OpinionCrossFit: Justin Medeiros bypasses a generation of athletes who were waiting on Mat Fraser’s reign to end

The 22-year-old won the 2021 CrossFit Games in his second year, after coming third behind generational athlete Mat Fraser, who won his fifth title then retired

Medeiros may have bypassed an entire generation of older competitors – Patrick Vellner, Brent Fikowski, BKG and Noah Ohlsen – who were waiting for their shot

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Justin Medeiros did not wait in line for his chance at the CrossFit Games title vacated by retired Mat Fraser. He skipped the queue. Photo: CrossFit Games

Published: 9:42pm, 10 Aug 2021Updated: 9:42pm, 10 Aug 2021

Mat Fraser undoubtedly made a lot of CrossFitters very happy this February when he retired, most notably the likes of Patrick Vellner, Brent Fikowski, Bjorgvin Karl Gudmondsson and Noah Ohlsen. Perennial contenders they were no more, the king was dead, long live the king. All four have made their way on to the podium, and all four had come up against a goliath of the sport who banished all challengers for half a decade.

The elder statesmen had done their time, calcified into veterans, and were finally clear to make a mad dash to the top of the podium for the 2021 CrossFit Games. It was supposed to be one of their years, glory finally, all that time playing second fiddle no more.

But wait a hot minute, who is this kid with the mullet, and why are a number of established greybeards now thinking their moment in the sun, which they have been waiting years for, is now setting rather quickly? The last time Fraser won a title, he was in his third decade of life, so in passing the torch, it should have been someone similar in terms of age and experience, right? Someone who had cut their teeth on being disappointed by Fraser, competition after competition, year after year.

Twenty-two-year-old sensation Justin Medeiros, who burst on to the scene last year as a rookie, and came third behind only Samuel Kwant and none other than Fraser, decided to budge in line, and it appears there is little the old guard can do about it. Medeiros said he was “willing to die for points” to win the CrossFit Games this time around, and it was quite clear that mentality paid off for him.

He came no worse that 15th over 15 events, and notched seven finishes in the top five, plus won the final event in a storybook ending, finishing off with some overhead walking lunges into the loving arms of his parents who were in the front row.

This was supposed to be Patrick Vellner’s year, so what happened? Justin Medeiros happened. Photo: CrossFit Games.

CrossFit pundits were banking on Vellner winning it all, given he’s performed the best over the years in big competitions against Fraser, and on his own. He’s no spring chicken though, now in his 30s, and like his Canadian counterpart Fikowski, who is also in his third decade of life, is battling father time as the average age of a peak CrossFit athlete is somewhere around 26 years old.