2017 Games Recap
The 11th edition of the CrossFit Games in now in the books, and the Rogueteam was once again proud to be a part of it. With the event making its debut at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin (the first time the Gameshave been held east of the Rockies), anticipation was high from the get-go, and the competition lived up to the expectations.
A pair of Rogue athletes secured first place finishes, as Mat Fraser won his second consecutive men’s title and Tia-Clair Toomey – a two-time runner-up-finally got over the hump to become the “Fittest Woman on Earth.”
As the longtime Official Equipment Supplier of the Games, Rogue stepped things up to another level this year, as well, sending 40 semi-trailers up from Columbus to Madison for the event. This convoy of trucks contained 1,500 barbells, 400,000 LBS of bumpers, 5,000 linear feet of pull-up bars, and plenty more.
If you weren’t able to attend the Games or missed any of the coverage on the CBS Sports Network, here are some of the main implements we built for this year’s competition:
The O-Course
When CrossFit first said they wanted us to design and build a military style obstacle course, we knew it would be a challenge. But we also knew we were up to the task. After months of design, manufacturing, testing and installation, the O-Course made its first appearance on Friday morning in Madison.
Rogue Rigs
This year we introduced three new A-Frame rigs at heights of 12′, 15′ and 25′, along with a 10 lane pullup rig seen in the Muscle-Up Clean Ladder event on Saturday. They were big, they were bold, and they easily handled anything the Games competitors could throw at them.
Cerakote Bars
On Saturday evening we debuted our lineup of Cerakote barbells during the Squat Clean event. Cerakote is a unique polymer-ceramic composite coating-popularized in the gun industry for its durability in thin applications. This unique finish can deliver superb abrasion/wear/corrosion resistance over time-100X that of standard black zinc. We’re extremely excited to finally release the new bars to the public with many more colors to follow.
Strongman Sandbags
First used during the final event of CrossFit Regionals, the Rogue Strongman Sandbags made their way to Madison to test these athletes again, this time in a new color. In a nod to Madison and the state of Wisconsin, athletes hauled the Rogue “Cheese Curds” over bails of hay during the Madison Triplet Event.
The Bangers
After a much anticipated event release on Friday night, CrossFit GamesDirector Dave Castro signaled for our Crew to roll out the surprise implement for the final event of Day 2: The Banger. Paying homage to the 2012 CrossFit Games when we first saw it on the competition floor, the Banger tests a simple task-here’s a block of steel, move it.
Farmer’s Carry
Manufactured in Ohio, twenty-four of the Slater Farmer’s Walk Timber Handles were custom made for this year’s competition. Weighing in at 115 LBS each (before the addition of plates), the Timber Handles took a full 10 days to make before getting shipped up to Madison.