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Mat Fraser’s absence gives us jeopardy, and may allow others to raise their game to his level. Photos: CrossFit Games
Opinion
View From The Edge
by Mark Agnew
View From The Edge
by Mark Agnew

CrossFit Games 2021: Mat Fraser’s retirement robs us of excellence but gives us jeopardy instead

  • Five-time CrossFit champion Mat Fraser’s retirement throws the field wide open, which will lead to a compelling spectacle even without his excellence
  • Sport is gripping for one of two reasons – either watching the best or watching a close contest – we had one, now we have the other and soon we could have both
Mark Agnew
Mark Agnew
Why you can trust SCMP

Elite sport can be gripping for one of two reasons. Firstly, it is exciting to watch the best of the best perform their craft. Think Usain Bolt celebrating before he even crosses the finish line, the New Zealand All Blacks romping to a 57-0 win over South Africa in 2017, Roger Federer winning his 20th grand slam.

CrossFit has been blessed in the past five years to witness the performances of Mat Fraser. His excellence was something to behold, as all the other CrossFitters fought distantly for second place while he claimed five straight titles. Fraser had the 2020 Games wrapped up with a day to spare.
The only athlete comparable is four-time champion Tia-Clair Toomey, Fraser’s equally excellent training partner. Earlier this year, Fraser retired. And with that decision, fans were denied the chance to watch true excellence in the men’s field.

But the fans are not poorer for it. The second reason sport can be gripping is jeopardy. If the game is on a knife-edge it is hard to look away as every triumph or mistake takes on a special significance. It becomes impossible to look away.

Mat Fraser was head and shoulders above the rest, but now there is a chance for a close-run fight for first place.

With Fraser gone, any one of several men could take his place on the top of the podium. Could it be the mullet-wearing young gun Justin Medeiros, returning for his second games after an impressive debut onto the podium last year? Or Canadian Patrick Vellner, who finished second in 2018; Noah Ohlsen, second in 2019; or Brent Fikowski, second in 2017?

In Fraser’s absence, the men’s leader will change throughout the week. Every workout announcement will be significant, as fans and pundits read into who will benefit from each exercise. Every dropped weight or missed rep will count for, or against, your favourite man. It will be every bit as exciting, probably more exciting in fact, as watching the awesome presence of Fraser pull away from the next best competitor.

Four men who could win the 2021 CrossFit Games

It is harsh to suggest that the next best men to Fraser are anything but amazing themselves. Every one of the competitors is a freak of nature and a product of countless hours of work. In the words of CrossFit commentator Sean Woodland: “You don’t know how good you have to be just to suck at the CrossFit Games.”

It’s just they were not as excellent as Fraser, as the results showed.

However, the renewed sense of jeopardy could create a new superstar who is every bit as good as Fraser was before his retirement.

Steel sharpens steel – when first place is on the line, athletes will find another gear. The extra percentage that is intangible concerning sports psychology, knowing that first place was out of reach, is now no longer behind the wall.

We had excellence, now we have jeopardy. Renewed competition among the men might give us both.

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