CrossFit Invictus has sent at least one team to the CrossFit Games every year that there has been a team competition. Last year they fielded three teams at the Games and their flagship team, simply named CrossFit Invictus, took the title.
This year it was expected that the CrossFit Invictus team would look different with Jorge Fernandez and Brittany Weiss moving to the individual competition. That was confirmed a week before the Open when the CrossFit Invictus roster was revealed.
Joshua Al-Chamaa and Devyn Kim were set to return and would be joined by Chandler Smith and Lauren Fisher to make up CrossFit Invictus. CrossFit Unconquerable was also back this year, also with a different roster consisting of Jessi Smith, Emily Rethwill, Phillip Muscarella and Roldan Goldbaum.
Of course, those aren’t the only teams from CrossFit Invictus. In fact, the San Diego-based affiliate qualified five teams to Quarterfinals this year.
But heading into the CrossFit Open, Invictus quietly made a few changes to the rosters. Devyn Kim was moved to an alternate on the CrossFit Invictus team and replaced by Jessi Smith. Hannah Black then backfilled Jessi’s spot on CrossFit Invictus.
The changes stemmed from a back injury that Devyn Kim has been working through this off-season. “Due to the status of my back, our coaches and I thought it would be detrimental to the team for me to stay an active member of the team,” Kim told The Barbell Spin. She added, “so, right around the Open we decided that I’d fall back as an alternate and Jessi would move forward with Lauren as the girls on the team.”
With Jessi joining her husband, Chandler, on CrossFit Invictus, that left a void on the CrossFit Invictus Unconquerable team. That’s when Hannah Black was called up.
Black, who was coming off a 16th place finish at last year’s North America West Semifinal, entered the season with plans to go the individual route. On top of that, she was also expected to be in contention to qualify as an individual to this year’s CrossFit Games. All that changed when Invictus began making changes to the rosters.
“My original plan was to go individual this season,” shared Black. “But when I got the call to join the CrossFit Invictus Unconquerable team it was just too got of an opportunity to pass up.” So with that, Black is going the team route this season.
As for Kim’s plans the rest of the season, she isn’t planning on just sitting on the sidelines. Kim qualified for Quarterfinals as an individual and confirmed that she will see what she can do in the individual competition this year while navigating through her back injury.
CrossFit Invictus is no stranger to the team competition. Even with the roster changes, expect them to send multiple teams to the CrossFit Games again this season.