The 15th year of the CrossFit Open is just around the corner. Each year we see amazing performances from the best in the world and from our friends in the noon class. It could be getting your first muscle-up, or Jeffrey Adler’s breakout in 20.4, there are accomplishments that we all reflect on as special moments.
Looking back on the history of the CrossFit Open, there are three performances that stand out as records that I don’t think will ever be broken.
Rich Froning finishing in the top 20 of the CrossFit Open 12 years in a row
From the start of the CrossFit Open in 2011 through 2022, Rich Froning Jr. finished in the top 20 of the CrossFit Open every year. During this span, Froning has as many Open titles as he does finishes outside of the top 10.
- Rich Froning won the CrossFit Open in 2012, 2013 and 2014
- Between 2011 and 2022 his worst finishes in the Open where 11th in 2017, 13th in 2022 and 19th in 2020
The other G.O.A.T.S. Tia-Clair Toomey-Orrand Mat Fraser haven’t come close to this streak. Toomey-Orr finished in the top 20 6 years in a row (2017 – 2022) and Fraser was in the top 20 for seven years between 2014 and 2020.
Emma Mcquaid is the athlete to come closest to this streak. McQuaid has finished in the top 20 9 consecutive years, starting in 2016. That streak will come to an end in 2025 as she has announced she won’t be competing in the Games season this year.
With less emphasis on the Open the past few years from Games hopefuls, there are only 4 athletes who have finished in the top 20 the past 4 years. Joining Emma McQuaid is Jeffrey Adler, Jay Crouch and Colten Mertens. It’s hard to think any of these guys will have another 9 years in the top 20 to break this record.
Mallory O’Brien winning the 2022 CrossFit Open with a score of 4 points
The 2022 CrossFit Open highlighted what we expected at the time to be a battle between the G.O.A.T. Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr and the Next One in Mal O’Brien. O’Brien was fresh off her Rookie of the Year performance at the 2021 CrossFit Games where she finished 7th as a 17 year-old.
In the 2022 Open, Mal O’Brien would win in dominating fashion. She won both 22.1 and 22.3 and with a 2nd place in 22.2 finished with a total score of 4 points.
The score of 4 is the lowest in Open history, as is her average event finish of 1.33.
The only other athlete to have an average score of less than 3 in the CrossFit Open was Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr. Toomey-Orr averaged a 2.67 place in 2022 when she finished with a total of 8 points, 4 behind O’Brien.
Prior to 2021 when the Open was 5 weeks in length, there were only 5 athletes who had an average event finish of less than 5.
- Sam Briggs won the Open with an average finish of 3.20 in 2013
- Annie Thorisdottir and Kristan Clever both averaged an event finish or 3.5 as they tied for the first ever CrossFit Open title
- Rich Froning Jr. won the 2014 Open with a total score of 18 and an average event finish of 3.6
- Sara Sigmundsdottir won her second consecutive Open in 2020 with an average event finish of 4.8
Yes, the 3 week Open is different than a 5 week Open. Even with the shortened schedule, O’Brien’s average event finish is in a different ball park than the other top scores. It’s also a score that likely won’t be touched again in a 3 week Open.
Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr becoming Fittest on Earth after finishing 2,610th in the Open
To kick off the 2024 CrossFit Open Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr finished 61st in 24.1 and 10th in 24.2. Which in the Quarterfinals era was a decent performance for a top athlete.
Going into the final week of the Open, Toomey-Orr was slated to go head-to-head with Arielle Loewen in the 24.3 Open Announcement, but stepped down due to a wrist injury. To prevent further injury, Toomey-Orr took it easy on the final Open workout and finished in 11,193rd in the event.
This gave Toomey-Orr a final placement of 2,610th in the Open. After a dominant performance at Semifinals, we watched as Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr ran away with the 2024 CrossFit Games to claim her 7th Fittest on Earth title.
Going from 2,610th in the Open to the top of the CrossFit Games leaderboard was unprecedented. Prior to 2024 the worst Open finish by the eventual Games champion was in 2023 when Laura Horvath finished 185th in the Open.
Also in 2023 Patrick Vellner finished 195th in the Open before finishing 2nd at the Games. At that time, it was the worst Open performance by an athlete that went on to podium at the CrossFit Games in history.
I don’t think this record will be broken for a few reasons. First, under the 2025 rules Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr would have been ineligible for the CrossFit Games as she finished well outside of the top 1%. So without a huge spike in registrations, or new season rules, it won’t be possible to finish worse than 2,610th and still make the Games.
As CrossFit doesn’t like to be confined by the rules they create, it’s likely the qualification rules change in the next few years. However, comments about “how the Open doesn’t matter for elite athletes” was one of the few things that united CrossFit fans the last few years. So when CrossFit changes the rules, I’d imagine that there would still be emphasis on the Games athletes needing to perform in the Open to advance to the next stage, likely protecting this record from being broken.
