The 2017 CrossFit Games are the eleventh
CrossFit Games
The CrossFit Games is an annual athletic competition owned and operated by CrossFit, LLC. Athletes compete in a series of events at the Games, which may be various standard CrossFit workouts consisting of metabolic conditioning exercises, weight ...
and were held on August 3–6, 2017, at the
Alliant Energy Center
Alliant Energy Center is a multi-building complex located in Madison, Wisconsin. It comprises of greenspace and includes the Exhibition Hall, the 10,000-seat Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Willow Island, several multi-use pavilions, and the A ...
in
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
, United States. This was the first Games held outside the state of
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. The men's competition was won by
Mathew Fraser, the women's by
Tia-Clair Toomey
Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr (née Toomey; born 22 July 1993) is an Australian weightlifter and CrossFit Games athlete. After winning her seventh title at the 2024 CrossFit Games, Toomey has more title wins than any other athlete in the history of the ...
, and Wasatch CrossFit won the Affiliate Cup. Fraser won $310,000 for his efforts and Toomey won $298,000 for her title, including bonus for event wins.
This was the first year the Masters 35–39 division was introduced. This was the first CrossFit Games in which a podium finisher in the Individual competition was disqualified for using illegal performance-enhancing substances when Ricky Garard tested positive after the Games were complete.
The women's competition had one of the closest finishes in the Games history, when Toomey won by only 2 points over fellow Australian Kara Webb.
For the men's competition, Fraser dominated and extended his record winning margin to 216 points over second place
Brent Fikowski
Brent Fikowski is a Canadian CrossFit athlete known for his eight appearances at the CrossFit Games. He finished second behind Mat Fraser at the 2017 Crossfit Games, and third in 2021 and 2024.
He serves as the president of the Professional Fi ...
.
This year
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is the American sports programming division of Paramount Global that is responsible for sports broadcasts carried by its broadcast network CBS and streaming service Paramount+, as well as the operator of its cable channel CBS Sports N ...
started its coverage of the Games on
CBS Sports Network
CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...
with live broadcast and a two-hour show of the main competition every night and a recap show on Saturday, as well as up to 40 hours of live streaming on its digital service.
Qualification
Over 380,000 competitors participated in this year's CrossFit Open.
The Open took place over 5 weeks from February 23 through March 27, 2017, with one workout released each week.
A new Masters 35-39 Division was introduced this year.
The workouts for the Open were stream live from many locations around the world for the first time.
Mat Fraser and
Sara Sigmundsdóttir
Ragnheiður Sara Sigmundsdóttir (born 12 September 1992) is an Icelandic weightlifter and CrossFit athlete known for her third-place finishes at the 2015 and 2016 CrossFit Games and her first-place finishes at the 2015 and 2016 Meridian Regiona ...
were the respective winner of the men's and women's competitions,
Fraser won convincingly with two event wins, while Sigmundsdottir won by only four points over second-place Kari Pearce.
As with previous years, the top athletes from each of the Open Region moved on to 8 Regionals, and all the top men and women who can qualify for the Regionals were required to submitted videos of their performance from the Open, although this year more are required to submit their videos than previous years.
The 8 Regionals took place in three consecutive weekends from May 19 to June 4. Most Regionals had 40 men, 40 women and 30 teams competing. The top five men, top five women, and top five teams from each Regional qualified for the Games, giving a total of 40 men, 40 women and 40 teams who qualified for the Games.
Individual

The 2017 CrossFit Games were held at the
Alliant Energy Center
Alliant Energy Center is a multi-building complex located in Madison, Wisconsin. It comprises of greenspace and includes the Exhibition Hall, the 10,000-seat Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Willow Island, several multi-use pavilions, and the A ...
in
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
for the first time after seven years at the
StubHub Center
Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills, in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dign ...
in
Carson, California
Carson is a city in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and the Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor regions of Los Angeles County, California, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International ...
.
This year, minimum work requirements were introduced for two events at the Games: Run Swim Run and Sprint O-Course where athletes would be eliminated if they cannot finish a movement or complete the event within a set time.
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Event 1: Run Swim Run
*1.5 mile run
*500 meter swim
*1.5 mile run
Athletes ran to
Lake Monona
Lake Monona ( ) is a freshwater drainage lake in Dane County, Wisconsin, surrounded on three sides by the city of Madison, Wisconsin, and on the south east side by the city of Monona, Wisconsin. It is the second-largest of a chain of four lakes ...
from the
Alliant Energy Center
Alliant Energy Center is a multi-building complex located in Madison, Wisconsin. It comprises of greenspace and includes the Exhibition Hall, the 10,000-seat Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Willow Island, several multi-use pavilions, and the A ...
, swam around a set of buoys, and then back to the arena. The event was won by
Brent Fikowski
Brent Fikowski is a Canadian CrossFit athlete known for his eight appearances at the CrossFit Games. He finished second behind Mat Fraser at the 2017 Crossfit Games, and third in 2021 and 2024.
He serves as the president of the Professional Fi ...
and
Tia-Clair Toomey
Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr (née Toomey; born 22 July 1993) is an Australian weightlifter and CrossFit Games athlete. After winning her seventh title at the 2024 CrossFit Games, Toomey has more title wins than any other athlete in the history of the ...
. Later in 2021, a coach said that Mat Fraser almost drowned during the swim portion of this event, but he was helped by Fikowski.
Event 2: Cyclocross
*3 laps around a
cyclocross
Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5&nb ...
course
The event was held nearby in Quann Park and had bikes supplied by Wisconsin-based
Trek Bicycle Corporation
Trek Bicycle Corporation is a bicycle, cycling product and electric motorcycle manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Electra Bicycle Company, Bontrager, and Diamant Bikes. The company has previously manufactured bikes under the ...
. The course's obstacles included logs, small wooden hurdles and a sand trap. The event was won by Mat Fraser
[Ricky Garard finished first in event prior to being disqualified for doping. The points were not redistributed, but prize money was redistributed, so the player who finished second was subsequently named the event winner for prize money purposes.] and Kristin Holte.
Event 3: Amanda .45
*13–11–9–7–5 repetitions of
muscle-ups and
squat snatches for time.
Athletes performed 13 muscle-ups on
gymnastic rings and then 13 snatches, followed by 11 muscle-ups and 11 snatches, etc. until finishing the sets of 5. The snatch weight was 135 pounds for the men and 95 pounds for the women. This is a variation of the event "Amanda" introduced at the
2010 CrossFit Games as a tribute to former Games athlete, Amanda Miller, who died in 2010 and was known for the pistol tattoos on her hips. The event was won by Dakota Rager for the men and by Jamie Greene for the women.
Mat Fraser injured his
LCL on his knee while stretching after the first day competition, but kept quiet on his injury and continued to compete the next few days.
Friday, August 4, 2017
Event 4: Sprint O-Course
*
Obstacle course
An obstacle course is a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual, team or animal must navigate, usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling, swimming, and balancing elements with the ...
race
Competitors raced head-to-head in three rounds across an obstacle course consisting of a
cargo net
A cargo net is a type of net (device), net used for transferring cargo to and from ships. It is usually square or rectangular, but sometimes round, made of thick rope, with cinch ropes extending from the corners, and in some designs, the edges. ...
climb, wall climb,
monkey bars
A jungle gym (called a climbing frame in British English) is a piece of playground equipment made of many pieces of material, such as metal pipes or ropes, on which participants can climb, hang, sit, and—in some configurations—slide. Monkey ...
, log balances, and a
rope ladder
A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...
. The event was won by
Patrick Vellner and Tennil Reed-Beuerlein.
Event 5: 1RM Snatch
*1-rep max
snatch
The event was won by Garret Fisher with a 305-pound lift and Kara Webb with a 203-pound lift. Fisher's 305-pound snatch was a Games record.
Event 6: Triple-G Chipper
*100
pull-ups
*80 GHD
sit-up
The sit-up is an abdominal endurance training exercise to strengthen, tighten and tone the abdominal muscles. It is similar to a curl-up (that targets the rectus abdominis and also works the external and internal obliques), but sit-ups have a ...
s
*60 alternating
one-legged squats
*40-calorie
row
*20
dumbbell
The dumbbell, a type of free weight, is a piece of equipment used in weight training. It is usually used individually and/or in pairs, with one in each hand.
History
The forerunner of the dumbbell, halteres, were used in ancient Greece as li ...
push press
A push press is a weight training exercise for the anterior head of the deltoid (shoulder).
Execution
The push press is similar to the military press, in that the bar is held just above chest height and is pushed upwards before being lowered b ...
The event was a "chipper," a workout involving multiple exercises done sequentially without returning (as in "chipping away" at the number of repetitions) for the fastest time. After the 100 pull-ups, the competitors performed 80 sit-ups on a glute-hamstring developer (GHD), a piece of equipment where the feet lock in and the sit-up is performed at a greater range of motion. After the sit-ups, athletes performed 60 one-legged squats, also called
"pistols", alternating the movement between each leg. The 40-calorie row was performed on a
Concept-2 rowing machine
An indoor rower, or rowing machine, is a machine used to simulate the action of watercraft rowing for the purpose of exercise or training for rowing. Modern indoor rowers are known as ergometers (colloquially erg or ergo) because they measure w ...
. The dumbbells for the
push press
A push press is a weight training exercise for the anterior head of the deltoid (shoulder).
Execution
The push press is similar to the military press, in that the bar is held just above chest height and is pushed upwards before being lowered b ...
were 100-pounds for the men and 70-pounds for the women. The event was won by
Mathew Fraser and Kara Webb.
Event 7: Assault Banger
*
Assault AirBike for calories
*20-foot Banger
The competitors started on the Assault bike and the calories were 40 for men and 30 for women. After the bike, the athletes used a
sledgehammer
A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, massive, often metal head, attached to a long wooden or solid handle. The long handle is combined with a heavy head which allows the sledgehammer to pick up momentum during a swing and applying a large ...
to hit a weighted block on a recessed track until it had moved 20 feet. The event was won by George Sanchez and
Samantha Briggs
Samantha "Sam" Briggs (born 14 March 1982) is an English CrossFit athlete best known for winning the CrossFit Games in 2013. She has qualified for the CrossFit Games seven additional times: in 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2021. She fin ...
.
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Event 8: Strongman's Fear
*Move a yoke, farmer's logs, and a sled across a field. Return down the field in a handstand walk
Competitors had to move a series of
strongman
Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...
elements; a
yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in dif ...
(500 pounds for men, 340 pounds for women), two
farmer's logs (200 pounds each for men, 120 pounds each for women), and a sled (400 pounds for men, 310 pounds for women). The objects had to be taken halfway down the field (60 feet) and then the competitor returned using a handstand walk. Once all objects were at the halfway mark, the competitors took the objects to the end of the field, also returning to the middle of the field with a handstand walk. The objects could be moved in any order. Brent Fikowski won the event for the men and
Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir for the women.
Event 9: Muscle-up Clean Ladder
*Eight rounds for time of:
**4
bar muscle-ups
**2
cleans with ascending weight
Competitors performed each round beginning with four muscle-ups on a pull-up bar followed by two cleans. After each round the weight increased starting with 225 pounds for the men and 145 pounds for the women and ending with 350 and 235 pounds, respectively. Mathew Fraser won the event for the men and Tia-Clair Toomey won for the women.
Event 10: Heavy 17.5
*10 rounds for time of:
**9 thrusters
**35 double-unders
A heavier version of a previous Open qualifier event in 2017. A
double-under is a jumping rope movement where the rope passes beneath the athlete twice per jump. A thruster in CrossFit is a combination of a
front squat and
push press
A push press is a weight training exercise for the anterior head of the deltoid (shoulder).
Execution
The push press is similar to the military press, in that the bar is held just above chest height and is pushed upwards before being lowered b ...
in one continuous movement and the weights were 125 pounds for the men and 85 pounds for the women. Mathew Fraser won for the men and Kara Webb won for the women.
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Event 11: Madison Triplet
5 rounds for time of:
*450 meter run
*7
hay bale
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...
clean
burpees
Athletes ran around a 450-meter path outside of the stadium. In the stadium, there were five rows of hay bale walls. The athletes would enter the stadium and clean a
sandbag
A sandbag or dirtbag is a bag or sack made of Hessian (cloth), hessian (burlap), polypropylene or other sturdy materials that is filled with sand or soil and used for such purposes as flood control, military fortification in trenches and bunke ...
up and toss it over the hay bale wall. They would then perform a burpee and then jump over the wall. The hay bale clean burpee would be performed seven times at the same hay bale wall before moving the sandbag to the next wall. After the sandbag is moved, the athletes ran back to the path to make another lap. The sandbags were 100 pounds for the men and 70 pounds for the women. The event was won by
Patrick Vellner[ for the men and ]Samantha Briggs
Samantha "Sam" Briggs (born 14 March 1982) is an English CrossFit athlete best known for winning the CrossFit Games in 2013. She has qualified for the CrossFit Games seven additional times: in 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2021. She fin ...
for the women.
Event 12: 2223 Intervals
4 rounds of:
*2 rope climbs
*10/7-calorie SkiErg
*Maximum repetitions of overhead squats with remaining time
This was an interval event with the first three rounds consisting of two minutes of work and then one minute of rest. The final round was three minutes of work to get as many overhead squats as possible or a total of 75 through all rounds for time. For each round, competitors started with two 20-foot rope climbs. After the rope climbs, the competitors pulled 10 calories for men and 7 calories for women on a SkiErg, a machine built by Concept2
Concept2, Inc. is an American manufacturer of Rowing (sport), rowing equipment and exercise machines based in Morrisville, Vermont. It is best known for its Drag (physics), air resistance indoor rower, indoor rowing machines (known as "ergomete ...
similar to their rowing machines but meant to simulate a cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...
motion. With the remaining time in each interval, they accumulated as many squats as they could with 155 pounds for the men and 105 pounds for the women. The event was won by Mathew Fraser and Katrín Davíðsdóttir
Katrín Tanja Davíðsdóttir (; born 10 May 1993) is an Icelandic former CrossFit athlete known for her ten appearances at the CrossFit Games. That was from 2012 to 2023, with the exception of 2014 and 2022. She is the women's champion of the 2 ...
. Significantly for the women's competition, Kara Webb who finished second was penalized 6 seconds after a judge erroneously allowed her to finish before she had completed all her reps (she was penalized 2 seconds for every rep she did not complete), which dropped her to fourth and more crucially lost her 10 points.
Event 13: Fibonacci Final
* Parallette handstand push-up
The handstand push-up (press-up) - also called the vertical push-up (press-up) or the inverted push-up (press-up), also called "commandos" - is a type of push-up exercise where the body is positioned in a handstand. For a true handstand, the exer ...
s (5 for men / 3 for women)
*5 Deadlift
The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...
s with two kettlebell
In weight training, a kettlebell is a cast-iron or Steel casting, cast-steel ball with a handle attached to the top, resembling a cannonball with a handle. It is used to perform a range of Exercise, exercises; primarily Ballistic training, ball ...
s (203 lb. for men / 124 lb. for women)
* Parallette handstand push-ups (8 for men / 5 for women)
*8 Kettlebell deadlifts (203 lb. for men / 124 lb. for women)
*Parallette handstand push-ups (13 for men /8 for women)
*13 Kettlebell deadlifts (203 lb. for men / 124 lb. for women)
*89-foot overhead lunge with two 53-pound kettlebells (53 lb. for men / 35 lb. for women)
This event was won by Logan Collins and Ragnheiður Sara Sigmundsdottir. In the men's event, only Collins finished within the six-minute time cap with 2017 Games champion Mathew Fraser ending one lunge from the finish to take second in the event. On the women's side, Kara Webb had been in second-place overall below Tia-Clair Toomey. She edged out Toomey on the event by 0.19 seconds but did not overtake her in total points, finishing two points behind on the final standings.
Team events
Teams were cut to 10 after the Burpee Litter event,
* Run Swim Run Relay
* Muscle-up Snatch
* Team O-Course
* Clean and Jerk – two events, one male, one female
* Rowing Worm
* Drag & Drive
* Couple Couplets
* Worm Rotation
* Burpee Litter
* Worm Complex
Doping Violations
Ricky Garard, who was placed third in the men's competition, tested positive for two performance enhancement drugs, testolone and endurobol, after the Games were complete. Garard was disqualified, his podium ranking removed, and lost his $76,000 winnings. As the Games had already concluded, all his finishes were simply voided with all other competitors moving up one position in the final standings. However, the event points were not redistributed, but the prize money was. Patrick Vellner replaced Garard as the third-place finisher. Garard who was named "Rookie of the Year" also had that honor removed, although Jamie Simmons who was the next most successful rookie was not officially recognised.
Podium
Individuals and teams
Masters men
Masters women
Teens
See also
*CrossFit
CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trad ...
References
External links
2017 CrossFit Games
Individual events on CrossFit official YouTube channel
2017 CrossFit Games
{{DEFAULTSORT:CrossFit Games, 2017
International sports competitions hosted by the United States
CrossFit Games
The CrossFit Games is an annual athletic competition owned and operated by CrossFit, LLC. Athletes compete in a series of events at the Games, which may be various standard CrossFit workouts consisting of metabolic conditioning exercises, weight ...
CrossFit