Athletes are hopefully resting and recharging after what was, no doubt, the hardest day one in Games history. Dave Castro warned this one would be unlike all the others, but he says that about everything. This time, he wasn’t kidding. Day 1. Was. Ridiculous.

The four events — count ’em, FOUR — capped off with a marathon row, which we guess these competitors won’t be doing again anytime soon. At the end of the day, once the leaderboard was finalized, Mat Fraser was unsurprisingly in first, although not by much. Lukas Hogberg is a mere two points behind, not leaving much room for Fraser to get cozy.


On the ladies’ side, Laura Horvath leads the pack with a 12-point margin, followed by Tia-Clair Toomey in second and Annie Thorisdottir in third. This is going to be a close race, though, because all of the current top eight (ish) women all enjoyed some time in first place throughout the day. They’re all hungry, and they’re all fully capable of being crowned Fittest on Earth.

All of the marathon rows and big lifts and event wins don’t come without a few downsides, though. For a couple of athletes, the Games ended for them not long after it started. During Event 1, Michele Fumagalli fell off her bike on the last turn during the last lap of the crit. The chain separated from her bike, so she picked it up and ran to the finish line.

While she seemed okay, it turns out she sustained a serious enough injury to need to withdraw. She explained in an Instagram post that she broke and dislocated her wrist and will need to undergo surgery. While she was understandably upset, she wrote, “… I know this will only make me a stronger and better person!”

Very unfortunate, but we admire her positive attitude.

Alexandre Caron also withdrew after the CrossFit Total. While attempting a back squat, he failed the rep and bailed out, seemingly unharmed and finishing the event. However, he later appeared to be experiencing some discomfort, and according to the leaderboard, he’s out of the Games.

While there were indeed a few disappointments, Day 1 was largely one of celebration. One athlete in particular people are talking about is Pat Vellner. Many have predicted we’ll see him on the top of the podium when all is said and done, but he got off to a rough start.

During Event 1, the chain popped off his bike and he had to stop on the side of the track to get a new one. Needless to say, this put him far behind and he ended up finishing in 35th place.

He is not to be underestimated, though.

After a ninth, second, and fifth place finish in Events 2, 3, and 4 respectively, he’s already worked his way back up to sixth place overall. Never count Vellner out!

Day 1 didn’t disappoint. Athletes, rest up! The fun is just getting started.

Main image: Royce Dunne/Instagram

Related Blogs