In sports when someone is awarded rookie of the year it is a sign that they can hang with the big dogs from the very first day.
However long it has taken them to reach the elite level does not matter, because now that they are here they are a force to be reckoned with.
In Crossfit that means possessing exceptional levels of strength, conditioning, and skills, that are on par with the best in the world.
All 7 rookies of the year from the past 7 years have finished inside the top 10 at their first Crossfit Games, but what really matters is what they did the following years.
2014 Rookie: Mat Fraser
5x Crossfit Games champion Mat Fraser finished just 50 points behind now 8x Crossfit Games champion Rich Froning at the 2014 Crossfit Games to earn himself 2nd place, rookie of the year, and show everyone he was here not only to participate but to win.
The following year in 2015 he once again took 2nd place, this time by only 36 points to now 11x Crossfit Games athlete Ben Smith.
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After the 2016 Crossfit Open where he finished 7th in the world Fraser has not seen a single finish below 1st place in any competition until he took 2nd in the 2020 Crossfit Open.
- 2016 Regionals: 1st
- 2016 Games: 1st
- 2017 Open: 1st
- 2017 Regionals: 1st
- 2017 Games: 1st
- 2018 Open: 1st
- 2018 Regionals: 1st
- 2018 Games: 1st
- 2019 Open: 1st
- 2019 Dubai Crossfit Championship: 1st
- 2019 Rogue Invitational: 1st
- 2019 Games: 1st
- 2020 Open: 2nd
- 2021 Games: 1st
2015 Rookie: Tia-Clair Toomey
The first 5x Crossfit Games champion on the women’s side started out as the 2015 rookie of the year, finishing in 2nd just 40 points behind 2x Crossfit Games champion Katrin Davidsdottir.
The following year in 2016 she once again took 2nd place to Davidsdottir, but this time by only 11 points.
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Since then Toomey has been on a streak of 5 straight Crossfit Games championships by margins of 2 points over Kara Saunders in 2017, 64 points over Laura Horvath in 2018, 195 points over Kristin Holte in 2019, 360 over Davidsdottir in 2020, and 256 over Horvath again in 2021.
2016 Rookie: Patrick Vellner
Patrick Vellner earned his 2016 3rd place podium finish and rookie of the year award by edging out his fellow Canadian countryman Brent Fikowski by only 2 points in a hard fought weekend long battle.
The only 2 people to beat him in his rookie year were Mat Fraser and Ben Smith, both Crossfit Games champions. Smith beat Vellner by 36 points.
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Following 2016 Vellner repeated the trend of finishing in the exact same spot as his rookie year and came in 3rd once again at the 2017 Games, this time trailing his friend and countryman Fikowski by 124 points.
At the 2018 Games Vellner finally bumped himself onto the second step of the podium finishing 2nd behind Mat Fraser.
After finishing 16th in 2019, and 9th in 2020 Vellner once again stood on the podium at the Games in 2nd place in 2021.
2017 Rookie: Jason Smith
Initially Ricky Garard was awarded rookie of the year for his 3rd place finish at the 2017 Games, but it was later found out that he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs which disqualified him and awards the rookie of the year to 10th place finisher Jason Smith.
Entering the 2017 Crossfit Games as a 33 year old rookie Jason Smith took six event finishes inside the top 8.
At the 2018 Meridian Regional he came in 7th, not earning himself a spot at the 2018 Games and ending his season early.
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Following that he guaranteed his 2019 Games spot early by being crowned the South African national champion during the 2019 worldwide Open and later on finishing 29th at the 2019 Games.
Still going strong at 37 years old after a year away from the Games, Smith finished 26th at the 2021 Games.
2018 Rookie: Laura Horvath
Laura Horvath almost pulled off the upset for her rookie year and robbed Tia-Clair Toomey of her second straight championship but she fell 64 points short at the end of the weekend.
However it was not for lack of trying, Horvath actually ended up beating Toomey in 7 of the total 14 events at the 2018 Crossfit Games, including the last 3 events. (Full list of event wins in link below)
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Since then it has been a bit a bumpy road for Horvath.
She was unable to finish both the Dubai Crossfit Championship and Rogue Invitational due to injuries, but she was able to come back strong with a 15th place overall finish at the 2019 Crossfit Games.
Dropping to 24th place at the 2020 Games people started to wonder if it was fluke. Horvath showed up big in 2021 once again finishing 2nd on the podium.
2019 Rookie: Haley Adams
Yet another product of success from Crossfit Mayhem, Haley Adams surprised the Crossfit world when she finished 6th overall at the 2019 Crossfit Games at just 18 years old, earning rookie of the year honors.
Since then Adams has kept the momentum going by finishing 4th at the 2020 Games, and 5th in 2021.
Over the past 3 years she has averaged a 5th place finish, and with her strength gains coming she has a chance at the podium.
2020 Rookie: Justin Medeiros
When Justin Medeiros won the Filthy 150 Sanctional to qualify for the 2020 Crossfit Games people first started to take notice, as he appeared out of nowhere.
In his rookie year he went toe-to-toe with Mat Fraser in a number of events, and ended up finishing 3rd overall.
In order to prove it wasn’t just a fluke Medeiros came back and became the youngest male to ever win the Crossfit Games, over many Games veterans.
He has his eyes on starting a streak of wins like the champions before him, but only time will tell.
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