In 2022 a new mastermind entered the arena to craft the tests for the Fittest on Earth. Longtime CrossFit Games Head Judge and Seminar Staff Flowmaster Adrian Bozman's approach to programming the CrossFit Games brought the sport's top athletes back to the basics while challenging them to develop new skills. Tia-Clair Toomey vied for an unprecedented sixth title while rumors of retirement swirled and Mal O'Brien continued to rise. Meanwhile, 2021 Fittest Man on Earth Justin Medeiros worked to defend his title against determined competitors such as Roman Khrennikov - a multiyear qualifier who had yet to step onto the Games competition floor - and Ricky Garard, newly returned from a four-year ban for violating CrossFit's drug policy. In "Fittest on Earth: Retro/Active," watch as athletes face familiar movements with new twists, some thriving and others learning the hard way to begin anew with the basics, this time paying more attention.
From Rich Froning and Annie Thorisdottir to Mat Fraser and Tia-Clair Toomey - if each new generation of champions sees further than the one before, it's because they stand on the shoulders of giants. When Fraser declared he would retire from competition after the 2020 season, he opened the door to a new wave of challengers. In 2021, new and seasoned competitors marked the 15th year of the Games with 15 events designed to test the limits of human potential and their worthiness to be called the fittest. Amid the surprises, upsets, and staggering displays of incomparable athleticism, Toomey ticked on with consistency and calm like a clock in a thunderstorm, all while shattering records and securing her place as the most unbeatable athlete in CrossFit Games history. At the 2021 Games, we witnessed the return of some of the sport's greats and the rise of the new initiates - those who will carry the mantle of the Fittest on Earth for the next generation.