For the first time in four years the title of “The Fittest Man on Earth” will belong to someone new. The 2015 CrossFit Games commence on July 21, and when they do, four-time champ Rich Froning won’t be defending his title. Dry your eyes; he’ll still compete with a team this year. He even ripped through the Open workouts, capturing the second-best overall score after Mathew Fraser, who’s become the front-runner in a crowded field. Here, we break down the top contenders for the men’s and women’s titles. SEE ALSO:2015 CrossFit Open WODs >>
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Mathew Fraser
Age: 25 Height: 5’6″ Weight: 185 A one-time Olympic weightlifting hopeful, some of Fraser’s best lifts include a 315-pound snatch, 375-pound clean and jerk, 25 muscle-ups (unbroken), and 50 pullups (unbroken).
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Alex Vigneault
Age: 22 Height: 5’11” Weight: 203With impressive strength (565 deadlift, 450 squat, 325 clean and jerk), Vigneault won the Canada East Regional and took second behind Fraser in the East Regional.
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Scott Panchik
Age: 27 Height: 5’9″ Weight: 187Panchik hasn’t finished outside the top five since 2012—the year he won an Open WOD by doing 161 burpees in seven minutes. Notable lift totals include a 360-pound overhead squat.
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Dan Bailey
Age: 31 Height: 5’7″ Weight: 179Bailey is this year’s wild card, and if a workout calls for high-volume body-weight exercises, the former Ohio University sprinter could pull away from the pack.
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Ben Smith
Age: 25 Height: 5’11” Weight: 195Smith is making his seventh trip to the CrossFit Games. The veteran boasts a 2:25 Fran and a 7:19 Helen. He’s also got a 540-pound deadlift and a 300-pound snatch.
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Camille Leblanc-Bazinet
Age: 28 Height: 5’2″ Weight: 1302014 women’s champ, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, looks to repeat. If successful, she’d be just the second women’s champ to do so.
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Samantha Briggs
Age: 33 Height: 5’6″ Weight: 138Samantha Briggs was the 2013 Women’s CrossFit Champion.
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Annie Thorisdottir
Age: 25 Height: 5’5″ Weight: 152Annie Thorisdottir was the only female contender in the history of the CrossFit Games to have won 2 consecutive titles in 2011 and 2012.
For the first time in four years the title of “The Fittest Man on Earth” will belong to someone new. The 2015 CrossFit Games commence on July 21, and when they do, four-time champ Rich Froning won’t be defending his title. Dry your eyes; he’ll still compete with a team this year. He even ripped through the Open workouts, capturing the second-best overall score after Mathew Fraser, who’s become the front-runner in a crowded field. Here, we break down the top contenders for the men’s and women’s titles.
A one-time Olympic weightlifting hopeful, some of Fraser’s best lifts include a 315-pound snatch, 375-pound clean and jerk, 25 muscle-ups (unbroken), and 50 pullups (unbroken).
Alex Vigneault
Age: 22 Height: 5’11” Weight: 203
With impressive strength (565 deadlift, 450 squat, 325 clean and jerk), Vigneault won the Canada East Regional and took second behind Fraser in the East Regional.
Scott Panchik
Age: 27 Height: 5’9″ Weight: 187
Panchik hasn’t finished outside the top five since 2012—the year he won an Open WOD by doing 161 burpees in seven minutes. Notable lift totals include a 360-pound overhead squat.
Dan Bailey
Age: 31 Height: 5’7″ Weight: 179
Bailey is this year’s wild card, and if a workout calls for high-volume body-weight exercises, the former Ohio University sprinter could pull away from the pack.
Ben Smith
Age: 25 Height: 5’11” Weight: 195
Smith is making his seventh trip to the CrossFit Games. The veteran boasts a 2:25 Fran and a 7:19 Helen. He’s also got a 540-pound deadlift and a 300-pound snatch.
Camille Leblanc-Bazinet
Age: 28 Height: 5’2″ Weight: 130
2014 women’s champ, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, looks to repeat. If successful, she’d be just the second women’s champ to do so.
Samantha Briggs
Age: 33 Height: 5’6″ Weight: 138
Samantha Briggs was the 2013 Women’s CrossFit Champion.
Annie Thorisdottir
Age: 25 Height: 5’5″ Weight: 152
Annie Thorisdottir was the only female contender in the history of the CrossFit Games to have won 2 consecutive titles in 2011 and 2012.
