Hacks Pack UTE won the Team title back-to-back in 2012 and 2013. Invictus won in 2014 and CrossFit Mayhem Freedom took the title in 2015.
Will Rich Froning and team be able to repeat this year? We take a look at three reasons why they won’t do it again.
It’s a Team Competition, Not Individual
The team competition at the CrossFit Games looks a lot different compared to the Regionals. The basic CrossFit movement nature of Regionals lends itself towards individual performances with the weakest link generally being the downfall of most teams. For CrossFit Mayhem Freedom, they don’t have a weak link.
The women are weaker than the men which sounds obvious with Froning and James Hobart on the men’s side, but all three Mayhem women can hold their own. Elly Kabboord was finished the Open 618th worldwide and 55th in the Central region, not too bad.
At the Games, however, there are fewer basic CrossFit workouts and more odd object and difficult team elements that require communication and strategy, not just individual will. Affiliate teams that train for the Games each year have that cohesive bond that’s difficult to get only working out together since January 1. A team like this year’s Invictus, Diablo CrossFit or CrossFit Yas could surprise Froning and team.
Almost Didn’t Win Last Year
CrossFit Mayhem Freedom got lucky last year. NorCal CrossFit was dominating the weekend until Miranda Oldroyd tore her ACL on the Clean and Jerk event. The injury essentially knocked NorCal out of the running even though they ended up finishing in 10th place with only five athletes competing. If Oldroyd doesn’t go down, Jason Khalipa and team probably walk away with the title.
Once NorCal was out of the picture, Mayhem still had to deal with CrossFit Milford and Ute CrossFit. Mayhem Freedom was not sitting in first place heading into the Tennis Stadium Sunday afternoon. It took six solo events and the Worm Final for Froning and team to walk away champions. Had CrossFit Milford finished in 6th place in the Worm Final, they would be going for a repeat this year.
The Unknown
Each year Dave Castro increases the difficulty level at the CrossFit Games. With the team competition becoming more and more competitive each year, a couple poor finishes and it may be too much to overcome. With Murph being hinted at for the teams, could this be one event that puts Mayhem behind the 8-ball?
With new teams like CrossFit Yas, CrossFit Dynamix and familiar names like CrossFit 808 and CrossFit Milford, it may come down to what workouts favor certain teams and how teams respond to adversity throughout the course of the week.
Click here for three reasons why CrossFit Mayhem Freedom will win the Games this year.
