In sports when someone is awarded rookie of the year it is a sign that they can hang with the big dogs from the very first day.

However long it has taken them to reach the elite level does not matter, because now that they are here they are a force to be reckoned with.

In Crossfit that means possessing exceptional levels of strength, conditioning, and skills, that are on par with the best in the world.

All 6 rookies of the year from the past 6 years have finished inside the top 10 at their first Crossfit Games, but what really matters is what they did the following years.

2014 Rookie: Mat Fraser

4x Crossfit Games champion Mat Fraser finished just 50 points behind now 8x Crossfit Games champion Rich Froning at the 2014 Crossfit Games to earn himself 2nd place, rookie of the year, and show everyone he was here not only to participate but to win.

The following year in 2015 he once again took 2nd place, this time by only 36 points to now 11x Crossfit Games athlete Ben Smith.

Related: Why It Has Never Been Easier To Make It To The Crossfit Games

After the 2016 Crossfit Open where he finished 7th in the world Fraser has not seen a single finish below 1st place in any competition until he recently took 2nd in the 2020 Crossfit Open.

2016 Regionals: 1st

2016 Games: 1st

2017 Open: 1st

2017 Regionals: 1st

2017 Games: 1st

2018 Open: 1st

2018 Regionals: 1st

2018 Games: 1st

2019 Open: 1st

2019 Dubai Crossfit Championship: 1st

2019 Rogue Invitational: 1st

2019 Games: 1st

2015 Rookie: Tia-Clair Toomey

The first 3x Crossfit Games champion on the women’s side started out as the 2015 rookie of the year, finishing in 2nd just 40 points behind 2x Crossfit Games champion Katrin Davidsdottir.

The following year in 2016 she once again took 2nd place to Davidsdottir, but this time by only 11 points.

Related: The Social Media Impact of Toomey Joining NOBULL

Since then Toomey has been on a streak of 3 straight Crossfit Games championships by margins of 2 points over Kara Saunders in 2017, 64 points over Laura Horvath in 2018, and 195 points over Kristin Holte in 2019.

She also won both the 2019 Wodapalooza and Rogue Invitational sanctioned events.

2016 Rookie: Patrick Vellner

Patrick Vellner earned his 2016 3rd place podium finish and rookie of the year award by edging out his fellow Canadian countryman Brent Fikowski by only 2 points in a hard fought weekend long battle.

The only 2 people to beat him in his rookie year were Mat Fraser and Ben Smith, both Crossfit Games champions. Smith beat Vellner by 36 points.

Related: Fraser vs Vellner – 2019 Rogue Invitational Analysis

Following 2016 Vellner repeated the trend of finishing in the exact same spot as his rookie year and came in 3rd once again at the 2017 Games, this time trailing his friend and countryman Fikowski by 124 points.

At the 2018 Games Vellner finally bumped himself onto the second step of the podium finishing 2nd behind Mat Fraser.

Since then Vellner has won the 2019 Wodapalooza Sanctional, came in 16th at the 2019 Games, and won the worldwide 2020 Crossfit Open.

2017 Rookie: Jason Smith

Initially Ricky Garard was awarded rookie of the year for his 3rd place finish at the 2017 Games, but it was later found out that he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs which disqualified him and awards the rookie of the year to 10th place finisher Jason Smith.

Entering the 2017 Crossfit Games as a 33 year old rookie Jason Smith took six event finishes inside the top 8.

At the 2018 Meridian Regional he came in 7th, not earning himself a spot at the 2018 Games and ending his season early.

Related: How Many Crossfit Athletes Were Actually “Competitive”?

Following that he guaranteed his 2019 Games spot early by being crowned the South African national champion during the 2019 worldwide Open and later on finishing 29th at the 2019 Games.

2018 Rookie: Laura Horvath

Laura Horvath almost pulled off the upset for her rookie year and robbed Tia-Clair Toomey of her second straight championship but she fell 64 points short at the end of the weekend.

However it was not for lack of trying, Horvath actually ended up beating Toomey in 7 of the total 14 events at the 2018 Crossfit Games, including the last 3 events. (Full list of event wins in link below)

Related: Where Did Tia-Clair Toomey Beat Laura Horvath In 2018?

Since then it has been a bit a bumpy road for Horvath.

She was unable to finish both the Dubai Crossfit Championship and Rogue Invitational due to injuries, but she was able to come back strong with a 15th place overall finish at the 2019 Crossfit Games.

Perhaps with a fully healthy year she will be back on the podium soon.

2019 Rookie: Haley Adams

Yet another product of success from Crossfit Mayhem, Haley Adams surprised the Crossfit world when she finished 6th overall at the 2019 Crossfit Games at just 18 years old, earning rookie of the year honors.

Since then Adams has kept the momentum going by already securing herself a spot at the 2020 Crossfit Games due to her 32nd place finish in the 2020 Open.

We do not know yet where Adams will end up in 2020 but things are going in the right direction.

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