26.2 scores due tonight at 5 PM PT. Campbell leads the women's Open. Hiller apologizes. Sevan & Castro face off. Arielle Loewen chases a faster 26.2. The road to the 20th Games in San Jose continues.
Channels tracked: CF Network, Dense Updates, Hiller, Amanda Hari, B.Friendly Fitness, Boys Interrupted, Brute Strength, Clydesdale Media, CrossFit Games, Project Mayhem, Kipping It Real, HillerFit 2.0, PRVN, Coffee Pods & Wods, CrossFit, Dave Castro, WFP, Rogue Fitness, Sentinel, Talking Elite Fitness, Training Think Tank, WZA Sports. Updated daily.
Top 10 CrossFit YouTube channels ranked by estimated views in the last 30 days. Data collected from public channel pages.
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Open Update
Today is the final day to submit scores for Open Workout 26.2, with the deadline set at 5:00 PM PT (8:00 PM ET). With Daylight Saving Time kicking in overnight, athletes should double-check their time zones to avoid missing the cutoff.
The workout — dumbbell overhead walking lunges, alternating DB snatches, pull-ups progressing to chest-to-bar and finally ring muscle-ups with a 15-minute time cap — has created a clear dividing line. The ring muscle-ups in the final round are where most athletes hit the wall, making the tiebreak after the last set of snatches critical for placement.
On the men's side, Peter Ellis has surged to the overall lead with just 11 points through two workouts. James Sprague sits second (16 pts), followed by Nika Maisuradze (20 pts), Harry Lightfoot (23 pts), and Ryan Haynes (25 pts). The women's leaderboard saw a major shakeup — Lucy Campbell has overtaken von Rohr for the overall lead with a dominant 26.2 performance, posting just 3 points. Von Rohr drops to 2nd (13 pts), with Aline Wirz 3rd (22 pts) and Ellie Turner and Leah Støren tied at 4th (30 pts each).
With 26.3 coming Thursday from Wodapalooza Miami Beach, the top 25% of athletes need strong finishes across all three weeks to advance to Quarterfinals on March 26-30.
Source: CrossFit Games Leaderboard
The latest Dense Updates episode on CF Network covered several topics. Andrew Hiller issued an apology following his recent beach video that generated discussion across CrossFit media. The episode also included a segment with Sevan Matossian and Dave Castro, who had an exchange on camera.
Taylor Self was featured competing at a Fittest Coach event in Charlotte, North Carolina. The episode also touched on Open 26.2 results and leaderboard standings heading into the score submission deadline.
Source: CF Network — Dense Updates
Arielle Loewen posted her 26.2 redo attempt on Sunday, looking to beat the 7:36 she put up on Saturday. Loewen said she felt she had more in the tank after her first attempt and went back to chase an improved score before tonight’s 5 PM PT deadline.
Open workout 26.2 consists of 80-foot dumbbell overhead walking lunges, 20 alternating DB snatches, and pull-ups progressing through chest-to-bar to ring muscle-ups under a 15-minute time cap. The redo culture is in full swing as athletes across all divisions make last-ditch efforts to improve their standings before the leaderboard locks.
Source: Arielle Loewen — YouTube
Upcoming
The final Open workout will be announced live at Gymreapers Wodapalooza. Danielle Brandon, Arielle Loewen, and Olivia Kerstetter face off. Athletes can complete 26.3 on-site for an official score.
Last chance to submit 26.2 scores tonight. The ring muscle-ups in the final round are the separator — most athletes hit the time cap before reaching them. Redo strategies are flooding social media as athletes chase a few extra reps.
Dense Updates covered the falling out between Taylor Self and Andrew Hiller. Taylor accused Hiller of lying about phone calls and said Tyler Watkins was kicked out of the group. Hiller later posted a beach video addressing the situation. The two have not appeared on content together since.
Don Faul resigned as CrossFit CEO with approximately 3 days notice during the Open. The Board has engaged an executive search firm to find a replacement. Dense Updates covered the story, noting the timing coincided with the sport's largest participation event of the year.
Tia-Clair Toomey used profanity several times in the Fittest Doc documentary, which drew a mixed reaction in the comments. Dense Updates discussed the viewer response and the debate over whether the language was noteworthy given the context of the film.
Andrew Hiller posted a beach video defending himself and his actions after making a video about a friend. Dense Updates covered the video, which was widely discussed across the community and became known as the "crash out."
Olivia Kerstetter was hospitalized with cellulitis from a staph infection, reportedly caused by bacteria entering through a cut while wearing knee sleeves. Dense Updates covered the story and noted the importance of cleaning training equipment. Kerstetter has since recovered.
Ricky Garard got married in a countryside wedding. Separately, a WFP photo of Fee Saghafi appeared to show her cross necklace digitally edited out, which generated online discussion. Dense Updates also covered Pat Vellner's announcement that he plans to return for one more season.
Surveillance video surfaced showing an adaptive athlete reportedly using their arm in ways inconsistent with their competition classification. Dense Updates covered the Barbell Spin report detailing the evidence. The situation raised questions about verification processes in the adaptive division.
The 8th annual Rogue Invitational is heading back to P&J Live in Aberdeen for a third consecutive year, October 23-25. CrossFit, Strongman, and Strongwoman athletes will compete for a massive prize purse including $1M cash plus Bitcoin investments.
The event wrapped March 6-7 in Columbus, Ohio. Highlights included the Rogue Elephant Bar Deadlift, Stone to Shoulder, and the intense Ramp Rage finale — athletes carried three Rogue sandbags up a 30-foot ramp.
New arrivals hitting the warehouse daily — barbells, bumpers, racks, rigs, and accessories. The SR-2 Speed Rope 3.0 and Echo Sandbag 2.0 are among the highlighted drops heading into competition season.
Rogue's Iron Game prize purse includes a $1M cash investment, $275K in Bitcoin bought at $95K/coin, plus per-ticket, per-shirt, and per-shoe contributions. The purse grows with ticket sales and merch.
20th Anniversary
Celebrating 20 years of the CrossFit Games. The top 30 men and 30 women, plus the top 20 teams, will compete to be crowned Fittest on Earth. Masters, Teenage, and Adaptive divisions compete at the nearby Convention Center.