After 10 in-person Semifinals for elite individuals, 23 men and women have earned their way to compete at the 2026 CrossFit Games. However, there are still seven spots up for grabs in the Online Semifinals coming up next weekend.
So far many of the names you would expect have already qualified for the Games – Jayson Hopper, James Sprague, Austin Hatfield, Lucy Campbell, Aimee Cringle Danielle Brandon and many more. Despite this, several big name athletes have yet to qualify for the Games this year.
Let’s take a look at who will need to qualify via the Online Semifinals this year…
Justin Medeiros. The two-time CrossFit Games champion traveled to Australia for the Torian Pro this year. Medeiros, who started off strong, stumbled down the stretch giving way to Bayley Martin to take the third and final spot to the CrossFit Games.
Colten Mertens. The fan favorite has finished in 5th place at two Semifinals (Mayhem Classic and Syndicate Crown) this year. Mertens appeared to have injured his lower arm on Saturday and will need to heal up quickly to be ready for next week.
Arielle Loewen. The plan to qualify for the CrossFit Games this year has been via Online Semifinals. Loewen withdrew from the Mayhem Classic and Legends Championship before declining an invite to Syndicate Crown. Instead of traveling to a Semifinal competition, Loewen has put all her eggs into the Online Semifinal basket this year.
Grace Walton. Walton was the heavy favorite heading into Torian Pro this year. However, after a 34th place finish on Event 1 it appeared that something was off. Walton would follow that up with a 3rd and 2nd place finish before withdrawing late Saturday.Â
Pat Vellner. This is the last year that Vellner will lace up the shoes to compete in the CrossFit Games season. With his pending retirement announced, Vellner fell short at the NorCal Classic this past weekend where he took 7th place overall. His last attempt to qualify for the CrossFit Games will come down to the Online Semifinals.
Others. There are plenty of other CrossFit Games veterans who are currently on the outside looking in. Harry Lightfoot, Chris Ibarra, Colin Bosshard, Nick Mathew, Jonne Koski, Enrico Zenoni, Jorge Fernandez, Isaac Newman, Bill Leahy, Peter Ellis, Henrique Moreira and Tiago Luzes have yet to qualify on the men’s side.
On the women’s side, Alexis Raptis, Claudia Gluck, Fee Saghafi, Lexi Neely, Sydney Michalyshen, Hattie Kanyo, Mariana Meza, Maria Quintero, Emily de Rooy and Luiza Marques will need a strong performance in the Online Semifinals to return to the CrossFit Games.
And those are just athletes who competed at the 2025 CrossFit Games (and Pat Vellner). Other athletes like Emily Rolfe, Gui Malheiros, Sydney Wells, Spencer Panchik, Nate Ackermann, Quinn Robinson, Janie Cheverie, Reese Littlewood, Erica Folo and Tom Kingdon will also likely be hitting the Online Semifinals next weekend to get to the 2026 CrossFit Games.
The Online Semifinals are June 11-15. The top 7 men and women on the worldwide leaderboard will advance to the 2026 CrossFit Games in San Jose, California.
