Road to the Games 26.03: The Mayhem Classic

On this episode of "Road to the Games," experience the Mayhem Classic through the eyes of top CrossFit athletes fighting for their ticket to the 2026 CrossFit Games. Paige Rodgers has competed at the Games twice as a teenager and twice as an individual, but this year is different — she's balancing it all with being a new mom. After competing at last year's Mayhem Classic just two months postpartum and finishing last, Rodgers is poised for a comeback. Second- and third-fittest women on Earth Lucy Campbell and Olivia Kerstetter are among an impressive field of other top women, including Abigail Domit, Emma Lawson, and Emily Rolfe. On the men's side, the roster is stacked with athletes such as 2026 Open winner Colten Mertens, multi-year Games athlete Austin Hatfield, fan favorite Roman Khrennikov, and French National Champion Victor Hoffer. The programming at the Mayhem Classic challenges even the best in the sport, who, at first, are asking, "Why only six events?" but between events are struggling to recover as they all realize the programming prowess of four-time CrossFit Games champion Rich Froning, owner of CrossFit Mayhem. Notable events include a surprise Event 1 that left athletes gasping for breath and fighting off leg cramps as they took on a 5K run with a brutal incline and burpees over a log. Gwen — unbroken heavy clean and jerks in sets of 15, 12, and 9 — proved challenging for many as we saw top athletes fail lifts, losing their grips in a way very uncharacteristic of the elite. High-skill gymnastics, heavy sandbags, and more, the Mayhem Classic kicked off the Semifinals stage of competition with a bang. Get tickets to the 2026 CrossFit Games here: https://cf.games/2026-Games-Tickets — The CrossFit Games are the ultimate proving grounds for the Fittest Man and Fittest Woman on Earth™ and are world-renowned as the definitive test of fitness. Every year since 2007, fans from around the world have attended the multi-day sporting event, streamed the competition online, or watched on ESPN, CBS, or a wide range of international broadcasts. The international field of play has included athletes from more than 120 countries. The CrossFit Games starts in the qualifying round with 300,000+ athletes competing around the world. Throughout the season the field is whittled down to just 560 athletes. Learn more about the CrossFit Games → https://cf.games/games-learn-more Learn more about CrossFit → https://www.crossfit.com/what-is-crossfit/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=crossfit Find a CrossFit gym near you → https://www.crossfit.com/map?utm_source=social&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=crossfit View CrossFit workouts → https://www.crossfit.com/workout?utm_source=social&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=crossfit Subscribe to CrossFit email newsletters → https://www.crossfit.com/newsletters/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=crossfit