Whenever someone asks me who’s the greatest CrossFit athlete of all time only one name comes to mind: Rich Froning.
Tia-Clair Toomey and Mat Fraser both make arguable cases for holding that top spot in history. Both are extremely dominant and have been so for the last 4 years. They’ve never placed lower than second and they don’t just win the CrossFit Games, they decimate the field.
So why not them? Here’s why:
Froning is the ultimate competitor
The impressive thing about Froning is that he didn’t only crush Individual competition, but he’s also doing it at a team level. Since 2015 he’s earned four gold medals and a silver medal. He literally copy-pasted his individual accolades into the team competition. Only the best CrossFit athlete can do such a thing.
Nobody has more medals than he does. And I don’t know if he has it in mind but wouldn’t it be awesome for him to compete as a Master when his time comes and become the only athlete with gold medals in the Individual, Team and Masters Division?
Rich if you’re reading this… just saying.
He makes competition better.
He did it as an individual and he’s doing it again. He puts the target on his back and sets the standard for other competitors. Or why do you think so many superteams showed up all of a sudden? Top-notch individual athletes started turning their sights towards Team competition the year Froning got in the mix. Because competition got tougher – meaning the challenge is more motivating – and because everybody wants to beat Rich.
You wanna dethrone Mayhem? You better train like a jackass. You better have no holes in your fitness. You better bring your A-game to Madison. Just like Wasatch did in 2017.
Oh and that silver medal proves that Froning hasn’t gone soft because Mayhem Freedom is on a whole different level since they missed standing on top of that podium.
Excellent programmer
Here’s the kicker for me. Both Fraser and Toomey leave their programming in someone else’s hands. Obviously they execute their training sessions at a ridiculous level of excellency and their results can show for that.
My boy Froning designs his own programming. As an Exercise Science graduate he has the knowledge. But he also has some sense of intuition when it comes to programming. For years on end he’s known how to tackle all areas of fitness, all energy systems in order to produce outstanding results. Granted he neglected running and swimming for a few years, but those chinks on his armor didn’t take away any medals.
And he’s not only designed effective programming for himself but also athletes at his affiliate and team members. He’s had Games’ athletes, regional athletes and affiliate members on his team…and they’ve stood on that podium every year they’ve competed at the highest level.
He’s a killer strategist
He must be onto something because individual and teams are two whole different ball games and he’s still holding a consistent success rate. Picking the right athletes to go, how to break up the sets, … it changes in that kind of setting. And I might be going out on a limb here but it would seem to me that Froning is the one in charge of all the little details.
Mayhem Freedom has a very froningesque approach to workouts: they sneak up on you when you least expect it. If that isn’t the work of the Champ then I don’t know…
A die-hard fan of the sport
My favorite thing about him is that it’s obvious he loves CrossFit to death. He’s being doing it since 2010, he runs a successful affiliate and I can honestly picture him doing CrossFit 20 years from now.
He’s relatable in the sense that if he weren’t good enough to be competing, he’d still do CrossFit and coach classes. I feel like he’s the major ambassador of the sport and will be for as long as it exists.
Because of all of the above, I truly believe he’s the best CrossFit athlete in history. Of course it’s only an opinion and it’s just as valid as any.