What Worked and What Didn’t with Cole Sager and Travis Mayer

A great overall recap of this weekends competition, with two overall great humans and athletes.

[@benwhitnell]

Man this guy was all OVER the place the last few days. Way to put in the work Rory, really interesting interviews.

[@dylanpardon9723]

I thought the cuts down to 20 were really well done and it really felt like a genuine "top 20", but then to cut down to 10 in one short event decided by 100ths of a second really killed the excitement, and then we pretty much spent 2 days watching the same 10 dudes/chicks compete

[@bweb6]

Yeah, totally agree with this. I really felt the cut to 10 athletes should have come at the end of Saturday's events leaving the top 10 to fight it out on Sunday.

[@casualarrogance]

There should be 3 events per day. One cardio/single modality oriented (run/row/swim), another focused on strength/weightlifting, and the last one a mixed modality (pure CrossFit). The cut at the end of each day, so every athlete can be tested in every aspect of fitness.

[@donethier7935]

Yes I agree they should have went with 20 athletes to the end, just look at were the tenth place athletes finished, I know that those bottom ten athletes would have given the top ten a run for there money.

[@Mfos2435]

@@casualarrogance Having a specific structure, such as what you've proposed, is exactly what CrossFit isn't.

[@casualarrogance]

Michael Foster No because it’s exactly what CrossFit is. M-W-G and everything mixed, each week. Then repeat. Plus, a test of fitness should be broad, general and inclusive. Broad time and modal domains, anyone? If the order of the events determines the results, it’s not a test anymore. It’s a show.

[@sdownscali]

Both of these guys 100% spot on. Cole has the best attitude in the game.

[@RoosterJaxn]

Awesome job keeping the community posted on what's going on. Thank you!

[@jasonjeffries5421]

Cole and Travis are two of my favorite athletes. I’ve been following them this past year on social media (Instagram/KZbin) and always appear to be upbeat and down to earth. So when they got cut I was super bummed. It’s nice to see they’re keeping everything in perspective and are staying positive. And that makes ME feel better. Which is the most important thing. How I feel. Thanks for the great interview Rory!

[@jeffjohnsonization]

Cole Sager is the people's champ. Travis Mayer is a class act. Great duo to bring on Rory.

[@sethhall6200]

Hey rory, thanks for doing these interviews. I'm really enjoying them Also, you're a great interviewer. good questions and you don't come off fake when asking them.

[@stevenroberts5741]

Best interviews by far. Genuine, thoughtful, good stuff.

[@jewelofnile12]

Cole Sager = Class Act. Love this interview with Cole and Travis.

[@LadyCav04]

Three class acts! Really enjoyed hearing opinions that are intelligent, respectful and solutions based. Well done!

[@heiditoevs2818]

Thank you for putting out these interviews. It was a great perspective to hear from these athletes fresh off the games and allow them to voice their opinions freely.

[@julietschutte966]

So great! Thank you for all your hard work Rory!

[@buddypop9358]

Cole, positive as always, thanks for being you.. Travis, same sentiment. Two gentlemen athletes. I agree with the top 20 through the weekend, but the scoring at 10 point difference makes for a great test, the seconds idea take me back to whether the sprint was fair.

[@4pawreiki]

Great interview. Also loved the professionalism of Cole and Travis that says a lot about them as athletes 😊

[@rgaylemmich7173]

Insightful and inspiring. Great interview with 2 amazing athletes & great ambassadors of the sport. Well done Rory 👌

[@alykissas]

Love your interviews, Rory! Keep it up. They're really enjoyable to watch

[@228danjo]

Great episode. You do a great job interviewing and getting the athletes to express their feeling. Just keep them coming my man!

[@Kat-hi3vy]

You have put up some really interesting and intelligent interviews. The perspectives seem thought out and look to be coming from a place of reflection and not fault finding which is very mature given how raw these wounds are. I hope that those responsible for future decisions will be approaching the autopsy of these games with the same thoughtfulness because there is quite a bit to be learned and understood about these games. 2019 Games cannot be repeated unless your aim is to destroy your fanbase. Plus with the present media package, they aren't attracting anyone new either.

[@trentbarkdull4449]

When Ben Bergeron opens the door and takes a thoughtful survey of the room before closing it 😂🤣

[@MissMakeItRain2010]

Trent Barkdull lol bc I was about to comment the same thing!!!

[@ArsenDanylenko]

Rory, nice to see you here! Really interesting content!

[@32917dannyboy]

Hey Roy are you going to try and interview Sara?

[@nuttypRofesa]

Thank you for these interviews I appreciated hearing from the athletes perspective.

[@health.mom.summer]

I've been all over these interviews, I'm on the same page with you guys. Great Interviews the past few days!

[@jasonpetrie7831]

I've been watching these games since 2009 and I look forward to them each summer. We've seen the sport blow up and has become mainstream, unfortunately though, the judging and formatting has not kept up. Every year we've seen mistakes by volunteer judges cost athletes placing, prize money, etc... The attempt to make the games bigger and better this year has been a debacle

[@feelingCanadians]

So true! There's more things bigger than the podium! Well said Cole Sager!

[@nicoleheitzman4460]

Travis and Cole are fantastic athletes and I can't wait to see what comes next

[@michaelreimer845]

Great work Rory, on helping us digest this weekend and digging into finding problems to solve to make the CrossFit games even better for next year. As a UX Designer (& Crossfitter) I really love your design thinking mindset. Great user interviews :)

[@wgeffon]

Best interview with Cut Athletes so far. These guys are not making excuses or blaming the new format. I felt others were..

[@howardahhon7600]

GREAT INTERVIEWS!!! It's always fascinating getting into the MINDS of these athlete, the REAL OGs of the SPORT!!! I can totally feel their FUSTRATION!!! They train ALL year round to SHOWCASE their God given talent to the WORLD but then get cut short due to bad events before the CUT?!?! T T Not even well rounded EVENTS before they cut them. I can totally forsee them EXCELLING in the other events that came AFTER the cut!!! We can only IMAGINE how well they COULD'VE done?!?!... =(

[@michaelguest4247]

Cuts are fine, but just make the final cut at the end of Saturday.

[@PainterFRO]

Cole is Awesome..Great job on these interviews Ro..If you interview Dave find out how Fraser drops a weight and finishes without it and gets a 60-second penalty on a 25 min workout, Wells steps over a lane line and gets a 10-second penalty on a sub 30-second workout?

[@deborahashby1908]

Cole said it perfect. Just wish the cut wasn’t until Saturday night.

[@Swan__fit]

Fucking good questions. Favourite interview from the games so far.

[@Brianblb0215]

Cole is the best

[@TrueRahf]

The cuts should leave 20 athletes for Sunday. That way there is a chance for a portion of the field to work their way into the top 10, or just improve their position for a bigger pay-day. Now we lost all specialists--big guys and gals--in what felt like one day.

[@bryanedwards1353]

2020 games. 1. Rogue takes over. 2. 5 international comps around the world and 25 male and 25 females qualify. 20 teams 3. Games is a 3 day event with 9-11 events and no cuts. 4. Dave Castro has zero involvement.

[@kirstenrussell3055]

The biggest issue I have with the new format is that I want to watch how the top athletes stack up against each other. And when you see people unable to pick up a bar in the first event of the top ten, I don't think I'm watching the top athletes.

[@nifer77]

Amen to that. Cut to 10 was made too soon.

[@jasonpetrie7831]

kirsten russell agreed!

[@Sejdr]

They should have kept the Top-20 all weekend pure and simple. This was more Hunger Games 2019 than the Fittest in the World. #GlassmanClusterFuck2019

[@suebyrne7739]

Hey Rory - I would love you to interview Dave Castro and ask him did he think he got it right? I don’t know, would of been nice to keep the 20 there til end of day but also the logistics of that with the work outs made that tough. So I’m sitting on fence. Try interview Castro. Great vlogs Rory, well done.

[@balledout30]

Yes plz

[@bigskydiy877]

The depth of talent that has been displayed historically in the games is amazing, but the intense cutoffs virtually eliminated the depth of talent in the field. It felt like if a competitor had any weakness in any of the early events then they were eliminated, but historically that competitor came back. In these games, Rich Froning may not have even placed or made it to the top 10. The games itself is a marathon+ and maybe scoring could be done differently, but the eliminations basically ruined this years games from a fan standpoint. We like to see all the competitors compete. Elimination should have already been done on the road to the games... not at the games in that way. There is no comeback story (maybe a 1-2 place shift) like what we have seen from people like Patrick Velner... It is amazing to see them compete their way to the top. and "Was this a comprehensive test of fitness?" of course the answer is yes, for the individual, but comprehensive in view of the talent in the field... no, it is not. Comprehensive means inclusive and complete, The eliminations that took place took away from that and reduced the level of competition, instead of elevate it.

[@michaelguest4247]

The Athletes are at the whims of Glassman and Castro. These are the sort of variables that they cannot control that starts screaming that they need an athletes union.

[@RogueCylon]

Having just a top ten made it truly dull. There were highlights, but the spirit was gone.

[@wilfriedl.3233]

Thank you Rory, all these "post cut(S) interviews" were really good. IMHO, they are the best content of this "4 days CF Games weekend" (Outside of the CF Games themselves, of course!). It's always good to see how Athletes cope with and analyze the situation... Meaning they cope and analyze it much better than the social network(S) crowd #EverbodyIsACoachOrADirectorOfTheGames out there. About analyzing the situation, I think a "Constructing the CF Games, part 2: the 2019 CF Games" by Dave Castro would be really interesting to see the logic behind the cuts vs order of events vs timeline and logistics vs the evolution of CrossFit/the test. I would buy this book :).

[@michaelguest4247]

Cole Sager is awesome and I so wish he was the owner of CrossFit instead of Glassman.

[@lizzerdlegz2732]

Please do Sarah !!

[@HUVideoer]

Yes please

[@RhinoAg]

Cole Sager is peak human.

[@Koipondpete]

wanting extra money for day care really hit home hard... if only it was 6k for 6 months!

[@anglshaz]

So not to be funny but what Cole said about the first workout being a 'Sunday morning workout' is totally why everything was chopped and changed around. People got too stuck in the way it has been for years. I don't think that they should have ended on a sprint. But the WODs in general were CrossFit in the box workouts

[@DOCvip808]

So much respect for these two!

[@Neptuneactual01]

This new format just allows for athletes to burn out on the first days to get into the top 10 and then do nothing and still be #10 fittest on earth

[@robertkreft8001]

Study the correlation between placing in the 2019 Games and length of the competitor. You will se smaller athlets placing better than taller (heavier) people. 4 of the first 6 events was to a high degree related to body size and ROM. The new games format with cuts needs smart and well structured programming if we want a well designed test of fitness. Earlier when all competitors made all the events the design part was "easier" for Castro. I dont think anyone at CFHQ are pleased with this years outcome with only the shorter players in the final.

[@Stu_Pedazzo]

None of these athletes are going to say what they REALLY want to say, since their entire careers are connected to the CF Games. Testing is one thing, but Castro is playing with peoples’ careers and I find it manipulative.

[@casualarrogance]

Catherine P No. Not anymore. You can actually make more money just winning Sanctionals than placing at the Games.

[@dallanlax]

There should be 5 tests across the different domains, and then start the cuts. Get down to the final 20 and let them go at it.

[@jaclynrobertson6727]

Hahaha travis Meyer converts dollars into diapers 🤣🤣🤣

[@tashejacobs8215]

I agree with travis Mayer. I really like Noah and Mat but I cheered for Noah but the 12 event didn't matter because even if he took first.... there was no way there would be enough people going for it to put points between Mat. I don't think you guys are complaining, it's a discussion. P.s. Cole Sager I love watching your channel.

[@MarketMeKC]

Athlete’s Union. The NBA says, “The players are our partners.” CrossFit is a small enough community with the top athletes known that they could pretty easily unionize.

[@jaclynrobertson6727]

The athletes are spot on but theyre saying it in such gracious forward thinking ways. Just another reason why crossfit athletes are the classiest

[@justusmurimi4643]

2 questions. Does Rory have a video of his thoughts? Also, if the same champions won what does that mean about the cuts?

[@KH-ur9ed]

They made a good point about putting more people between Olsen and Fraser on those events that Fraser wasn't good at, may have totally changed the outcome. Additionally, those who were good at strength conditioning and could have challenged Fraser in the gym were cut in those early cuts.

[@dzudiy8806]

Honestly I think that it would go other way around, with Noah loosing points on Matt more rapidly. After cutting to 20 we had 6 events. Fraser finished before Noah on 5 of them, with 4 1st place finishes. It is quite probable that on Clean event or Sprint events which weren't in Olsen's wheel house, the amount of athletes snicking between Matt and Noah would lose him lead even faster then just with 10 people. For swim event that Matt lost to Noah - yeah there would be more people between them but Matt is not a bad swimmer and looking historically into his swim events finishes he had always solid positions.

[@alexanderhitch5786]

Ben Bergeron VideoBombing at 31:18

[@RosanaLobs]

I THINK Cole made a signal with his hand for him to leave. Did you notice?

[@rafaelvalles9963]

Everyone is so afraid of Castro’s retaliation....

[@Hopperstien]

Cutting the field past 20 athletes was the worst decision.

[@bigwill4978]

Well said, Cole!!!👍

[@RaTekNeek]

Even just letting athletes know when cuts will be made from the beginning.

[@johnolympia007]

Do they still have one guy choosing all the events for the games?

[@weightliftinghobbyist1707]

@31:19 Ben Bergeron "Oh, I thought this was the bathroom...sorry"

[@patouwhale]

Fact is that the fans and athletes would rather see a lot more athletes competing until the last round. So the Games organisers cheated the two most important groups, the fans and athletes. The CFG risk marginalising itself amongst all of the crossfit events around the world, but that is also likely the intention of the crossfit HQ. De-emphasise the games from crossfit

[@giovannarandolph5454]

Yup. I'm not paying money to go to feel cheated out of seeing tons of athletes I spend time to following. This wasn't done for the fans. I can't figure out why it was done, but it wasn't for us. The people who help fund this event.

[@BernhardKohli]

Giovanna Cervantes Thank goodness for the Sanctionals. And hopefully, Glassman and Castro LISTEN to athletes and fans and commentators instead of just PREACHING.

[@jenihendrix3927]

Anybody know where I can watch the master games?

[@larrysupersport]

Gotta wonder how many people practiced a cargo net in the off season after last year? LOL!!

[@TheTrilogy2012]

I thought that the games were great again this year. I agree that the first event was the perfect event to kick it all off and determine who should be moving forward with a Crossfit workout. However, I think it was cut from 20 to 10 way too quickly in an event that was determined by hundredths of a second. They should've cut down to 10 on Sunday. That would've allowed the "run" to be in the top 10 more interesting. They should've followed the same cut pattern as what they did with the teams. Just my opinion...

[@jamesanderson6130]

Was this a valid test as to the fittest on earth? No, unequally scaled events, the order of events giving us a heavy endurance vs strength events. This was a great test of fitness but not a test of the greatest fitness.

[@nGUNNARp]

to be fair, none of the crossfit games have ever been a test of the greatest fitness....there are all kinds of fitness and the whole "fittest on earth" title is silly anyways, "best crossfitter" is more appropriate, but less catchy

[@jamesanderson6130]

Nick Peterson I mean saying fittest on earth is a hard claim to make, though historically I think they have done a good job of trying to balance tests of numerous modalities, endurance, speed, strength, etc at very least it has been the best most varied test of fitness that I am aware of.

[@joetito706]

Turn off your camera's auto focus when you shoot stuff like this with little movement. Flip to manual focus, set the focus and let it ride. The buzzing sound of the lens focusing is really distracting.

[@gurrag78]

Hey Ro! Could you put the mic on a separate pice of furniture next time? My base was thumping every time someone touched the table :) And this was the ONLY thing i had to complain about! a thousand thumbs up!

[@DWHGWIHW]

All I have to say is that if everyone is talking about how this was a disaster with out calling a disaster then it was obviously a disaster lol. I really hope they figure it out for next year.

[@sallyortega5065]

The athlete who will improve next year are the ones who place the blame on themselves and not the programming or when the cut took place. It is not the strongest who wins. It is not the smartest who wins. It's the one who quickly adapts wins. Be ready for anything.

[@geoffb2219]

Wow really enjoy YOUR CONTENT .... BUT am really having a HARD HARD HARD TIME with the cuts to 10 after a SPRINT event SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sad, what a BIG DOWNER never should have happened. I could say so much more, but feel everyone knows were I'm coming from. Really these TOP athletes training and training all YEAR for this EVENT -----just can't say how DISAPPOINTING this was.

[@soc8581]

I would slow the cut process down, don't go from 140 to 75 in the first event and don't cut down to 10 until Saturday night.

[@MrPiras1970]

Cuts should have been at end of each day

[@casualarrogance]

150-75-40-20 every night.

[@cm2485]

Glassman are you listening ? How is "your global vision" for crossfit somehow being impacted by putting up a decent test at the Games...?

[@lukezuhhh]

Aye Rory u hit 8k and W H E R E TH E SHOU TOUT

[@DarrylakaDray]

I’ll say it for you guys, this years CrossFit games was utter trash.

[@assetactivities]

my first year watching the crossfit games and there seems to be a lot of negativity from the athletes

[@casualarrogance]

dyl, the young go watch 2016/2017/2018 games and you will understand why.

[@timmichael7982]

I think the issue around the cuts is not only timing but the point system around the cuts. Athletes who did well early were essentially penalized whereas those who had a bad event early and got a 17th etc. were completely benefited. Wins didn't weigh the same from beginning to end and I have a hard time agreeing with that.

[@TheHistoryReader]

Interesting point you make here, I hadn't thought about it that way but it makes complete sense. Overall I found the weekend quite exciting. I think that there are certainly some issues - cutting half the athletes based on a sprint was a huge mistake. Also cutting that early in the weekend was possibly not the best choice. I did however enjoy the different formats the events could take based on the reduced field, and the huge point differentials made watching super fun towards the end as the stakes got higher. The scoring also got simpler at the end of the weekend you could more easily translate placings to the leader board during events.

[@asburycollins9182]

Totally agree! Id like to see a few different events before any cuts.

[@bairdstuff101]

Not sure how fast = fit so sprinting is cool but not at all a fitness test that should be used for elimination, same with PR lifts. Cuts should be done in the Arena with Crossfit WOD's

[@sabertoothwallaby2937]

Whose idea was this new format?

[@airplane3359]

Can you interview the winners?

[@michaelguest4247]

Froning wouldn't have won a single individual CrossFit crown under this new format. Not a single one.

[@casualarrogance]

Michael Guest even Mat wasn’t the usual Mat because of this.

[@michaelguest4247]

@@casualarrogance So very true.

[@ldy2742]

No way the hopper pulls out all running and gymnastics

[@stevenpachan3920]

Just be better.

[@stiritup4663]

None of this has anything to do with what’s fair. We spectators are pissed off because this year’s Games weren’t fun to watch.

[@JB11334]

Stir It Up I thought it was exciting to watch. I have been to regionals and the Games as a spectator for 11 years. This was my favorite Games.

[@RaTekNeek]

That communication part is big for me. As a spectator I want to know wtf is going on. This surprise shit is getting old. Planning is a part of competition. In REAL sports, teams know who they're playing and what game.

[@Jnnyw]

Wheelhouse is all I hear...crossfit is about being good all across the spectrum of physical activity so I'm not really moved by this...the cuts are a different question. True, bit too dramatic in my opinion, but to the raging fans...please we have a ton of sanctions, you can watch your fav compete like potentially 7 times a year, no just 2

[@dawnfiegen3249]

I think this weekend DID reveal that we are married to a format actually.

[@rafaelvalles9963]

Dawn Fiegen just like the Olympics and it’s not bad

[@StevenRayGarcia]

Sager is a class act. He has the best perspective of all the athletes that didn’t make top 10. There has been so much focus on the athletes out of top 10 than interviewing those that finished in top 10. More societal victim mentality

[@jackiecarpenter7747]

Everyone had the same chance just like Cole said, hope they keep it this way and not change it.

[@BernhardKohli]

What if WOD1 is a 10 rep 220 kg deadlift next time? Would you still stick to your comment?

[@jackiecarpenter7747]

@@BernhardKohli well since your trying to distort my comment.. the first workout was fair. I never said anything about the first workout at all. Everyone knows when you have over 100 athletes the first workout has to be balanced to level hlthe playing field. And that's what they did.

[@roguetough3497]

So what is Rory trying to accomplish by these interviews?

[@shanew.7618]

Put out content as a media personality. Supply the public with the athletes opinions and feelings. Just a thought ;)

[@erickrz1]

El corte de atletas a mediano plazo hara que todos los atletas se especialicen en todas los skills.. mat fraser no se quejara de los workout de inicio o final. El va por todos

[@BoHeroman]

Lol Ben at the end

[@FreddyFloresVE]

So, the message is for Mr. Dave Castro: ... pal, you messed up, big time. Better programming for next year; slow, smaller cuts; forget the unknown crap: announce all events a week before the games, or at the welcome dinner, at latest. If you don't correct course, the games will die out and the whole franchise will be dragged away as well.

[@MasterApprentist]

These cuts are not entertaining, I don't get it. 10 competitors for 2 days it's so shit. What were they thinking.

[@crossfitting]

Travis says the first few workouts were "not so challenging". Did he even finish the first workout? And if it wasnt so challenging and a real test, then why didnt you move forward in the competition. The fittest will move forward no matter what test. If you're banking on the order of events then try to train harder to not have a wheelhouse such as tia and mat

[@aaronjmet]

You get the feeling from all these cut athletes that they feel they control the games and are suppose to be there regardless. You dont get a free ride you have to work for your spots. They act like they own those spots before they even workout