Trevor Jones has done the CrossFit Open workouts for the last eight years, but he only registered for the first time this season. That’s because Jones did his seven other Opens in the midst of a 27-year prison sentence in Colorado after being convicted of murder when he was 17 years old. “I was involved in a homicide over a gun deal that had gone wrong, and a kid who was 16 lost his life,” Jones tells the Morning Chalk Up, describing what happened back in 1996. Jones says he was trying to scam a kid — who was selling him and his friends a gun — out of $100. According to Jones, pulling the tr ..read more

Additional writing and analysis by Mike Halpin Some Games athletes who went to sleep last night feeling secure in their position on the Quarterfinals leaderboard woke up this morning with their season in peril. What happened?: Starting around 5 p.m. PT, the CrossFit Games team began pushing updates to the 2024 CrossFit Games Quarterfinals leaderboard, specifically to the results of Workout 1.  As that score updated, the overall and region-specific leaderboards shuffled, moving some well-known Games athletes out of qualifying position for their Semifinal events.  View this post on ..read more

One softball size mass and 100 lesions were removed from endurance athlete Charley McAvoy last November. Now, just a few months post-op, he and his girlfriend, Sage Burgener, are already training for a 100-mile running race set for June.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sage Burgener (@sageburgener) [Related: 4 Potential CrossFit Games Rookies Who Could Have a Big 2024 Season] How It Started McAvoy, 44, is a strong and healthy individual who grew up playing sports, doing triathlons, CrossFit, and more, for many years.  So when he started having some strange stomach i ..read more

The second window for submitting scores closed on Monday night, revealing a complete picture of the unofficial 2024 CrossFit Quarterfinals leaderboard. (See the whole thing here.) While things are changing and will continue to do so as scores are reviewed and adjusted, some highlights stood out at first glance. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Morning Chalk Up (@morningchalkup) [Related: 4 Morning Chalk Up Writers Took on the 2024 CrossFit Games Quarterfinals — Here Are Their Reactions] 1. Unofficially, Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr has won the Worldwide Quarterfinals for the 3rd time ..read more

The pliability brand has become a fixture in the CrossFit space, in part due to the hard work that former Games athlete Cody Mooney has contributed to the company directly since 2020 and even earlier as an athlete ambassador in 2017.  His commitment and energy have now come full circle as the company has announced that he’s been named a managing partner.  Up until now, Mooney has served as the Director of Performance and worked under current pliability founder Scott Perkins. Mooney’s contributions to the brand have been fundamental in its growth and were integral during the 20 ..read more

Four Morning Chalk writers — Teaganne Finn, Scotty Freymond, Nicky Freymond, and Julia Papworth — took on the 2024 Indy and Age Group Quarterfinals…these are their stories. As we have in years past, we are using their experiences this season to highlight the workouts, strategies, and maybe even what happens if it all goes sideways. On Friday, each writer/athlete shared a brief background on their current fitness and then described their initial thoughts and strategies for one of the CrossFit Games Quarterfinals workouts they would take on this weekend. Workout 1, Scotty Freymond  4 Rounds ..read more

On Monday, April 15, 2024, a sea of runners shuffled up Heartbreak Hill, past Boston College, and down Kenmore Square in Boston, MA, on a 26.2-mile course for the 128th annual Boston Marathon.  Three of those people — HWPO Training’s Matt O’Keefe and Sammy Moniz, as well as Lab Management’s Cooper Marsh — were among the 30,000 to toe the line and finish.  Some background: Having grown up in Massachusetts (O’Keefe was raised in Boston proper and attended Boston College), the trio is uniquely familiar with the Boston Marathon tradition. All their lives, they’ve been aware of the reve ..read more

One year ago, Paula Larsen Mamani was in a dark, painful spot. After 31 years of marriage, she and her husband decided to separate.  Further, she had gained 30 pounds as she had been finishing her “lifelong goal” of completing her doctoral degree in education, which caused her to spend more time sitting than focusing on her fitness. Mamani had a decision to make. She could continue to spiral in the world of “emotional pain” the divorce was causing her, or she could turn to what she knew would help get her life on track: CrossFit. She chose the latter.  Paula Larsen Mamani (left) // I ..read more

With the Individual Quarterfinal leaderboard just beginning to shake out, let’s take a quick look back at the worldwide Team Quarterfinals (finalized leaderboard here) to highlight 10 interesting things that stood out to us. Without wasting any time, let’s dive right in. 10 Eye-Opening Stats From Team Quarterfinals  1. Through all four workouts, team Peak 360 CrossFit had no finishes outside of the top three worldwide (1st, 3rd, 1st, 2nd). 2. Including their three workouts from the Open, team Peak 360 CrossFit already has four workout wins and is currently averaging an event finish of 1.9 ..read more

Four Morning Chalk writers — Teaganne Finn, Scotty Freymond, Nicky Freymond, and Julia Papworth — crushed the 2024 CrossFit Open and have moved on to Quarterfinals! As we have in years past, we will use their experiences to highlight the workouts, strategies, and maybe even what happens when it all goes sideways. Today, each writer/athlete will provide a brief background of their current fitness and then describe their initial thoughts and strategies for one of the CrossFit Games Quarterfinals workouts they will take on this weekend. Workout 1, Scotty Freymond  4 Rounds for max reps of ..read more