It’s almost time for the 2018 CrossFit Games Championship — and that means it’s almost time to find out who the “Fittest on Earth” really is.
It’s been a long — and challenging — road for competitors like Josh Bridges, Mat Fraser, Scott Panchik, Ben Smith, Patrick Vellner, Margaux Alvarez, Chyna Cho, Lauren Fisher, Tia-Clair Toomey and Brooke Wells to make it through the CrossFit Open to the Regionals, but they’ve made it to the pinnacle of the sport.
But they’re not done quite yet.
What is the 2018 CrossFit Games Championship?
The 2018 CrossFit Games Championship is an event designed to “test, not train, fitness” and find out who has the most endurance, strength and mobility. The five-day event is chock-full of workouts (known as WODs) designed to push competitors to their limits.
The athletes participating in the 2018 CrossFit Games Championship typically don’t know what they’ll be doing until the day of the competition, but CrossFit Games Director Dave Castro revealed that the first day of the competition will be “the hardest day in the history of the CrossFit Games,” he told the competitors at a pre-2018 CrossFit Games Championship dinner.
“I did not lie. You guys will row 42,000 meters.”
The first individual event on opening day of the 2018 CrossFit Games Championship will be a criterium bike race, known as a “Crit.” The event will be 10 laps around a 1,200-meter track, for a total of 7.5 miles. Individual event 2 will be 30 muscle-ups on one set of rings and event 3 will be the CrossFit Total, an event where the athletes attempt three one-repetition maximum challenges.
.@IcelandAnnie ??processing 42,195 meters of traveling in the same place. #MarathonRow pic.twitter.com/xVKONnJB8n
— The CrossFit Games (@CrossFitGames) July 31, 2018
And all of that is before the 42,000-meter row, which is equal in distance to a full marathon. It’s the longest distance CrossFit competitors have ever rowed, with the previous record distance being a half marathon during the 2013 Games.
When is the 2018 CrossFit Games Championship?
The 2018 CrossFit Games Championship is scheduled for Wednesday, August 1 through Sunday, August 5 at the Alliant Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
What do the winners of the 2018 CrossFit Games Championship get?
The winners of the 2018 CrossFit Games Championship get the title of “Fittest on Earth,” but they make bank, too.
The top 20 overall winners receive large cash prizes.
-First place: $300,000
-Second place: $100,000
-Third place: $75,000
-Fourth place: $50,000
Those who place fifth through 20th place receive anywhere from $35,000 to $7,000. There are also smaller cash awards for top finishes in individual events, the Masters and Team divisions.
You can see how people are placing in events via the 2018 CrossFit Games Championship Leaderboard.
How to watch the 2018 CrossFit Games Championship
Rather watch other people work out from the comfort of your couch? We understand — and luckily there are plenty of ways to catch the 2018 CrossFit Games Championship, both online and on your TV screen.
You can stream the CrossFit Games for free on CBSSports.com and on Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast and Amazon Fire TV via the CBS Sports App. The CBS Sports App also works on iOS and Android devices for mobile viewing.
Just want to watch the highlights? You can watch CBS Sports Network during the 2018 CrossFit Games Championship for all the notable happenings of the day. The highlights start at 10 p.m. on August 2.
Still not enough? Watch live coverage on CBS both Saturday, August 4, and Sunday, August 5, during the afternoon hours.
