Live |
| July 23 | 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Masters and Teenagers | ESPN3 | Live |
| July 24 | 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. | Individual and Teams | ESPN3 | Live |
| July 24 | 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. | Individual and Teams | ESPN, WatchESPN | Live |
| July 25 | 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. | Individual and Teams | ESPN2, WatchESPN | Tape |
| July 25 | 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Individual and Teams | ESPN, WatchESPN | Tape |
| July 25 | 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. | Individual and Teams | ESPN, WatchESPN | Live |
| July 25 | 9 a.m. - 8:45 p.m. | Individual and Teams | ESPN3 | Live |
| July 26 | 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. | Individual and Teams | ESPN2, WatchESPN | Tape |
| July 26 | 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. | Individual and Teams | ESPN3 | Live |
| July 26 | 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. | Team Finals and Individual | ESPN2, WatchESPN | Live |
| July 26 | 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. | Individual Finals | ESPN2, WatchESPN | Live |
Top Athletes, Preview
The CrossFit Games have taken place annually since 2007, but only recently has it gained widespread attention thanks to expanded television and media coverage.
Per CrossFit.com, athletes can qualify for the Games through posting their own scores in "The Open" and then putting their best foot forward in the regionals in hopes of making it to the StubHub Center. According to the website, once the action reaches Carson, "thousands of participants will have been whittled down to around 100 of the fittest men and women in the world."
This varied event invites athletes from a wide range of ages to compete in various age groups, from teenagers all the way to the 60-and-up crowd. Most of the attention is focused on the individual men's and women's groups outside of the masters and teenagers groups. They are considered to be the fittest people on earth.
On the men's side, Rich Froning Jr. is the reigning fitness king. He's won the CrossFit Games four years running (2011-14). However, he'll be making way for a new individual champion this year, as he's only set to compete in the team events with CrossFit Mayhem Freedom. Needless to say, that team should be looked upon as favorites this year with Froning in the fold and eschewing the individual events.
The individual women's division could very well see a repeat champion in 26-year-old Camille Leblanc-Bazinet of Canada. She will no doubt face stiff competition from Samantha Briggs, the 2013 winner, and Iceland's Annie Thorisdottir, who's the only two-time women's individual champion thanks to her back-to-back wins in 2011 and 2012. She explained the appeal of CrossFit in December 2014.
“It’s easy to see when you’re getting fitter and stronger,” she said, via The Telegraph's Jane Mulkerrins. “You can say that today you did a pull-up, jumped higher, or got a PR [personal record] with your snatch [a weightlifting move]. Everyone is competing against themselves.”
Few of the competitors at the CrossFit Games can be considered name-brand athletes, as many of them have been training on their own before and after day jobs in hopes of reaching the games. As The Telegraph's Joel Snape explains, any of these competitors are capable of knocking your jaw to the floor with their superhuman feats of strength and endurance:
"In 2009, it was unheralded Finnish competitor Mikko Salo starting his championship run by placing second in a 7k hill run and then deadlifting triple his own bodyweight less than an hour later. In 2011 it was Pat ‘Manimal’ Barber, a hirsute waif compared to most competitors, destroying the field in Event 10’s arm-over-arm rope pull. Most years, it’s four-time champion Rich Froning pacing himself through the first few events and then absolutely crushing everything during the final day.
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Not everyone may consider those at the CrossFit Games to be true athletes, at least by most standard definitions of sport. CrossFit itself is a fitness regimen and company founded in Santa Cruz, California.
But it's impossible to deny the commitment, preparation and, well, fitness of these competitors. The grueling workouts test the body's limits in the same way that many Olympic events do, such as weightlifting or distance running. CrossFit just happens to be a relatively new innovation on typical workout themes, and it often combines Olympic skills into a single workout. However you view CrossFit, it's an undeniable spectacle.
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