Rogue Invitational Day Two: Pepper Takes Over, Migała Clings to the Lead as Horvath and Adler Charge

Day two of the 2026 Rogue Invitational shook up both leaderboards in Aberdeen. Dallin Pepper now leads the men with 485 points, 30 clear of Jay Crouch. Gabriela Migała held on to the top spot for the women with 445, but Alex Gazan, Lucy Campbell and Aimee Cringle are all tied just five points back on 440. Defending champions Laura Horvath and Jeffrey Adler both climbed from 12th to 6th, setting up a big final day with three events and 300 points still on the table.

Event 4: Packout
Saturday opened with five rounds of a 750 meter run, toes to bar and a yoke carry. Ricky Garard won the men's event in 20:42.54, with Crouch second and Adler third. Aimee Cringle won the women's event in 20:25.33, ahead of Campbell and Migała. It was a rough one for Colten Mertens, the day one leader, who finished 17th.

Event 5: The Duel VI
Rogue's head to head Duel was won by Jayson Hopper on the men's side, with Pepper second and Tudor Magda third. Horvath won the women's Duel, her second event win of the weekend, with Gazan second and Dani Speegle third. Mertens took just 10 points in the Duel for 19th, which dropped him out of contention.

Event 6: Orlando
The day closed with axle clean and jerks, ring muscle ups and log muscle ups. Garard won again in 6:37.77, his second event win of the day. Adler was second in 6:49.34, just ahead of Guilherme Malheiros in 6:49.52. Gazan won the women's event in 8:04.25, with Cringle second and Abigail Domit third.

Men: Pepper in Control
Pepper has not won an event yet, but he has been the most consistent athlete in the field. He finished second, fourth, fourth, 13th, second and fourth to build a 30 point lead. Crouch is second with 455 and James Sprague third with 445. Magda sits fourth on 430.

The biggest mover was Garard. After a 17th and a 16th to open the weekend, he has finished second, first, sixth and first in his last four events to climb from 13th to fifth with 415 points. Mertens went the other way, falling from first to ninth after finishing 17th, 19th and 10th on Saturday.

Women: Four Within Five Points
The women's race could not be much closer. Migała leads with 445, and Gazan, Campbell and Cringle are tied on 440. Emma Lawson is fifth with 420. Gazan has been on fire, winning Orlando and taking second in both the Viking press and the Duel. Cringle won Packout and was second on Orlando.

Can Horvath and Adler Still Win?
Both defending champions answered their rough day one. Horvath won the Duel and finished sixth and fifth in the other two events to move up to sixth with 405 points, 40 behind Migała. Adler went third, 10th and second to move up to sixth with 395 points, 90 behind Pepper.

CF Network News ran 200,000 simulations of the final three events based on every athlete's results so far this weekend. Horvath won the title in about 4 percent of them using her full weekend form, and about 8 percent when only her day two form was used. That makes her roughly a 1 in 12 to 1 in 25 shot. If Horvath wins all three events, Migała would still need to average about third place to hold her off, and Horvath would also have to get past Gazan, Campbell, Cringle and Lawson.

Adler's path is much tougher. He won the title in less than 2 percent of the simulations, about 1 in 60 or worse. Even if Adler wins all three remaining events, Pepper would only need to average about seventh place to stay ahead. Adler would also need Crouch, Sprague, Magda and Garard to stumble. It is not impossible, but Adler needs a near perfect Sunday and help from the field.

What Comes Next
Sunday brings Pulling Power, Dunnottar and the Highland Sprint. Pulling Power mixes rope climbs, overhead squats and deadlifts that climb to 405 and 285 pounds. Dunnottar is a long chipper of handstand walks, double unders, GHD sit ups and burpee box jump overs. Rogue has not yet released details for the Highland Sprint. With 300 points left and the women's top four separated by just five points, it is sure to be an exciting finish.

Preview and recap shows for every event are live on the CF Network YouTube channel. Check them out for breakdowns all weekend long with special guests Andrew Hiller, Taylor Self and more.

Sources: Rogue Invitational Leaderboard, Rogue Invitational Events

Rogue Invitational Day One: Mertens and Migała Lead as Horvath and Adler Sit 12th

Day one of the 2026 Rogue Invitational in Aberdeen, Scotland, is in the books, and it delivered surprises from the very first event. Colten Mertens leads the men with 270 points, and Gabriela Migała leads the women with 250. Both defending champions, Jeffrey Adler and Laura Horvath, ended the day in 12th place.

Event 1: River Dee
The opener was seven rounds of 11 calorie ski, 7 wall walks, 11 calorie ski and 7 devil's presses. James Sprague won the men's heat in 18:29.07, with Dallin Pepper second and Harry Lightfoot third. Lucy Campbell took the women's win in 18:50.15, ahead of Siria Meha and Migała.

The biggest story of the event was at the other end of the leaderboard. Horvath, the previous champion, finished dead last in 20th in 23:51.52 and scored zero points. Ricky Garard also had a bad start, placing 17th in 22:38.06. Fans in the livestream chat said Garard was hit with multiple no reps on the wall walks, though that was not shown on the broadcast.

Event 2: Single Malt
Single Malt was a descending ladder of heavy back squats with sprints in between. The men went 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2 reps from 315 up to 405 pounds, and the women climbed from 225 to 285. Mertens came in favored to win the second and third events, and he did just that. He made easy work of the back squats and won in 4:45.97, more than 17 seconds ahead of Bayley Martin in second. Jay Crouch was third.

Horvath bounced right back. One event after finishing last, she won the women's heat in 5:35.37, ahead of Kyra Milligan and Campbell. Danielle Brandon took a different approach. Because there was no minimum work requirement, she chose not to complete any reps on Event 2 and take a zero. She was scored at the cap plus 40, last in the event.

Event 3: The Viking
Day one closed with 60 seconds of max reps on the Viking press. Mertens went 23 reps unbroken, then 7 more. On the broadcast it appeared he locked out an eighth rep of that set, which would have been his 31st press, right at the buzzer, but it was not counted. He still won the event with 30 reps, which put him in the lead overall for day one. Garard tied Mertens at 30 reps but was second on the tiebreak, a strong finish to a tough day. Tudor Magda was third with 29.

Dani Speegle won the women's event with an impressive 33 reps, going 7, 7, 6, 4, 4 and 5 all in the 60 seconds. Alex Gazan was second with 29, and Aimee Cringle was third, also with 29. Horvath finished outside the top 10 in 11th and ended her day in 12th overall.

Appeal Ruling on Event 3
There were some appeals on Event 3, including one about James Sprague and Bayley Martin. The two men tied at 23 reps. The tiebreak was most reps completed by the 30 second mark, and they tied that too with 15 each. Both athletes were awarded the same points and placement, tied for 10th with 55 points each.

Women: Migała Puts Her Eggs in One Basket
Migała had the best rounded day of any woman, finishing third, fourth and sixth to take the lead. Her return to competition comes after she qualified for the CrossFit Games but decided to sit it out to focus on training for the Rogue Invitational instead. She has put all her eggs in this basket, and so far she looks very consistent.

Campbell is not going down without a fight. She sits second with 220 points after winning Event 1 and taking third on Event 2. There are also many athletes within striking distance of the top five, which could make it difficult. Gazan is third with 210, and Milligan, Olivia Kerstetter and Emma Tall are tied on 205. Milligan had a solid second and third event, placing second in Single Malt and ninth on the Viking press.

Paige Rodgers had trouble in Events 1 and 2, placing 18th and 19th. There are reports that Rodgers has been battling the flu and diarrhea, which would explain the slow start. She did very well on Event 3, though, with 24 reps for eighth. She is 17th overall.

Men: Mertens on Top, Adler in 12th
Mertens leads Pepper by just five points, 270 to 265, with Sprague third on 235. Crouch also had a solid second and third event, taking third in Single Malt and eighth on the Viking press. That puts him fourth overall with 220 points, just ahead of Magda on 210.

Returning champion Adler had a rough day one and sits in 12th with 155 points. He was sixth in River Dee and eighth in Single Malt, but managed just 13 reps on the Viking press for 18th. On the men's side you cannot rule out the Brute or PRVN Men to be podium threats when the weekend is over.

Coaching Shakeup Rumors
Away from the floor, rumors are circulating that Danielle Brandon has left coach Adam Neiffer and is now working with Domenic D'Agostino, better known as Coach Dom. Brandon started working with Neiffer and Jesse Bifano ahead of the 2025 CrossFit Games, and Neiffer coached her Team Outcast at Battle of the Training Camps alongside Tudor Magda. Magda is now rumored to be working with Neiffer himself.

James Sprague hinted at both moves on CF Network News. "Someone just switched to that coach though (we think Tudor). That's also a big deal. That that other person left this coach (we know Danielle Brandon left Neiffer)." None of the athletes or coaches have confirmed the changes.

A Fitting Farewell to Aberdeen
The venue at P&J Live looks amazing. The turf and the hill on the competition floor are a great touch for the third and final year of the Rogue Invitational in Aberdeen. Rogue owner Bill Henniger and the city have put on a spectacular event for the athletes and the fans. There is still no word on where the Rogue Invitational will be held next year.

What Comes Next
There are still two days left and six more events, so it is not impossible for Adler and Horvath to climb back up. Saturday brings Packout, The Duel VI and Orlando, and Sunday closes with Pulling Power, Dunnottar and the Highland Sprint. It is sure to be an exciting weekend.

Preview and recap shows for every event are live on the CF Network YouTube channel. Check them out for breakdowns all weekend long with special guests Andrew Hiller, Taylor Self and more.

Sources: Rogue Invitational Leaderboard, Rogue Invitational Events, Rogue Fitness

CrossFit Releases 2027 Season Guide With New Teen Division, Team Qualifiers and National Championships

CrossFit has released its full guide to competing in 2027, and the new season brings some of the biggest structural changes in years. There is a new 18 to 19 teen division, teams are skipping Quarterfinals for in person qualifiers, and a new National Championships track is launching. One thing missing is the pairs division for the Open that Dave Castro mentioned earlier this fall.

The Open Moves to Wednesdays
Registration opens January 7, 2027. The Open stays at three weeks, but workouts will now drop on Wednesdays instead of Thursdays. 27.1 runs February 17 to 22, 27.2 runs February 24 to March 1, and 27.3 runs March 3 to 8. Athletes have until Monday at 5 p.m. PT to submit scores. CrossFit says new Open features will be revealed Wednesday, October 28, after the Affiliate Town Hall.

Individual Path to the Games
The top 25 percent of individuals advance from the Open to Quarterfinals, held online March 15 to 22. From there, the top 2,000 men and 2,000 women move on to Semifinals. In person Semifinals run April through June, followed by the Online Semifinals June 14 to 21 as a last chance to qualify.

Two rules stand out. Athletes can accept invites to only two in person Semifinal events, though they may still compete at the Online Semifinals. The top three men and top three women from each Semifinal, including the online event, earn a spot at the Games. The field at the 2027 CrossFit Games will be 40 men and 40 women. The location and dates have not been announced.

Teams Go Straight to In Person Qualifiers
Teams will skip Quarterfinals entirely. After the Open, teams advance to the new Team Qualifiers, a series of in person events hosted by select partners from April through June. Each event may have its own qualification process, but all workouts will be standardized across every Team Qualifier and teams will be ranked on one global leaderboard. The number of teams that qualify for the Games has not been released.

New 18 to 19 Teen Division
The 18 to 19 age group is now official, joining the 14 to 15 and 16 to 17 divisions. Each teen division sends 300 athletes to Semifinals. Teens compete only at the Online Semifinals, June 24 to 28, to qualify for the Teenage CrossFit Games hosted by Pit Prodigies. Masters can earn spots at in person Semifinals from April through June or at the Online Semifinals in June, with the Masters CrossFit Games run by Magic City Games.

Masters Games Head to Birmingham
CrossFit's guide lists the location for every 2027 Games as coming soon, but Magic City Games, led by director Micah Shoemaker, has already announced where the masters will compete. The 2027 Masters CrossFit Games will be held September 18 to 19, 2027, at Bill Harris Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.

That confirms the age group and adaptive championships will be separate events from the individual and team CrossFit Games. The Masters Games will be run by Magic City Games, the Teenage Games by Pit Prodigies and the Adaptive Games by WheelWOD. The location of the main CrossFit Games is still unannounced, but reports surfaced in September that CrossFit sent part of its Games team to scout venues in Spain, France and Germany. Dave Castro has said he would like the 21st year of the Games, which falls in 2027, to be held in Europe. Nothing has been confirmed.

Adaptive Changes
The Adaptive Open, run by WheelWOD, follows the same schedule as the CrossFit Open. The top 20 athletes in each division advance to the Adaptive Online Semifinals, May 13 to 18. New this year, Games spots for each division and each sex will be based on Open registrations.

National Championships
CrossFit is adding National Championships to its licensed event program, running alongside the Games season. Athletes go from the Open to Quarterfinals to a country specific National Championship event between April and December, and the winner in each host country is crowned National Champion. If a country does not have a host event, the top athletes from the Open or Quarterfinals earn the title.

No Word on Pairs
The guide makes no mention of the Open pairs division Castro discussed on his Week in Review in September. Pairs was also not mentioned on the Sport of Fitness Podcast episode breaking down the 2027 season. It is possible pairs is one of the new Open features set for the October 28 reveal, but CrossFit has not said.

Sources: CrossFit Games, The Sport of Fitness Podcast, Magic City Games, Dave Castro Week in Review

Bruce Edwards Announces Two New CrossFit Partnerships at AffiliateCon

CrossFit CEO Bruce Edwards used his time on stage at AffiliateCon 2026 to announce two new partnerships aimed at helping affiliate owners. One is with Best Hour of Their Day, the business mentorship company that hosts AffiliateCon. The other is with Healthy Steps Nutrition, better known as HSN. The conference ran October 16 to 18 at the Omni Las Colinas in Dallas.

CrossFit and HSN
HSN founder Nicole Aucoin shared the moment on Instagram after Edwards joined her on stage. "16 years ago I stepped foot inside a CrossFit affiliate for the first time. Today, the CEO of CrossFit joined me on the stage at AffiliateCon to share what we've been working on together," she wrote.

"After 10+ years of working with CrossFit affiliate owners one at a time, today we took a big step forward to serve the community together," Aucoin added. She thanked the owners and coaches who have trusted HSN to support their members' health "during the other 23 hours outside the gym."

HSN is not new to CrossFit. Aucoin is a registered dietitian and the founder of Healthy Steps Nutrition, CrossFit HSN and HSN Mentoring. HSN Mentoring joined the CrossFit Affiliate Partner Network in 2022 and helps gyms build habit based nutrition coaching programs. The two sides also introduced a CrossFit x HSN Ambassador Program at the 2026 CrossFit Games.

CrossFit and Best Hour of Their Day
Best Hour of Their Day was founded by longtime affiliate owners and CrossFit Level 4 trainers Jason Ackerman and Jason Fernandez. Its Affiliate University program is already promoted by CrossFit as the first and only CrossFit endorsed business coaching program for affiliates. Best Hour also sponsored the 2026 CrossFit Owners and Coaches Conference, where Edwards sat down with Fernandez in July to talk about rebuilding the relationship between HQ and affiliates.

What Comes Next
Neither CrossFit nor its partners have released the full terms of the new agreements. CF Network News will share more details as they are announced.

Sources: Nicole Aucoin on Instagram, AffiliateCon, CrossFit, HSN Mentoring

Roman Khrennikov Withdraws From Rogue and Announces Move to Madison

Roman Khrennikov will not compete at the 2026 Rogue Invitational, and he is about to have a new home. One night after news of his late withdrawal broke, Khrennikov told the Out of the Cage podcast that he is moving to Madison, Wisconsin.

A Late Withdrawal
The Barbell Spin reported Thursday that Khrennikov has pulled out of the Rogue Invitational, which runs October 23 to 25 at P&J Live in Aberdeen, Scotland. "I don't want to show up unprepared," Khrennikov said.

The injury dates back to the World Fitness Project event the last weekend of August. Khrennikov hurt his left leg during the 40 yard sprint, and his right leg cramped during the 10k run the next morning. He withdrew from that competition and did not think the injury was serious at the time.

Khrennikov is the fifth man to withdraw from the Rogue field. Pat Vellner, Austin Hatfield, Jonne Koski and Justin Medeiros have also pulled out.

The Call
On Thursday night's episode of Out of the Cage, Ricky called Khrennikov live on the show and asked if he had missed his flight. Khrennikov said he had cancelled it just a couple of hours earlier. Then he shared bigger news. "I'm just moving to Wisconsin, Madison," he said.

Khrennikov said the move could happen as soon as Saturday and that he is packing everything now. He is leaving Cookeville, Tennessee, and said the biggest reason is his son. "It's so good for my son, for education," he said. "I want to stay in the city."

Madison is a familiar place for the CrossFit world. It hosted the CrossFit Games every year from 2017 through 2023, except 2020 because of COVID.

Watch Roman Khrennikov's call with Out of the Cage on Instagram

Sources: The Barbell Spin, Out of the Cage call on Instagram, Rogue Invitational

Claire Bays Hits Day 442 of Her Daily Mile

Claire Bays has run a mile every day for 442 straight days. In a new interview clip posted by the Best Hour of Their Day, the CrossFit Level 3 Trainer and WOD Prep podcast host explained how the streak started and why she has not stopped.

How It Started
Bays said the mile came from not liking the way she felt during metcons. She wanted some momentum, and a daily mile was an easy place to start. It also became a way to bring people together. "CrossFit can be intimidating for many, right? But a mile is not so intimidating," she said.

She ran online challenges called 90 and 90, meaning 90 miles in 90 days. Another affiliate owner who joined while coming out of a tough season of his life went on to lead a group of his own. Bays said the goal was to connect those groups online and then get some of them into an affiliate.

The Gratitude Mile
The gratitude part came later. Bays now posts her mile on social media every day along with something she is grateful for. She will lead a Gratitude Mile run on Saturday morning at AffiliateCon 2026, held October 16 to 18 at the Omni Las Colinas in Dallas. Attendees can RSVP in the AffiliateCon app.

Watch the full clip on the Best Hour of Their Day Instagram.

Andrew Hiller Loses His YouTube Channel and Launches NoRepTV

Andrew Hiller did not wait long to find a new home for his videos. Two days after YouTube removed his main channel, the CrossFit commentator is posting new content on NoRepTV, a video platform he built himself.

The Channel Is Gone
YouTube removed the @hillerfit channel on Monday, October 12. At the time it had just over 79,000 subscribers, 1,308 videos and nearly 39 million views. Hiller shared a screenshot of the removal notice on Instagram with a two word caption, "Oh well." He confirmed in the comments that he has appealed.

In a video on his HillerFit Training channel, Hiller said the removal appears to be tied to a video where he mentioned peptides and included a link in the description. The HillerFit Training channel, which focuses on workouts, is still online.

Welcome to NoRepTV
Hiller has moved his video content to NoRepTV and plans to post there for the foreseeable future. His first uploads include "October 12th 2026," "A Day with Seungyeon Choi" and "Another Missed Opportunity."

Anyone can create a free profile, subscribe and comment. Users can also become creators and post videos of their own. The site also has a dislike button with public counts, something YouTube hid from view in 2021. In a pinned welcome post, Hiller thanked fans for the support he has received over the past few days and asked them to sign up, subscribe and join the conversation.

How to Support Hiller
Train with him. Sign up for HillerFit Training programming on Wodify.
Donate directly. Send a donation to Andrew Hiller on Venmo.
Wear the shirt. VNDK8 is taking preorders on the Hiller NOREP Distress Signal Tee for $35 in vintage and distressed colors, with all proceeds going to Hiller.

Sources: NoRepTV

Wilson and Fish Win the 2026 Crash Crucible

SPARTANBURG, S.C. The 2026 Crash Crucible is complete. After three days and seven elite events at CrossFit Crash, Noah Wilson won the men's title and Lydia Fish won the women's title. Both athletes also held the lead after day one.

Power Parcel was scored as three parts, Max Watts, Max Snatch and Yoke Carry, with each part worth one third of an event. That is why the final totals include decimals.

Men: Wilson Pulls Away
Wilson entered Saturday tied with Colten Mertens and finished 10 points clear of him. He won All Hands in 6:11.1, placed 2nd in Soft Toss, Push & Tush and Singles Optional, and took 3rd in Box Office. His final total was 21.99 points.

Mertens won three events, Soft Toss in 21:11, Push & Tush in 6:05.8 and Singles Optional in 9:45.1. An 11th place finish in All Hands cost him ground, and he settled for 2nd with 31.99 points. Samuel Demeester finished 3rd without an event win, with four finishes of 4th or better. Josh Felix won Delt Dividends and closed with a win in Box Office in 3:42.7 to finish 4th. Mason Griffin climbed into the top five after placing 2nd in All Hands and 3rd in Singles Optional.

Men's Final Top 5
1. Noah Wilson, 21.99 points
2. Colten Mertens, 31.99 points
3. Samuel Demeester, 45.32 points
4. Josh Felix, 58.32 points
5. Mason Griffin, 62.66 points

Women: Fish Dominates
Lydia Fish of Training Think Tank won by 26.33 points. She won Delt Dividends in 4:11.3, All Hands in 5:03.7 and Box Office in 4:00.3, and she placed 2nd in Soft Toss, Push & Tush and Singles Optional. Her final total was 21.32 points, the lowest of any athlete in either division.

Maddi Foutz won Singles Optional in 10:51.8 and held 2nd with 47.65 points. The race for 3rd came down to less than half a point. Caitlin Bernardin, who won Soft Toss in 21:15 and Push & Tush in 5:59.5, finished with 50.31 points. That was just 0.35 ahead of Mekenzie Riley, who finished 4th with 50.66. Hattie Kanyo placed 2nd in Box Office to finish 5th.

Women's Final Top 5
1. Lydia Fish, 21.32 points
2. Maddi Foutz, 47.65 points
3. Caitlin Bernardin, 50.31 points
4. Mekenzie Riley, 50.66 points
5. Hattie Kanyo, 63.98 points

Pairs Champions
The pairs divisions competed five events across Saturday and Sunday. In Female Pairs, Molly a of Triple River CrossFit won with 7 points. Platinum Powerhouses took 2nd with 13 and Crash Girls placed 3rd with 14, both representing the host gym. In Male Pairs, CRASH Comrades won with 7 points, one ahead of Heat 3 from CrossFit Mayhem. 2 halves of a black forest ham finished 3rd with 17.

Full results and weekend coverage are on the CF Network News Crash Crucible page .

Sources: Crash Crucible Leaderboard on Competition Corner

Crash Crucible Day One: Wilson Edges Mertens on the Tiebreak, Fish Runs Away With the Women's Lead

SPARTANBURG, S.C. Day one of elite competition at the 2026 Crash Crucible is in the books. Athletes took on two events at CrossFit Crash, Soft Toss and Delt Dividends, and the new scoring rules are already shaping the leaderboard.

Men: The New Tiebreak Goes to Work
Noah Wilson and Colten Mertens are tied for the lead at 7 points each. Mertens won Soft Toss in 21:11 and placed 6th in Delt Dividends. Wilson took 2nd in Soft Toss and 5th in Delt Dividends. Under this year's best worst place finish tiebreak, Wilson's worst finish of 5th beats Mertens' worst finish of 6th, so Wilson sits on top after day one.

Samuel Demeester is just one point back in 3rd with a pair of 4th place finishes. Josh Felix won Delt Dividends in 4:02.7 to climb into 4th, and Frank Minervini rounds out the top five.

Men's Top 5 After Day One
1. Noah Wilson, 7 points
2. Colten Mertens, 7 points
3. Samuel Demeester, 8 points
4. Josh Felix, 12 points
5. Frank Minervini, 16 points

Women: Fish Opens a Big Lead
Lydia Fish of Training Think Tank had the best day of anyone in the field. She placed 2nd in Soft Toss and won Delt Dividends in 4:11.3, giving her just 3 points and a 7 point cushion over the rest of the field. Caitlin Bernardin won the women's Soft Toss in 21:15.

Maddi Foutz sits 2nd with 10 points, one ahead of Hattie Kanyo, who took 2nd in Delt Dividends. Zoe Warren is 4th, and Christa Mack and Caroline Kluttz are tied for 5th with 17 points each.

Women's Top 5 After Day One
1. Lydia Fish, 3 points
2. Maddi Foutz, 10 points
3. Hattie Kanyo, 11 points
4. Zoe Warren, 14 points
5. Christa Mack, 17 points
5. Caroline Kluttz, 17 points

Saturday Schedule
Day two adds the Female Pairs and Male Pairs divisions to the competition floor. All times are Eastern.
9:00 a.m. Knot So Fast, Pairs
9:48 a.m. Push & Tush, Individual
10:00 a.m. All Hands, Individual
2:28 p.m. Double Down, Pairs
2:55 p.m. Power Parcel (Max Watts), Individual
4:39 p.m. Seeing Red, Pairs

Saturday and Sunday competition streams live on FloElite, with CF Network preview and post shows each day. Lane assignments, heat times, and the full schedule are on the CF Network News Crash Crucible page .

Sources: Crash Crucible Leaderboard on Competition Corner

Crash Crucible Check In: Drug Testing, New Tie Break, and a Farmers Carry Twist

SPARTANBURG, S.C. Athletes checked in today at CrossFit Crash ahead of the 2026 Crash Crucible, and event organizer and programmer J.R. Howell used the athlete briefing to deliver a handful of announcements. The biggest headline: CrossFit will be on site this weekend drug testing athletes.

Drug testing at an offseason competition is a notable step. Crash Crucible is a noteable event after the CrossFit Games, and having CrossFit testing on site puts the event in line with the standards athletes face during the official season.

P Score Is Out
Howell also confirmed several changes to the competition format, starting with scoring no longer using P Score. The event is moving to the CrossFit Open format, where athletes earn points based on their placement in each event. The athlete with the lowest point total at the end of the weekend wins.

A Tiebreak That Rewards Consistency
The tiebreak is flipping as well. Most competitions break ties by counting first place finishes. Crash Crucible is doing the opposite and breaking ties by the best worst place finish.

Here is how it works. If Colten Mertens and Sam Demeester finish the weekend tied in points, the tiebreak goes to each athlete's lowest finish of the competition. If Mertens' worst finish is 10th and Demeester's worst finish is 11th, Mertens wins the tiebreak. The rule rewards the athlete who avoids a bad event, not the one who stacks event wins.

Event 4 Farmers Carry Gets a Twist
Athletes also got a first look at all the equipment for each event. For Event 4, the farmers carry will not be a standard kettlebell carry. Rope handles are knotted onto the kettlebell handles, as pictured above, forcing athletes to grip the rope instead of the steel. Expect grip and forearm endurance to be tested in a way a normal carry does not.

About the Event
Crash Crucible is an elite only competition featuring Individual and Masters 35+ divisions, with more than $25,000 in combined prize money on the line. Competition runs Friday, October 9 through Sunday, October 11, with action starting at 9 a.m. ET each day and streaming live on FloElite.

The Action Starts Tomorrow
With new scoring, a new tiebreak, drug testing on site, and a farmers carry nobody has likely been training for, the excitement starts tomorrow, and it is sure to be a fun weekend. Follow every event, leaderboard, and heat on the CF Network News Crash Crucible page , and catch the evening event briefings live on CF Network YouTube .

Crash Crucible Weekend Is Here: Everything You Need Lives on the CFNN Event Hub

Crash Crucible kicks off tomorrow at CrossFit Crash in Spartanburg, South Carolina. For leaderboards, heat times, workouts, and athlete rosters all weekend, head to the CF Network News Crash Crucible page .

Weekend Schedule
Thursday, October 8: Athlete check in and media day
Friday, October 9: Competition begins at 9 a.m. ET
Saturday, October 10: Competition at 9 a.m. ET
Sunday, October 11: Final day at 9 a.m. ET

Live Every Night on CF Network
CF Network will go live on YouTube for the evening event briefings, breaking down each day's workouts as they are released.

About the Event
Crash Crucible is an elite only competition for Individual and Masters 35+ athletes with more than $25,000 in combined prize money. Competition days stream live on FloElite.

Sources: Crash Crucible on Competition Corner , FloElite

Castro Talks New Pairs Division for the 2027 Open Plus National Championship Events

CrossFit is adding a pairs division to the CrossFit Open and creating new national championship opportunities at events around the world. Both items surfaced in small details during Dave Castro's latest Week in Review. Full specifics have not been released yet.

What Was Said
A pairs division is coming to the Open, giving athletes a two person format inside the sport's largest participation event. Separately, Castro pointed to national championship opportunities attached to events across multiple countries. CrossFit already crowns national champions through Open country rankings, so the new piece appears to be live competition pathways rather than a ranking title alone.

The 18 to 19 Question
Still unanswered is whether CrossFit will add the 18 to 19 year old division Castro hinted at earlier this past season. Current age group structure runs 14 to 17 on the teen side, with individual competition starting at 18 and masters divisions beginning at 35. An 18 to 19 bracket would give recent teen graduates a landing spot instead of moving straight into the open individual field. No confirmation either way has come yet.

2027 Open Dates Are Already Set
27.1 announcement February 18
27.2 announcement February 25
27.3 announcement March 4
The 2027 Open runs February 18 through March 8 and remains three weeks. Registration has not opened yet.

Castro begins the Open discussion at the 4:35 mark. The player above starts there automatically.

What to Watch
More detail is expected in the coming weeks. For the latest on the 2027 season, watch the Dave Castro Week in Review every Monday on his YouTube channel .

Sources: Dave Castro Week in Review , 2027 Open Schedule

Battle of the Training Camps: Will the Outcasts Final Athletes Reveal Change the Math? PRVN and Brute are Loaded

Wodapalooza rolls into Huntington Beach in just under two weeks with the first ever Battle of the Training Camps, a team format that pits three of the sport's biggest coaching programs and a wildcard team against each other. Three camps have released full six athlete rosters. The fourth, Outcasts, dropped half of theirs and it flips the projected board on its head.

The Outcasts. The team, billed as the best of the rest joining forces, has revealed Justin Medeiros, Danielle Brandon, and Ellie Turner as its first three athletes. Three more names are still to come. At the 2026 CrossFit Games, Medeiros finished 4th, Brandon finished 10th, and Turner finished 13th. Three top fifteen Games finishers in a half roster is a serious opening move.

PRVN, the Deepest Team on Paper
Ricky Garard, Jay Crouch, Colten Mertens, Kyra Milligan, Maddie Sturt, and Olivia Kerstetter give the camp four top ten Games finishers from 2026 and no obvious weak spot on either side. Crouch was 3rd, Sturt and Garard both finished 5th, Kerstetter was 6th, Mertens 11th, and Milligan 15th. Real ceiling, real floor.

Brute Strength, the Loudest Names
James Sprague is the reigning 2026 CrossFit Games champion. Emma Lawson and Dallin Pepper both finished 2nd in their divisions. Jayson Hopper adds another top ten with a 6th place finish. Aline Wirz 18th and Janie Cheverie 27th round out the six. Star power is unmatched, but the drop off from the top three to the back end is steeper than PRVN's.

Training Think Tank, the Masters Play
The camp leans on Masters experience with Noah Ohlsen, the 2026 Men 35 to 39 world champion, and Travis Mayer, who took 4th in the same division. Chandler Smith brings veteren field pedigree even without a 2026 individual finish on the leaderboard. Anikha Greer 21st and Lydia Fish 24th headline the women's side, with Hannah Black returning to competition after a Games withdrawal.

Outcasts, the Wild Card
Three revealed, three still to come. Medeiros, Brandon, and Turner combine for three top fifteen Games finishers, which is why the projected for Outcasts to sit near the top of the board. The remaining three names will decide whether Outcasts pull ahead or fall back into the pack.

Unofficial Win Probability
Using only the 2026 CrossFit Games placements as a proxy for current fitness, the field breaks down like this:
PRVN about 31 percent
Outcasts about 30 percent
Brute Strength about 29 percent
Training Think Tank about 10 percent

Will Mayhem Athletes Round Out Outcasts?
With the anticipation of the final three athletes yet to be revealed, there is rumors it could consist of Mayhem athletes. The Outcasts announced so far all have the same coach, it would make sense if the next three were all connected in someway. Adding Guilherme Malheiros, Austin Hatfield, and Paige Rodgers to the existing roster would give the Outcasts three more 2026 Games individual finishers in one drop. If instead the final three come in below the Games qualifying line, Outcasts slide back down and PRVN remains the clear favorite to win the weekend.

Follow the official announcements on the PRVN Instagram , Brute Strength Instagram , Training Think Tank Instagram , and Wodapalooza Instagram .

Rogue "Q" Qualifier: Unofficial Top 3 Men and Women Punch Their Ticket to the Invitational

The 2026 Rogue Invitational online qualifier known as The "Q" closed Sunday night at 8:00 PM EST. Unofficially, the top 3 men and top 3 women from the Competitive RX Division have earned their spots at the 2026 Rogue Invitational. All submitted scores are still subject to video review, and any adjustments could reshuffle the podium before the field is finalized. On the women's side, the race between 3rd and 4th is razor thin at just 1 point. On the men's side, 3rd and 4th are separated by 6 points.

Unofficial Men's Top 10
1. Fabian Hermans (Crossfit Arnhem) 296 pts
2. Nate Ackermann (Rally Point Endeavors) 294 pts
3. Chris Ibarra (Overland Park CrossFit) 291 pts
4T. Bayley Martin (CrossFit Torian) 285 pts
4T. Isaac Newman (Hustle and Harvest) 285 pts
6T. Tom Kingdon (CrossFit Southampton) 280 pts
6T. Michal Wesolowski (CrossFit Ełk) 280 pts
8. Reggie Fasa (Kulture Klub) 279 pts
9. Mathias Porter (3 Bridges CrossFit) 275 pts
10T. Jorge Fernandez (CrossFit Mayhem) 274 pts
10T. Jack Farlow (Polsky's Strength and Conditioning) 274 pts

Unofficial Women's Top 10
1. Emma Tall 293 pts
2. Jennifer Muir (CrossFit Kirkintilloch) 286 pts
3. Carolyne Prevost (CrossFit Colosseum) 284 pts
4. Kyra Milligan (PRVN) 283 pts
5. Maddi Foutz (CrossFit Junction) 282 pts
6T. Claudia Gluck (CrossFit Grillen) 280 pts
6T. Tayla Howe (Kulture Klub) 280 pts
6T. Erica Folo (CrossFit Lake Hound) 280 pts
9. Sydney Smith (College Hill CrossFit) 279 pts
10T. Ella Price (Hustle and Harvest) 276 pts
10T. Elena Carratala Sanahuja (Smart Program) 276 pts

The Women's Race for the Third Ticket
Carolyne Prevost sits 3rd at 284 points. Kyra Milligan sits 4th at 283 points. That 1 point gap means a single video review or scoring adjustment on any of the three workouts could flip who advances to Aberdeen. Prevost's edge was built on Workout 1 (95 point score) and Workout 2 (97 point score). Milligan countered with the stronger Workout 1 time and the better Workout 3, but her Workout 2 rep count left points on the table.

The Men's Cushion
Chris Ibarra holds 3rd at 291 points. Bayley Martin and Isaac Newman are tied 4th at 285 points. The 6 point gap gives Ibarra more breathing room than Prevost has, but a downgrade or invalid rep call on any of his three submissions could still put the third spot in play.

Video Review Still to Come
All scores posted on the Rogue Challenges leaderboard are unofficial until Rogue completes video review. Judges will verify movement standards on the deadlifts, front squats, and squat cleans in Workout 1, the DB snatches, box step overs, and walking lunges in Workout 2, and the toes to bar, wall facing HSPU, and bar muscle ups in Workout 3. Reps that fail the standard will be removed and totals will be recalculated. Final qualifier results will be announced by Rogue.

What They Win
The top 3 men and top 3 women earn invitations to the 2026 Rogue Invitational, plus travel stipends, hotel accommodations, and Iron Game Athlete Fund support. The overall male and female winners of The Q each receive a custom 20 KG or 15 KG barbell.

Track the live leaderboards on the men's leaderboard and the women's leaderboard .

Rogue Invitational "Q" Qualifier Ends Tonight: The Field, The Workouts, and The Score Deadline

The 2026 Rogue Invitational online qualifier known as The "Q" wraps tonight. Scores must be submitted by 8:00 PM EST on August 23, 2026. The qualifier opened at 9:00 AM EST on August 21, giving athletes a three day window to complete all three workouts and post video and score.

Only athletes in the Competitive Division are eligible for advancement to the 2026 Rogue Invitational, and only the top 3 men and top 3 women from The Q will earn spots at the Invitational. The Q does not count toward the yearly Rogue Challenges leaderboard, and 10 percent of registration fees go to the Rogue Invitational prize purse. Overall male and female winners each earn a custom 20 KG or 15 KG barbell, plus travel and hotel accommodations if they qualify to the Invitational.

Who Signed Up
Signup is small and stacked. The men's Competitive RX field has 26 registered athletes and the women's field has 18. With scores yet to be submitted at the time of this article, current leaderboard order is registration order.

Men's Field (26 registered)
Adam Thompson, Harrison Kennedy (CrossFit ST1), Maximilien Turrettini (CrossFit Le Rouge), Tyler Ward (Bluecrab Fitness), Carlos Casado (Yo Soy CrossFit), Klaus Kalter (Military Training Area), Tiago Luzes (CrossFit Odivelas), Dk Kearsey (CrossFit Muskoka), Ivan Kukartsev, Nate Palmer, Vitor Loffi (Independente), Michael Weiner (Freakin Fitness), Kalyan Souza (CrossFit Alioth), Kaique Lima (CrossFit Vitoria), and Jorge Fernandez (CrossFit Mayhem) round out the top 15 by signup order.

Women's Field (18 registered)
Carly Wopat (CrossFit SCV), Maddi Foutz (CrossFit Junction), Sophie Delaplassette (CrossFit Wonderland), Keira McManus (CrossFit ST1), Emily de Rooy (CrossFit QHP FG), Anna Ivanova (Neft), Kelly Whittaker, Bruna Berbel, Kyra Milligan (PRVN), Ann Ferguson (Table Rock CrossFit), Carolyne Prevost (CrossFit Colosseum), Jennifer Muir (CrossFit Kirkintilloch), Emma Tall, Claudia Gluck (CrossFit Grillen), and Andrea Solberg (CrossFit Oslo Kriger) fill the top 15 by signup order.

The Three Workouts

Workout 1 (Presented by GORUCK)
4 Rounds for time:
9 Deadlifts (365/275 lb)
6 Front Squats (275/200 lb)
3 Squat Cleans (225/165 lb)
Time Cap: 10 minutes
Tie Breaker: time at the completion of round 2

Workout 2 (Presented by btwb)
20 Minute AMRAP:
8 Right Hand DB Snatch (70/50 lb)
16 DB Box Step Over (24 in / 20 in)
8 Left Hand DB Snatch (70/50 lb)
50 ft Walking Lunge, 25 ft down and back (70/50 lb)
Tie Breaker: time at the completion of round 1
Athletes may only use 1 dumbbell for this event

Workout 3 (Presented by R.A.D)
For Time:
1K Row
75 T2B
25 Wall Facing HSPU
25/20 Bar Muscle Ups
25 Wall Facing HSPU
Time Cap: 15 minutes
Tie Breaker: time at the completion of the row

The Score Deadline
All three workout scores and videos must be submitted by 8:00 PM EST tonight, August 23. Any score posted after the cutoff will not count. Live leaderboards update in the Rogue Challenges platform.

Track live scores on the men's leaderboard and the women's leaderboard .

Crash Crucible Drops P Score, Moves To Point Per Placement Scoring With Live Results On Competition Corner

The Crash Crucible is changing how it crowns a winner. On tonight's episode of Shut Up and Scribble with Taylor Self, Bryson Delmonte of Sentinel Training and JR Howell announced the competition will move off P Score and onto point per placement scoring, the same model used by the CrossFit Open.

P Score has been the scoring engine at the Crucible for the last several years. The switch flips the math to something every CrossFit athlete already knows.

Live Scoring On Competition Corner
Live scores will run on Competition Corner this year, giving athletes, spectators and coaches a real time leaderboard through every heat.

Watch the full Shut Up and Scribble announcement on YouTube at Shut Up and Scribble on YouTube .

Jay Crouch, Ricky Garard and Bayley Martin Debut The BJR Podcast On YouTube

The three Aussies are officially podcast hosts. Jay Crouch, Ricky Garard and Bayley Martin dropped Episode 01 of the BJR Podcast on YouTube last night, and for a first crack at the mic it was pretty good.

The debut episode, titled "What Happened at the Games | Episode 01," ran as a recap of the 2026 CrossFit Games. The trio broke down the weekend from an athlete point of view, dropped anecdotal stories about Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, and threw a few playful shots at Dallin Pepper and the Boys Interrupted podcast. All in good fun of course.

The Schedule
The BJR Podcast will drop new episodes every week on Thursday at 9:00 AM AEST out of Australia. That is Wednesday evening for most of the United States and very early Thursday morning across Europe.

US Time Zones (Wednesday)
Pacific 4:00 PM PT
Mountain 5:00 PM MT
Central 6:00 PM CT
Eastern 7:00 PM ET
Alaska 3:00 PM AKT
Hawaii 1:00 PM HT

European Time Zones (Thursday)
UK 12:00 AM BST
Central Europe 1:00 AM CEST
Eastern Europe 2:00 AM EEST

Between three Games athletes who train, travel and compete together, the format has plenty of runway. Expect insider reads on Games week, real talk on training in Australia, and more friendly jabs across the CrossFit content landscape.

Watch Episode 01 on YouTube at BJR Podcast on YouTube .

Leroy Saunders, IAOT CrossFit Owner and Seminar Staff Coach, Dies After Collapsing at HYROX Bangkok

Leroy Saunders, 41, the South African owner of IAOT CrossFit in Bangkok and a member of the CrossFit Seminar Staff, has died after collapsing and losing consciousness while competing at BYD HYROX Bangkok 2026 on Thursday, August 13. His family and team confirmed the news on his personal Instagram account on August 18.

Saunders collapsed during the event at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, which ran from August 13 to 16. He was resuscitated by staff on site and taken to hospital, where he later died.

The Family and Team Statement
The statement posted to his Instagram was titled "A message to all those who Leroy made an impact on during his life." His team wrote, "Last Thursday we unfortunately lost Leroy due to reasons we are still trying to fully understand. What we can share without doubt is that until the last second of this moment, Leroy lived his life without regret or hesitation and impacted hundreds if not thousands to do the same throughout his journey."

The family and team said they have asked HYROX and other media outlets to hold back from making any statements until they are fully certain what happened. They added, "We are aware everyone would like closure and a better understanding, and we are working hard to be able to offer this when the time is right."

They also confirmed that all posts made on the account moving forward will be planned and delivered by IRONSPRT, his social team, with consultation and approval from closest family and friends. The statement closed with, "Thank you for your prayers, love and patience."

Who He Was in the Community
Saunders owned IAOT CrossFit in Bangkok and served on the CrossFit Seminar Staff as a CF L3 trainer, teaching the CrossFit methodology to coaches and athletes across seminars in Asia. He was also the founder of Fight by Design, a strength and conditioning program built for Muay Thai, MMA and boxing athletes, and worked with fighters connected to ONE Championship and other top camps.

CF Network News sends condolences to Leroy's family, his athletes and every community he was a cornerstone of.

Read the original report at Khaosod English .

Angelo DiCicco Says CrossFit Will Honor The Original Team Prize Purse

The 2026 CrossFit Games team prize purse story is over. Angelo DiCicco said on the Mayhem podcast this morning that in a meeting with CrossFit he was told CrossFit will honor the original prize purse number for the team division.

That closes the loop on a story that has been building for weeks. Teams were shown published payouts that did not match the numbers in the rulebook, and DiCicco now says the athletes are getting the money they were originally promised.

How We Got Here
CrossFit published its official prize purse breakdown after the Games and stated that payouts are based on net revenue from the Open rather than the total number of Open registrations. That moved the total prize purse from the widely expected $2,546,920 down to $2,428,320, which meant the team pool fell from $250,000 to $242,832.

The bigger problem was the placement math. The rulebook example gives the winning team 30 percent of the team pool, but the published first place payout came in at 30.93 percent. Teams finishing 5th through 9th were the ones who got hit, with reported payouts well below the rulebook percentages while everyone else landed slightly above.

The Barbell Spin Would Not Let It Go
The Barbell Spin was persistent in pointing out the mistake. The Spin pundits questioned the numbers right after the podium ceremony, kept at it across multiple articles, broke the math down at length on the Wednesday show, and posted about the topic several times on Instagram. It was the same persistence they showed during the week of the Games. CrossFit made a mistake, and they made sure it did not get quietly buried.

Now DiCicco says CrossFit has committed to the original figures, so the teams who were shorted are made whole. We can finally put that story to bed.

Watch the DiCicco comments in this Instagram reel and read the full prize purse breakdown from The Barbell Spin .

Wodapalooza SoCal Names All Four Battle Of The Camps Teams

Gymreapers Wodapalooza SoCal has announced all four teams for the Battle Of The Camps, and the field is set with PRVN, Brute, Training Think Tank and the Outcasts.

The four camps will square off in Huntington Beach from September 25 to 27 at the flagship event of the SoCal Fitness Festival. Wodapalooza first teased the new format back in July without naming teams, so this is the first confirmation of exactly who is in.

The Four Teams
PRVN
Brute
Training Think Tank
Outcasts

Rosters for each team will be announced soon according to the Wodapalooza Instagram page, and that is where the real intrigue sits. Three of the four are established camps with obvious names to pull from. The Outcasts are the wild card, built from athletes who do not train under a major camp banner.

That opens the door for some of the biggest names in the sport to end up on the same squad. Speculation around the Outcasts roster includes Lucy Campbell, Justin Medeiros, Danielle Brandon, Austin Hatfield, Emily Rolfe, Victor Hoffer, Arielle Loewen and more. None of that is confirmed, and no athlete has been announced by Wodapalooza yet, but on paper an unaffiliated team stacked with Games podium talent could be the most dangerous group in the building.

More details on the format and the full rosters are expected in the coming weeks. Event information is available at socal.wodapalooza.com and roster news will drop on the Wodapalooza Instagram .

Aimee Cringle and James Sprague Win the 2026 CrossFit Games

Aimee Cringle and James Sprague closed out the 2026 CrossFit Games exactly the way they started the final day on top of the leaderboard and in complete control.

Coming into the final event the womens race looked settled on paper but still carried all the tension that comes with a Games Sunday. Aimee Cringle held the overall lead Emma Lawson sat in second and Lucy Campbell occupied third and none of that changed when the dust settled.

The mens side followed the same pattern. Heading into the finale James Sprague led the field Dallin Pepper sat second and Jay Crouch was third and that podium never budged.

Sprague stayed composed in the last event managing risk. When the final scores were in he remained at the top of the standings and walked away with his second CrossFit Games title joining the small group of athletes who have multiple championships on their resume.

Peppers second place finish confirmed what the season had hinted at all year he is one of top all around athletes in the sport. Crouch held onto third continuing his evolution from Games regular to podium threat and giving Oceania another banner result on the mens side.

When the leaderboard locked the individual podiums looked like this.

Women
1st Aimee Cringle
2nd Emma Lawson
3rd Lucy Campbell

Men
1st James Sprague
2nd Dallin Pepper
3rd Jay Crouch

Congratulations to every athlete who battled through the 2026 season and stood on the floor in San Jose, and here’s to seeing you back next year as the race begins again to see who will rise once more as the Fittest on Earth.

For the full final leaderboard head to this link .