The games are just two weeks away, give or take a day depending on what Dave Castro has in store. Now that the drug tests are behind us, we can focus on those who will be at the CrossFit Games.
Here’s a look at three rookies to keep an eye on at the Games this year.
[note: we would have included Roman Khrennikov on this list, but unfortunately he will be unable to compete due to visa issues between Russia and the United States.]
Jared Enderton
Jared Enderton came into the sport of CrossFit as the “strong” athlete with his background in powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting. However, after years of fine tuning his skills and learning the gymnastics and building his endurance, Enderton will be making his first appearance at the CrossFit Games.
The Games will have some type of strength event (or events) which Enderton will be near the top of the leaderboard. But, Enderton might surprise some people in events with gymnastics elements in it.
John Coltey
John Coltey quietly finished in 2nd place at the Atlantic Regional. While all eyes were on Noah Ohlsen and Ben Smith, Coltey walked away with two event wins on the final weekend of regional competitions and ended up beating Ben Smith.
Coltey has raw power and excels in the strength and sprint-type events. With a few really short events (like the Banger event from last year) always programmed at the Games, watch out for him.
Saxon Panchik
Saxon Panchik and his brother, Scott, had to crush the final event at the Central Regional to qualify for the CrossFit Games. While Scott’s path was a bit easier on that final event, Saxon held pace and squeaked in to the final qualifying spot.
Now that Saxon and Scott can focus on preparing for the CrossFit Games, Saxon has one of the best Games athletes to learn from. Saxon should not be unprepared as he makes the journey up to Madison in the next week or so.
Which rookie will have the best performance at the Games, whether on this list or not? Let us know in the comments!
