Ever since the first CrossFit Games in 2007, we have seen top-end strength tested to find the Fittest on Earth. The format and lift has varied over the years, but every time has brought excitement as the best athletes in the world lift more and more weight.

So as we approach the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games, I decided to take a look back at the history of the ‘Strength’ Events over the years. In total, there have been 24 strength events. This does not include events like Strongman’s Fear or Back Nine, events that required strength.

Over the years, Snatches and Cleans have been the most tested movements for the strength events. Snatches and cleans have been programmed six times each in a strength event. Clean & Jerks have been programmed three times while deadlifts have been programmed twice (excluding the three CrossFit Totals).

There have been two non-barbell strength events for weight (the 1RM Chest-to-Bar Pull-up in 2011 and the Sandbag Ladder in 2022). 

So here is a look at the strength-based events throughout the years of the CrossFit Games.

2007: CrossFit Total

The first CrossFit Games held at the Castro family ranch featured just three events – the Hopper WOD, a Trail Run and the CrossFit Total. Looking more like a backyard barbeque where a fitness competition broke out, 65 athletes took on the challenge to be the Fittest CrossFitter.

The final event was the CrossFit Total which combined the heaviest weights lifted in the back squat, shoulder press and deadlift. Each athlete had three attempts to complete each lift within a 4-minute window. 

Connor Banks won the event with a 1,225-pound total, nearly 100 pounds more than Josh Everett who finished in 2nd place. Nicole Dehart won on the women’s side with a total weight lifted of 530 pounds.

2008

The second year of the CrossFit Games was back at The Ranch. The scoring system was based on the cumulative time to complete all four programmed workouts. Because of this time-based scoring system there was not an event that tested an athletes max strength.

2009: Deadlift Ladder // 1RM Snatch

Deadlift Ladder

The third year returned to a normal scoring system. And with that, Dave Castro programmed two strength-based events over the course of eight total workouts.

The first was a Deadlift Ladder during Event 2. Coming off a 7km trail run to kick off the 2009 Games, the Deadlift Ladder rewarded the stronger athletes who likely struggled during the trail run.

Athletes had 30 seconds to complete each deadlift. For the men, the first weight started at 315 pounds and increased to 505 pounds in 10-pound increments. For the women, the starting weight was 185 pounds increasing by 10-pound increments to the final barbell at 375 pounds.

Sixteen men and only one woman (Cyndi Frieling) were able to complete the ladder. Jason Khalipa, Spencer Hendel, Rob Orlando, Dave Lipson and Graham Holmberg were among the men to successfully lift every barbell.

1RM Snatch

The last year the the 2009 CrossFit Games also included a 1RM Snatch. At the time, the weights being put up looked impressive, but today they would get last place in the current Games field.

Jeff Leonard hit a 240-pound snatch to win the men’s competition. Jason Khalipa, the defending champ, tied for 2nd with 225 pounds. Tommy Hackenbruck, who would be one of the strongest athletes in future years, finished with just 205 pounds.

Tamara Holmes won the event on the women’s side with a 145-pound snatch. Tanya Wagner, the 2009 Games champ, took 2nd in the event with 135 pounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx8k-hV9Dxc

2010: 1RM Shoulder-to-Overhead

Now with the CrossFit Games in Carson, athletes were tested in their ability to lift as much weight overhead. However, there was a catch. Athletes only had 90 seconds to record their 1RM Shoulder-to-Overhead lift after completing Pyramid Double “Helen”, a grueling workout based on “Helen” that featured 1.5 miles of running, 126 kettlebell swings and 72 pull-ups.

Held on the track, athletes completed “Helen” and then worked their way to the racks for their lifts. Kristin Clever won the women’s event with a 205-pound lift while DJ Wickham won with 325 pounds. Ben Smith and Graham Holmberg finished in 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

2011: Skills 2 (1RM CTB Pull-up & 1RM Snatch)

This year saw two max weight events, but the scoring minimized the impact as they were combined with a Jug Carry for Distance as part of the ‘Skills 2’ Event. This is also the year that saw the max-distance softball throw that was in the ‘Skills 1’ Event.

But back to ‘Skills 2’. Athletes had two minutes to establish a 1RM chest-to-bar pull-up, followed by two minutes to establish a 1RM snatch, and ending with a 60-second jug carry for distance. The score for ‘Skills 2’ combined the ranks of the three elements to create a final ranking, which was then based on a 100-point scale like any other event.

By combining them into one scored event (with a jug carry), the impact of a strength-only event was minimized compared to other years.

2012: Clean Ladder

2012 ushered in the era an emphasis on max Cleans or Clean & Jerks. Held inside the Tennis Stadium, the athletes put on a show in front of an electric crowd. Similar to the Deadlift Ladder in 2009, athletes had 30 seconds to successfully clean a progressively heavier barbell. The tiebreaker was max deadlifts at that weight in the remaining time.

Neal Maddox won with a successful 365-pound clean, just one barbell and 10 pounds heavier than Jason Khalipa and Marcus Hendren. Rich Froning finished in 5th on the event with a 345-pound clean.

On the women’s side, Elisabeth Akinwale edged out Lindsey Valenzuela on the deadlift tiebreaker. Both hit 235 pounds, the last bar of the ladder, before repping out the deadlifts.

2013: Clean & Jerk Ladder

After the Clean ladder in 2012, this year added the Jerk into the mix. Athletes had more time, 90 seconds, to complete each Clean & Jerk, but there was a new twist to this ladder.

Athletes could start at one of four designated weights along the ladder. The intent was that an athlete could start at a heavier weight and skip the lighter weights to avoid getting too tired for the heavier barbells. There was one catch…if an athlete failed to hit their opening weight, they were eliminated from the competition. Luckily no one had that fate.

Lucas Parker and Aja Barto both hit a 355-pound clean but failed the jerk. Froning hit a 345-pound clean & jerk but could not stand up 355 pounds.

For the women, Amanda Goodman matched 2012’s max clean with a 235-pound clean and jerk. Both Elisabeth Akinwale and Lindsey Valenzuela cleaned 235 pounds again, but both failed the jerk to tie Goodman.

2014: 1RM OHS // Clean Speed Ladder

1RM Overhead Squat

On Wednesday, the first day of the 2014 Games featured two events. The Beach kicked off the Games, but later that afternoon the athletes hit the Tennis Stadium for a 1-rep max overhead squat.

The Overhead Squat featured an epic battle between Rich Froning, Mat Fraser and Tommy Hackenbruck. With Fraser and Hackenbruck going in the second heat, it left Froning with the advantage of knowing what he needed to hit. Fraser wound up hitting 377 pounds, just one pound more than Hackenbruck at 376. Then, in the final heat, Froning would match Fraser’s 377-pound OHS before attempting a massive jump to 400 pounds. Froning would fail to get it overhead, but would end up in a tie for 1st with Fraser.

Kara Saunders would make her presence felt on this event. Coming off a 3rd place finish on The Beach earlier in the day Saunders would win the Overhead Squat Event with a 250-pound lift. She beat out Camille Leblanc-Bazinet’s 242-pound lift. Camille would go on to win the CrossFit Games later that week.

Clean Speed Ladder

In 2014, lifting progressively heavier barbells for speed was introduced via the Clean Speed Ladder. The format, which has been copied numerous times since, featured three rounds where the fastest athletes to complete the ladder advanced to the next stage. The final round featured the eight fastest athletes from the 2nd round.

There they would face the heaviest set of barbells. For the men, the last barbell was 345 pounds while the women took on 225 pounds.

Neal Maddox would once again prove his top-end strength by winning the final round, beating out Jeff Evans in 2nd place and Mat Fraser in 3rd.

Elisabeth Akinwale continued her trend of finishing at (or near the top) of a strength-based event. Akinwale walked away with 100 points in the Speed Clean Ladder followed by Amanda Goodman.

2015: Snatch Speed Ladder // 1RM Clean & Jerk

Snatch Speed Ladder

After the success of the Clean Speed Ladder in 2014, the Snatch Speed Ladder was programmed in 2015. The snatches, however, had to be a squat snatch, something that would create some controversy during the women’s competition.

In a similar three-round format as the prior year, but with now 10 athletes qualifying for the final round, the squat snatches progressed up to 275/185 pounds for the men/women, respectively.

On the men’s side Jon Pera would claim the event win, followed by Ben Smith and Mat Fraser. Smith and Fraser would end up 1st and 2nd overall.

On the women’s side, defending champion Camille Leblanc-Bazinet received two no reps on the first barbell of the first round and another on the third barbell. She finished the fifth barbell and crossed the finish line in tears. She would take 33rd in the event.

As for the female winner, Brooke Ence would beat out Katrin Davidsdottir for 1st place in the final round. Katrin would go on to win her first of two CrossFit Games titles.

1RM Clean & Jerk

The strength portion was not over for 2015 after the Snatch Speed Ladder. On Saturday, at athletes were back in the Tennis Stadium for a 1RM Clean & Jerk. 

Over the course of four heats, athletes were given only two 20-second windows to perform a max clean and jerk. With little room for error, Aaron Hanna set the weight to beat at 350 pounds in the 3rd heat. Ben Smith and Mat Fraser were unable to match that lift as Smith finished at 347 pounds and Fraser at 342 pounds.

Brooke Ence followed up her Snatch Speed Ladder victory with another event win on the 1RM Clean & Jerk. Ence would beat out Valenzuela by just two pounds with a 242-pound clean and jerk. Brooke Wells would take 3rd in the event with a 232-pound lift.

2016: Ranch Deadlift Ladder // Squat Clean Pyramid

Ranch Deadlift Ladder

While technically still in Carson, Dave Castro flew the athletes back to The Ranch early Wednesday morning to put them through three events that paid homage to the 2009 CrossFit Games. 

Like 2009, the first event was a trail run that was followed by a Deadlift Ladder just 10 minutes after the last athlete crossed the finish line. With heavier weights, the slowest athletes on the trail run were the first athletes to take on the deadlift ladder.

Of course, the slowest athletes ended up being the strongest athletes. Sam Dancer finished last in the trail run, but we would later find out he fractured his fibula during the run. While not the most serious fracture, Dancer finished the run and then came out and deadlifted 615 pounds (the final barbell) to easily win the event.

Brooke Wells also struggled on the trail run. While she didn’t finish last, she did take 37th out of 40. She would, however, be the only woman to complete the ladder at 415 pounds, good for 100 points and an event victory.

Squat Clean Pyramid

Back in Carson, the Squat Clean Pyramid was a continuation of the Squat Snatch Pyramid featured earlier in the year at Regionals. This event was slightly different than the previous year’s Snatch Speed Ladder in that there were more reps for each bar and it was just one time through, rather than a multi-round elimination-style event.

With five barbells on the floor, athletes had to do 10-8-6-4-2 reps as they progressed through heavier weights. The men’s final barbell was 325 pounds while the women’s was 215 pounds. Castro also implemented a time cap for each barbell that an athlete had to finish by in order to advance to the next weight.

Alex Anderson would end up beating the field in a time of 5:21, besting Mat Fraser, Scott Panchik and Ben Smith who took 2nd, 3rd and 4th, respectively.

Kara Saunders once again showed her prowess with the heavy barbell. Saunders would go on to win the event in a time of 5:17, just 13 seconds ahead of Jamie Hagiya and 39 seconds better than Tia-Clair Toomey.

2017: 1RM Snatch // Muscle-up Clean Ladder

1RM Snatch

The first year in Madison and the first year in the Coliseum was kicked off with a 1RM Snatch. Similar to the 2015 Clean & Jerk Event where athletes received just two attempts, the 1RM Snatch started the same way. However, the top 10 from that first round advanced to the finals where they would receive two more 20-second attempts.

Garret Fisher would win the Event with a 305-pound Snatch. Tommy Vinas, who would take 2nd place, missed a 315-pound attempt behind him. In total, three men (Fisher, Vinas and Brent Fikowski) would hit a 300+ pound snatch.

Five women would hit or exceed a 200-pound snatch. Kara Saunders hit 203 pounds, beating out Alessandra Pichelli and Tia-Clair Toomey’s 202-pound lift. Sara Sigmundsdottir and Cassidy Lance-McWherter would both snatch 200 pounds.

Muscle-up Clean Ladder

The following night athletes were back in Coliseum and one of the events combined gymnastics with heavy cleans. The event was 8 rounds of 4 bar muscle-ups and 2 cleans that got heavier each round. The final weight was 350 pounds for the men and 235 pounds for the women.

With 10 lanes and 8 barbells per lane along with a massive Rogue rig for the muscle-ups, the entire floor of the Coliseum was filled with equipment.

Alex Anderson set the time to beat in the 3rd heat with a time of 7:58, but that would not hold up as Mat Fraser beat Anderson’s time to take the event win.

And following the men’s heats, Tia-Clair Toomey would flex her muscle in the event by obliterating the field with a time of 7:12. Kara Saunders would follow her with a time of 7:55. After that, however, no other woman would finish under 9 minutes.

2018: CrossFit Total // Clean & Jerk Speed Ladder

CrossFit Total

While Day 1 of the 2018 CrossFit Games might be remembered for the Marathon Row, earlier that day athletes took to North Park for the CrossFit Total. The three lift, max weight event was a repeat of the 2007 CrossFit Games, but with increased weight lifted.

Royce Dunne would win the event with 1,255 total pounds. That was 30 pounds heavier than Connor Banks who won in 2007. Seven athletes would best Banks’ 1,225-pound CrossFit Total from 11 years earlier.

While the men bested the 2007 weights, the women obliterated them. Tia-Clair Toomey set the mark to beat with 875 pounds. She was followed by Brooke Wells at 870 pounds and Amanda Barnhart’s 865 pounds. 

Meredith Root, who finished last in 39th in the Event lifted a combined 660 pounds, well above the winning weight in 2007. Dehart won in 2007 with only a 530-pound score.

Clean and Jerk Speed Ladder

Two days later on Friday afternoon, athletes were back in the Coliseum…this time for a Clean and Jerk Speed Ladder. 2014 had a Clean Speed Ladder and 2015 had a Snatch Speed Ladder, but this was the first Clean & Jerk Speed Ladder programmed at the Games.

With the same three-round format as the previous ladders, the Clean & Jerk Speed Ladder only advanced the Top 5 times to the final round. The final barbell maxed out at 345 pounds for the men and 225 pounds for the women.

Nick Urankar would take the event win in 1:50. The women, however, would make it through the final five barbells much faster with Amanda Barnhart would beat out Tia-Clair Toomey, Kara Saunders, Annie Thorisdottir and Cassidy Lance-McWherter in the final round in just 51 seconds!

2019: 1RM Clean

2019 was the year of National Champions. With a huge field to kick off the week, multiple cuts were made throughout the competition until there were just 10 men and 10 women standing. Then on Saturday night, those 20 athletes took to the Coliseum for the 1RM Clean event.

With fewer athletes to work through, there was just one platform in the middle of the competition floor. Athletes cycled through the weights, beginning at 315 pounds for the men and 215 pounds for the women.

The men’s competition came down to Mat Fraser and Scott Panchik after Adrian Mundwiler and Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson bowed out at the 370-pound barbell. Fraser and Panchik would both hit 375, but Fraser bested Panchik with a 380-pound clean for the event victory.

On the women’s side, just Tia-Clair Toomey and Amanda Barnhart were left after Anna Fragkou and Katrin Davidsdottir missed the 235-pound clean (note: Fragkou would later fail her drug test). Toomey and Barnhart both hit the 240, 245, 250, 255 and 260-pound cleans. The 260-pound barbell was supposed to be the last weight, however, 265 pounds was added and Toomey successful lifted the weight to win the event.

2020: 1RM Front Squat // CrossFit Total // Snatch Speed Triple

1RM Front Squat

2020 was a weird year for many reasons and the 2020 CrossFit Games was no exception. Starting with an online portion of the Games, one of the virtual events was a 1RM Front Squat. 

From their home gyms, athletes recorded their lifts without a cheering crowd like previous Games competitions. Griffin Roelle would run away with the event as he was able to stand up a 490-pound front squat.

Tia-Clair Toomey did the same on the women’s side. Toomey won the event with a 313-pound front squat, just one of two athletes to eclipse 300 pounds. Laura Clifton took 2nd with a 302-pound lift.

Here is the men’s and women’s playlist showing all of the front squat attempts.

CrossFit Total

Because of COVID restrictions, the 2020 in-person Games narrowed the field down to just five men and five women. And instead of being held in Madison, Wisconsin, the 2020 CrossFit Games returned to The Ranch (and the nearby Morgan Hill Sports Complex).

With 10 platforms set up at the Morgan Hill Outdoor Sports Center, athletes took turns attempting the back squat, strict press and deadlift. Previously being programmed at the Games in 2007 and 2018, the CrossFit Total is the only event to have been programmed three times at the Games.

With the smaller field, Jeff Adler won with 1,244 pounds, slightly below the Royce Dunne’s 2018 score of 1,255 pounds.

In the women’s competition, it was once again a two-way battle between Tia-Clair Toomey and Brooke Wells. The two finished 1st and 2nd in 2018. Similar to 2018, Toomey would best Wells by just a few pounds. Toomey ended up with 890 pounds to that of Wells’ 884 pounds. In 2018, Toomey scored 875 pounds to Wells’ 870.

Snatch Speed Triple

Athletes were not done with strength events though. The following day they were back at the Morgan Hill Sports Complex where one of the events was the Snatch Speed Triple. 

With just five athletes competing, it was still an elimination-style competition. However, just one athlete was eliminated from each of the first two rounds. On top of that, there were just three progressively heavier barbells in each round.

The heaviest barbell in the final round was 285 pounds for the men and 185 pounds for the women. And as expected Mat Fraser and Tia-Clair Toomey won the event.

2021: Events 6/7 & Event 12 (1RM Snatch)

Something just feels off when a CrossFit Games event is not named, but that’s precisely what happened in 2021. Rather than using names for each event, Castro just went with Event 1, Event 2, etc.

Events 6/7

These events were back-to-back and featured five rounds of a short run followed by one clean with a progressively heavier barbell. Event 6 had lighter weights and probably shouldn’t be considered in the “strength” event category. But because it was a back-to-back event with Event 7 it’s included in this list.

Immediately following Event 6, athletes basically repeated the event for Event 7. This time the run was shortened by 50 meters to a 200-meter run followed by heavier barbells. The last barbell was 350 pounds for the men and 230 pounds for the women.

While Jeff Adler won Event 6 with the lighter barbells, Gui Malheiros ended up on top when the barbells got heavier. Although Adler finished 2nd in Event 7 and had the best combined finish of both Event 6 and Event 7.

Tia-Clair Toomey won both Event 6 and Event 7, proving her well-rounded fitness. She beat Kristi Eramo O’Connell with the lighter barbells on Event 6 and Laura Horvath on Event 7 when the heavy barbell became the focus.

Event 12 (1RM Snatch)

On Saturday night the athletes then faced a 1RM Snatch. With two platforms and two athletes lifting at the same time, the weights increased every round. Athletes had 20 seconds in the early rounds (30 seconds after the field was reduced to 10 athletes) to successfully snatch the weight or move on to the tiebreaker.

For Malheiros and Toomey, a second strength-based event helped with their total points for the weekend. Both won Event 7 and they followed it up with another event victory the next night. Malheiros snatched 305 pounds for the win while Toomey snatched 200 pounds and had to beat out Annie Thorisdottir in the tiebreaker.

It was also this event where Brooke Wells would dislocate her elbow attempting a 190-pound snatch.

2022: Sandbag Ladder

And then last year, Bozman’s first year programming for the CrossFit Games. Bozman ditched the barbell in place of a sandbag. In a first for the CrossFit Games, an odd object implement was used in a 1RM strength event.

While many athletes were familiar with lifting a sandbag, few had ever tried to go for a 1RM max sandbag lift. The event brought a unique twist to the max strength events we had become accustomed to at the Games and made for one of the best events in Games history.

On the men’s side, it ended in a 4-way tie as Gui Malheiros, Nick Mathew, Brent Fikowski and Jayson Hopper all successfully lifted the 340-pound sandbag, the final sandbag of the ladder. However, the Games crew brought out a special 350-pound bag for the four athletes to attempt. Unfortunately all four failed to shoulder the sandbag and the final finish came down to a tiebreaker.

Dani Speegle made the sandbag cleans look easy throughout and won with a successful 250-pound sandbag lift. The best part of the Sandbag Ladder, however, was watching Jacqueline Dahlstrom, one of the smaller female athletes, grind her way through sandbag after sandbag all the way up to successfully shouldering the 240-pound bag. Dahlstrom would take 2nd place, besting well-known strength athletes like Laura Horvath, Amanda Barnhart and Tia-Clair Toomey.

2023: ???

So what is in store for 2023? We have seen the CrossFit Total three times. We have Snatch, Clean and Clean & Jerk Speed Ladders. We have seen 1RM attempts for the Snatch, Clean, Clean & Jerk and Deadlift. Could Bozman find another strongman-based odd object for the strength event at this year’s Games? Could it be a different barbell lift (max bench press maybe)?