January is usually a slow crawl to Wodapalooza. Not much typically happens in the CrossFit world. 2025 has been different. With all the In-Person Qualifying Events announcing details, the CrossFit Games rulebook, and the WFP making their announcements, we have been swimming in the news for the last few weeks.
With everything going on, Wodapalooza snuck up on me. Both the individual fields are the strongest they have been in years, there’s an exciting new venue, and the workouts look like they should be fun to watch.
I’m looking forward to spending a few days watching some of the fittest in the world throw down. Among the individual competition, there are 5 story lines worth keeping an eye on.
Does Patrick Vellner still have it?
In 2023 Patrick Vellner was 3rd at Wodapalooza, won the North America West Semifinal, finished 2nd at the CrossFit Games, and won the Rogue Invitational. He showed no signs of slowing down.
In 2024, Vellner was 4th at Wodapalooza, 4th at Semifinals, 5th at the Games and 9th at Rogue. He also turned 34, moved across Canada, built a house and had his second child.
Was his 2024 season a result of all the life changes that came his way over the year, or did father time finally catch up?
Before I jumped down the rabbit hole that is now Fran Lung, I was a Patrick Vellner fan. From my introduction to Vellner in the Redeemed and Dominate, which was also served as my push into CrossFit in general, I have been a Vellner fan. He’s Canadian, he’s among the best in the sport and he’s funny. What’s not to like?
So as going into 2025 I’m hoping to see Patrick Vellner back into his 2023 form for another year. It’d be great to seem him finish on the podium a few times over the World Fitness Project, Wodapalooza and Rogue. It’d also be great to see a few classic Vellner cellys along the way.
If age has finally caught up to Uncle Pat, it’ll be good to see him hit the competition floor a handful more times.
Laura vs. The Rest
If I told you that someone won 4 out of 9 events, had an average event finish in a competition of 3.9, and beat their closest competitor by 220 points, you’d probably say something along the lines of, “wow, they dominated”.
That’s exactly what Laura Horvath did at the 2024 Rogue Invitational. Horvath also faced Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, who won the other 5 events on her way to the overall title.
The story around Horvath’s performance at Rogue was unfortunately focused on the fact that she couldn’t beat Toomey. It was the match-up we had been looking forward to for the past 12 months. The two best in the world, going toe-to-toe. Unfortunately for Horvath she finished second, and the discussion was focused on what she didn’t accomplish instead of what she did.
Laura Horvath is the second best CrossFitter in the world today. By the time her career is over, likely the second best ever. This weekend I am looking forward to Horvath reminding the world that she is second best, and it isn’t close.
Can Sprague Prove it was No Fluke?
In 2023 James Sprague made his rookie appearance at the CrossFit Games, and finished with a respectable 25th place finish. He followed it up with a good offseason, but nothing that screamed massive improvement. Sprague was 4th at Crash Crucible and 7th at Wodapalooza.
It wasn’t until his 3rd at the West Coast Classic that we saw big steps ahead for the 22 year old. As we know, James Sprague would go on to win the CrossFit Games. Over the weekend, Sprague only had two finishes outside of the top 10. He had a stellar Sunday with a 2nd, 5th and 4th place finish on his way to clinching his title.
His title, along with everything else, was covered in a cloud of sadness as a result of the tragic death of Lazar Dukić.
Between notable athletes withdrawing, others commenting about only going through the motions and his average offseason his Fittest on Earth title has been questioned.
Leading into the Rogue Invitational Sprague’s opportunity to quiet the doubters was also delayed thanks to an untimely bout of pneumonia. He battled his way to an 11th place in Scotland, but that did stop the questions on his Games victory.
In Miami this week, James Sprague has that chance. In a field with the 2023 Fittest on Earth, Jeffrey Adler, two time defending Wodapalooza champ Ricky Garard and one of the all-time greats Patrick Vellner, Sprague’s opportunity to show his Fittest on Earth title doesn’t deserve an asterisk beside it.
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The Return of Lucy Campbell
The last time we saw Lucy Campbell compete at Wodapalooza she finished 4th with an event win in 2022. That finish helped catapult her to first CrossFit Games. At the 2022 CrossFit Games, Campbell finished 16th as a rookie with 2 event wins.
With such an impressive rookie year at the Games, Campbell looked to be ready to leap into the top 10 in 2023. Her wrist had other ideas.
Lucy Campbell sat out the 2023 CrossFit Games season to properly recover from a wrist injury. In August of that year, Campbell underwent surgery in hopes to heal her wrist. The procedure only had a 70% chance that Campbell would recover back to 100%.
Over the last 18 months, Campbell has trusted the process and worked her way back to the competition floor. In October, she competed in the Marbella Championship, where she ended the weekend standing on top of the podium.
This week will be Campbell’s first major competition since the 2022 CrossFit Games, and I am looking forward to seeing Campbell compete after such a long recovery back to this point.
Gui vs. Farlow
Watching Gui Malheiros in the max lift event is one of the most anticipated events of a competition. His ability to throw a 300 lbs barbell above his head with the same ease as an everyday CrossFitter does an empty barbell is electrifying. While the events are exciting to watch, his event win is a foregone conclusion. He is the best, but he also hasn’t been pushed. In Double or Nothing at 2024 Wodapalooza, his winning lift of 310 lbs was 25 lbs ahead of second place.
While I am looking forward to seeing Malheiros lift in this week’s fifth event, I think we could see a proper lift off this week thanks to Jack Farlow. Flashback to the 2023 CrossFit Games when the young Canadian won the Olympic Total, which included a record setting 395 lbs clean and jerk.
For what could be the first time since his breakout 2021 season, Malheiros could be challenged in a barbell lift. It’ll be interesting to see what type of energy both Malheiros and Farlow bring to the floor in Event 5 and if the adrenaline gets them to add an extra plate or two to their bars.
