The 2022 Rogue Invitational CrossFit contest took place from October 27-30, in Austin, Texas. The four-day action took place at the Dell Diamond stadium, while the sunny Texas days allowed for a very enjoyable show. It is evident that both the women’s and men’s divisions gave it their all in all ten workouts, making this one of the most interesting competitions in recent memory. Having beaten 19 rivals in their respective divisions, Justin Medeiros and Laura Horvath were crowned the champions of the 2022 Rogue Invitational.
Coming into the 2022 Rogue Invitational, Justin Medeiros was arguably under most pressure, having won the show last year. With every single athlete gunning for his title, Justin had to put in a hard shift in every event. Despite not being as consistent as he usually knows how to be, Justin managed to clinch out a victory on the last event ahead of Jeffrey Adler, Chandler Smith, and Pat Vellner.
On the other hand, Laura Horvath managed to win four events in a row at one point of the competition, which gave her a very comfortable advantage over everyone. She held on to her lead and never let anyone threaten her first place due to her experience as an athlete. The absence of last year’s champion Tia-Clair Toomey was also beneficial for Laura.
Related: Justin Medeiros Wins 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games To Defend His Title At Only 23-Years-Old
Justin Medeiros’ Performance Dissected
- First Event — 5th place
- Second Event — 1st place
- Third Event — 3rd place
- Fourth Event — 5th place
- Fifth Event — 12th place
- Sixth Event — 1st place
- Seventh Event — 16th place
- Eight Event — 8th place
- Ninth Event — 7th place
- Tenth Event — 5th place
The first and second days were just what was expected from Justin Medeiros, as he won one of the events and placed top five in all other three. This hinted towards his typical consistent performance, which so often earns him victories.
However, day three was a difficult one for Justin Medeiros, as he got a 12th and 16th place finish in events five and seven. He did manage to soften the blow by winning event six, but he ultimately lost the top spot heading into the final day.
Justin Medeiros retook first place on day four as Roman Khrennikov failed to defend his position. However, some other athletes got closer to Justin and it all went down to the final event. In addition, up until the end of the final event it seemed that Pat Vellner would be the new champion. However, Justin put on the burners and overtook Vellner to defend his title.
Laura Horvath’s Performance Dissected
- First Event — 9th place
- Second Event — 14th place
- Third Event — 1st place
- Fourth Event — 1st place
- Fifth Event — 1st place
- Sixth Event — 1st place
- Seventh Event — 2nd place
- Eight Event — 19th place
- Ninth Event — 7th place
- Tenth Event — 3rd place
With relatively sub-par performances on events one and two, the chances of winning looked very slim for Laura Horvath. However, she managed to turn the situation around completely and accomplish something that was never done in a Rogue Invitational before. Laura won the next four events and the tides quickly turned in her favor.
Coming into the final day with a 75-point lead, it was almost certain that Laura Horvath would become the new Rogue Invitational champion. However, her second-to-last place finishes in event eight made for a bit of a predicament. Regardless, Laura kept her cool and secured her title with two solid performances in the final events.
Related: CrossFit Icon Rich Froning Jr. Retires From Teams Division, Possible Move To Masters Division
In conclusion, the 2022 Rogue CrossFit Invitational justified all of the hype that was building around it for the past few weeks. In addition, Justin Medeiros and Laura Horvath were both awarded $218,643 for their efforts, which will be a massive motivation to continue improving their skills.
Published: 30 October, 2022 | 7:15 PM EDT
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