As with any sport, there are a few figureheads that really become the spokespeople and examples for the rest of the community to follow. In crossfit, these people are generally determined based on their performances in the Crossfit Games, an event that has recently gotten more attention after appearing on ESPN.  The crossfit games amaze me partly because I am in awe of how far the sport has come (from the Games being a 20 person event in an open field to becoming a world-wide event on ESPN) and because of the amazing fitness prowess that is demonstrated by the crossfit athletes. And let me tell you, the fitness required to be in the top tier of these games is incredible. I cannot even begin to THINK about performing some of the lifts that the men and women completed in the 2013 games.

Due to the nature of the crossfit games, the winner of both the men’s and women’s competition is crowned the “fittest on earth.”  This may seem like an exaggeration but after seeing all the brutal rounds that these athletes are put through, I truly believe it to be true.  In this blog post, I just wanted to highlight the careers of the man and woman who won the Crossfit open in 2013. They truly are amazing and great examples to the Crossfit community.

The current fittest man on Earth is Rich Froning.  He is retained this title for the last three years as the reigning champ of the 2011, 2012 and 2013 crossfit games. He is a professional crossfit athlete who currently lives in Colorado. He is 5’ 9’’ and weighs 195 pounds. He has been known to create multiple crossfit workouts including the infamous “Bring Sally Up” (YOUTUBE IT).

The current fittest female on earth is Samantha Briggs. Not only is she 31 and from England, but she has also recovered from a year of no training with a knee injury. She used her time off to recover and then continued training, focusing on form and technique (two things that many crossfiters desperately need to work on).  After winning the games, she shared some of her training secrets with the world. Amazingly, they were pretty self-explanatory. “Rest Hard. Work Hard.” “Rest Actively.” “Work Your Weaknesses.”  Samantha is still a firefighter in her home England but is planning on taking a break and preparing herself for the 2014 games.

Both of these athletes have a tremendous level of overall fitness. As the Open Games rounds begin in the next month, I cannot wait to see what both will do this year.