The Last Untouchables

CrossFit may currently be in its most competitive era ever. The level is higher than it was ten years ago, the top is broader, and at every major event there are multiple athletes who can realistically win. Yet that is precisely why I see more and more clearly just how exceptional true dominance really is.

We use the word "dominant" fairly quickly these days. Win a season, claim a Games title, or put a few big competitions back to back, and you are soon placed in the same bracket as the greatest names in the sport's history. But to me, there is a difference between being a champion and being untouchable.

When I look back at the history of the CrossFit Games, I ultimately arrive at three names that stand above the rest: Rich Froning, Matt Fraser, and Tia-Clair Toomey. But even within that group, there is a separate category for me. In it, I really only find Fraser and Toomey.

Why Froning Was Different

Let one thing be clear: Rich Froning is one of the greatest athletes this sport has ever produced.

His four consecutive Games titles set the standard against which every new champion was measured for years. He also remained relevant as a team athlete long after that and grew into one of the most influential figures in CrossFit.

Yet during his dominant years, Froning felt different from Fraser and Toomey.

Not because he was less capable, but because as a spectator you could still point to moments where opportunities existed. There were events in which he was more vulnerable than his competitors. His enormous competitive intelligence, mental strength, and ability to limit damage ultimately made the difference.

Fraser and Toomey barely had that problem. Their rivals spent years searching for a weak spot and simply never found one.

The Current Champions Fall Short

That brings us to the current generation.

Take James Sprague. His Games title was impressive and fully deserved. But nobody looks at Sprague and thinks he is the favorite on every possible test. His victory came in a highly competitive field where the margins were small. That makes him an excellent champion, but not yet an athlete who rises above the sport.

The same applies to Justin Medeiros.

Medeiros won two Games titles and possesses an exceptional engine, fighting spirit, and competitive awareness. Yet his career has also shown that there are clear areas where competitors can put him under pressure. His results fluctuate more than Fraser's ever did. When Fraser stepped onto the competition floor, the question was often how many points he would win by. With Medeiros, it is usually whether he can win.

That may seem like a small distinction, but it is a world of difference.

The Women Are More Competitive Than Ever

On the women's side, we see the same thing.

Laura Horvath is without question one of the best female CrossFit athletes of her generation. Her strength, work capacity, and determination have earned her a Games title and kept her at the top of the world for years.

Yet Horvath has never fully escaped discussions about specific weaknesses. Over the years, there were events that consistently gave her more trouble than the rest of her program. That alone places her outside the category that Fraser and Toomey occupied for so long.

Aimee Cringle is another interesting example.

She is developing at a rapid pace and has by now proven she can compete with the very best in the world. But her career is still in a phase where she is primarily showing how much potential she has. Untouchability is not built in a single season or a single standout performance. It only emerges when years of consistency remove every last doubt.

And that is precisely the distinction.

The Standard Remains Absurdly High

Perhaps that is the greatest compliment you can pay Fraser and Toomey.

The current generation is stronger. The competition is broader. The talent is closer together than ever before. Yet nobody manages to project the same sense of inevitability that they did during their peak years.

A bad day for many current champions means a finish outside the top ten. A bad day for Fraser or Toomey often meant a finish around fifth or sixth place, followed by winning two events the very next day.

That level of control over a sport is rare.

Is a New Untouchable on the Way?

That is the interesting question for the years ahead.

James Sprague has the age and the talent to keep developing. Justin Medeiros has already proven he can win multiple titles. Laura Horvath remains a threat on every major stage. Aimee Cringle is among the most promising women in the sport right now.

But to truly enter the conversation that Fraser and Toomey dominated for years, they need to do more than win.

They need to make their competitors feel that beating them is nearly impossible.

Only then will we stop talking about champions.

Then we will be talking about the untouchables.