CrossFit Games 2020: Mat Fraser talks complacency and life-changing moment that turned him into ‘Fittest on Earth’

Mat Fraser’s second place finish in 2015 puts him on a path to constant improvement and four consecutive ‘Fittest on Earth’ titles

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Mat Fraser’s attitude is shaped by a defining year of complacency that resulted in a second-place finish. Photo: CrossFit Games

Published: 2:41am, 23 Oct 2020Updated: 10:27pm, 23 Oct 2020

Mat Fraser is on the cusp of winning more CrossFit Games titles than any athlete, but the journey started with a year of complacency.

The American came second at his first Games in 2014, and then second again in 2015, but the experiences were wildly different.

“I got very complacent back in 2015. I had a life-changing moment on the competition floor,” he said. “I didn’t feel I had won second place. In 2014, I had no expectations going in and I felt like I had won second place. Then 2015 came around and it was just a year of complacency and cutting corners. I felt like I had lost second place.”

The feeling spurred him on to constantly improve and push himself. He won the next four CrossFit Games, equalling Rich Froning’s record. Fraser could take his fifth this weekend.

The CrossFit Games finals are being held in Aromas, California, the site of the original Games in 2007. Just five men will battle it out for the title “Fittest on Earth”. The finalists earned their spots via a remote first leg of the competition in September involving 30 men worldwide. The unusual format is a product of Covid-19 restrictions.

“Only having a field of five, to me it’s like the event last year when we started with 150, it’s the same as stage one this year when we’re in the gym by ourselves,” Fraser said. “I’m going to try to tap every ounce of my potential, it doesn’t matter if I’m going for my first title or I’m going for my fifth title.”