With Hunter McIntyre now officially headed to the CrossFit Games, it means there are still three at-large, or “blowhard” card, invites remaining. And since it looks like Greg Glassman and CrossFit HQ are looking to go outside the sport of CrossFit, we have listed who we would like to see fill the remaining spots.
Let us know in the comments below if you agree or if someone else should be considered by CFHQ!
Jillian Michaels
Jillian Michaels created a lot of commotion in the CrossFit community this past February. Michaels criticized the CrossFit training methodology and that there are moves that are “more efficient and safer.” Obviously, the CrossFitters around the world defended how they trained, but it definitely caused a lot of commotion. We would love to see the former Biggest Loser trainer throw down against Tia-Clair Toomey, Katrin Davidsdottir and the rest of the Games athletes.
Ashton Eaton
You might be wondering, “who is that?” Well, Ashton Eaton (USA) was the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon. The decathlon consists of 10 track and field events and the winner is traditionally called the “World’s Greatest Athlete”. For years, the CrossFit community has debated how the top CrossFit athletes would fair in the decathlon. The two competitions are similar in that they both test multiple fitness domains from speed to strength to endurance.
Eaton retired from competing in 2017, but why not invite the “World’s Greatest Athlete” from the past two Olympics to put his title on the line?
Ronda Rousey
Sure, it’s been a while since Ronda Rousey was competing in the UFC, but when she was she was one of the toughest competitors- male or female. Rousey competed in the 2008 Olympics in judo where she won the bronze medal. After that, Rousey stormed the UFC four years later when she destroyed her competition, defending her title six times before falling to Holly Holm in 2016.
Following her competitive fighting career, Rousey now is in the WWE and is the WWE Raw Women’s Champion. Rousey obviously still trains at a very high level and we think it would be fun to watch her toughness alongside the best in CrossFit.
Bobby “Maximus”
Rob MacDonald, or probably better known as Bobby Maximus, is a beast. And while he had some health issues the past few years, it would be interesting to see how Maximus would stack up in some of the pure engine-based, grunt work and strength events. From 2008 to 2017, Maximus was the training director and lead seminar instructor of Gym Jones.
The story is that Mark Twight, the founder of Gym Jones, stole Glassman’s ideas. Glassman, at the time, threatened to sue Twight and thus a small rivalry was born. CrossFit even sent Russell Berger to train at Gym Jones and document his experience.
Whether or not this feud had anything to do with it, Maximus never attempted to compete in CrossFit even though his work capacity and strength were almost second to none. And while Maximus did not focus on Olympic Weightlifting, his raw power and strength would give him a fighting chance in some of the Games events.
Alright, that’s how we think should be considered to receive the blowhard card to this year’s Games. Let us know if you agree or disagree in the comments below.
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