Lost in all of the craziness of the individual and team competition was the new 35-39 Masters division. With the new schedule format of the 2017 CrossFit Games, the Masters and Teens competed at the same time as the main attraction.
For those that took the time to watch the Masters competition, in person or on the live stream, the Men’s 35-39 Masters division brought back memories from the Games of year’s past. Standing atop the podium were Kyle Kasperbauer, Neal Maddox and Chris Spealler.
Anyone who has been following CrossFit since 2012 was reminiscing of the good ‘ol days. Back in 2012, Kasperbauer took 3rd on the podium and Maddox and Spealler were fan favorites.
While Spealler was dealing with a bulging disk in his back, he came to Madison to compete. Spealler didn’t win an event, but finished 6 of the 10 events 4th or better.
For Maddox, he was there to win, something he said he wanted to do when Castro announced the newest Masters division. Maddox only had two finishes outside the top 10, but he couldn’t match the top performances of Kasperbauer. Kasperbauer won three events (3 of the last 4) and finished inside the top 4 on all but two events.
Other CrossFit Games veterans competing in the Men’s 35-39 Masters division were Guido Trinidad (7th) and Armand McCormick (12th).
Maddox is already looking ahead to 2018, where he will move up to the 40-44 Masters division.
Spealler, on the other hand, might have competed for the last time this year. He and his wife’s 12-year anniversary was on Sunday, the final day of the Games. In an Instagram post following the competition, Spealler hinted that they might take a “vacation next year instead.”
