Ranking the Mayhem Classic Athletes Based on Quarterfinals

The 2026 CrossFit Quarterfinals are technically unofficial, pending video review of those in a position to win prize money (i.e. top 5), but the current leaderboard does tell a story about the roster of athletes who will be competing at the Mayhem Classic in 17 days.

I ranked the 20 men and 20 women who are scheduled to compete at the Mayhem Classic based on their performance in Quarterfinals. We always knew the roster was stacked, but looking at the Quarterfinals results further backs how difficult it will be to qualify to the CrossFit Games out of Cookeville, Tennessee.

Before we get to the rankings, there are a few takeaways from the list.

First, the women’s field, based on paper, is deeper than the men’s field. The top 11 women at Mayhem finished 37th or better in Quarterfinals. Fifteen women were in the top 100, and that doesn’t include Haley Adams and Erica Folo who finished 148th and 189th, respectively.

Second, the men’s field appears that it will be usual suspects fighting for those three qualifying spots. Austin Hatfield, Jeff Adler, Colten Mertens, Roman Khrennikov and Jayson Hopper all finished in the top 20 of Quarterfinals.

Third, Saxon Panchik returns. After not competing this year, Panchik appears to be back to his old form. Panchik finished 4th in the world in Quarterfinals. While the consensus would likely pick three of the men from the second takeaway above, could Panchik sneak in and steal a qualifying spot?

And fourth, for many of those near the bottom of these rankings, the Mayhem Classic may be their only opportunity to compete at an in-person Semifinal this year. While the odds are stacked against them, could we see a surprise performance by someone near the bottom of these rankings who ends up qualifying for the Games? Unlikely…but not impossible.

Key Stats

Ok…onto the rankings.

MEN

WOMEN