Since it’s inception in 2007, the CrossFit Open and subsequent CrossFit Games has attracted hundreds of thousands of participants, all hopeful of being declared the fittest man or woman on the planet. After an intense Open and Regionals, the Games are finally upon us. Read on for some insight into the 2018 CrossFit Games odds.

What is the CrossFit Games?

CrossFit is a high-intensity strength and conditioning fitness regime that requires strength, stamina, power, speed, agility, balance and flexibility through varied and challenging workouts.

The CrossFit Games is composed of three stages at various points in the year, with the first stage being the Open (Feb 22 – March 26), the second stage the Regionals (May 18 – June 3), all culminating in the third and final stage being the CrossFit Games themselves (August 1 – 5).

For a full list of all the Regional workout events click here.

The Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin will host the 12th annual CrossFit Games in what is sure to be a tightly fought contest, especially in the women’s division.

The Games workout routine has not been released at the time of writing – keep an eye out for when they are as different events suit different athletes and could be the difference between winning and losing.

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2018 CrossFit Games odds: The top 10 men

2018 CrossFit Games odds: The top 10 men Athlete Odds* Matthew Fraser 1.25 Brent Fikowski 11.00 Patrick Vellner 16.00 B.K. Gudundsson 16.00 Noah Ohlsen 18.50 Ben Smith 26.00 Scott Panchik 26.00 Roman Khrennikov 26.00 Sean Sweeney 26.00 Rasmus Andersen 36.00

Why is Matthew Fraser such a short favourite?

Matthew Fraser (1.25*) is looking to secure a third successive CrossFit Games championship and with a strong second place overall showing at Regionals, finishing first in three out of the six events and is odds on to make it three in a row.

Fraser made his debut in 2014 and managed to achieve a second-place finish. He repeated the feat the following year before finally going one step further and becoming champion in 2016 and retaining in 2017. Fraser is strong in multiple disciplines and having shown so much consistency in the past, it will be a tough ask for anyone to dethrone the reigning king of fitness.

CrossFit is a high-intensity strength and conditioning fitness regime that requires strength, stamina, power, speed, agility, balance and flexibility through varied and challenging workouts.

Patrick Vellner (16.00*) actually finished above Fraser at Regionals despite a third-place finish being his best placing across the six events. However, as all of his placings were in the top 20, his cumulative score beat Fraser who’s first round 81st place ultimately cost him top spot. Vellner finished third in the Games in 2016 and will look to challenge Fraser for the title this time around.

Fellow Canadian Brent Fikowski (11.00*) achieved third place at Regionals, winning one event out of the six but his opening two rounds 37th and 43rd place finishes left him with too much work to do to secure top spot. His best finish at the Games was second place in 2017.

You can get odds of (16.00*) for someone else from The Field to make a late surge into contention, but it’s difficult to envisage anyone denying Fraser a third successive title.

2018 CrossFit Games odds: The top 10 women

2018 CrossFit Games odds: The top 10 women Athlete Odds* Tia-Clair Toomey 3.40 Katrin Davidsdottir 3.75 Kara Saunders 4.15 Sara Sigmundsdottir 5.21 Annie Thorisdottir 5.25 Tennil Beuerlein 32.29 Jamie Greene 32.29 Kari Pearce 32.29 Camille Leblanc-Bazinet 32.29

Kristin Holte 32.29

Is there value in the women’s CrossFit Games odds?

With the men’s contest appearing to be a foregone conclusion, the race to be declared the fittest woman on earth is far from predictable with five viable candidates (all from either Australia or Iceland) tussling for the top spot.

Australian Tia-Clair Toomey (3.40*) comes into the Games as defending champion and displayed positive momentum in Regionals finishing second overall and securing a first-place finish in the sixth event. Toomey came runner-up in the 2015 and 2016 Games before finally reaching top spot last year.

The Field for the women is priced a lot higher than the men’s field at 21.00* as it seems highly likely that the winner will be one of the five favourites.

Fellow Australian Kara Saunders (4.15*) is priced as Toomey’s closet rival at present, with Saunders finishing fourth overall at Regionals, winning event five in the process. However, there are three Icelandic natives who will provide fierce competition to the Australians – with two of those having championship pedigree.

CrossFit Games veteran Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir (3.75*) is a two-time champion in 2015 and 2016 (the Games where Toomey finished runner-up) and will be looking to become the first ever three times women’s champion after finishing first overall at this year’s Regionals.

Davidsdottir’s compatriot Annie Thorisdottir (5.25*) is yet another two-time champion (winning back in 2011 and 2012) and will look to make history of her own after a strong third-placed finish at Regionals. She didn’t win any of the six events however , with second in event five being her highest position.

Finally, Sara Sigmundsdottir (5.21*) rounds off our quintet of possible champions with two podium finishes in her last two CrossFit Games. She did finish in a disappointing 14th position at Regionals due in part to a nightmare event three where she placed 97th – effectively ruining her chances of challenging at the top end of the table.

Sigmundsdottir will be determined to reach the top step of the podium this time around and will no doubt want to be the best Icelandic woman at the Games at the very least. The Field for the women is priced a lot higher than the men’s field at 21.00* as it seems highly likely that the winner will be one of the five aforementioned women above.

This year’s games looks set to be yet another fascinating encounter and you can get the best odds with Pinnacle.