By David Nagel
A local gym in Pakenham has once again been involved in taking the first step towards finding the fittest man and woman on the planet.
Roughly 50 members of CrossFit Innovation recently took part in the 2025 CrossFit Open, a worldwide competition held for three weeks that is for anyone and everyone, regardless of fitness level or ability.
For some, the Open is a chance to test their fitness and see how much fitter they’ve become over the past year.
For others, the Open is about putting themselves out there, showing up, and celebrating fitness and connecting with others in their affiliate and around the world.
For a select few, the Open is the first step in qualifying for the CrossFit Games.
Co-owner and coach at CrossFit Innovation, Scott Oliver, said there is always a buzz around the gym when the CrossFit Open comes around.
“Each year they run a competition to find the fittest man and woman on the planet, and that starts with all the CrossFit gyms around the world running the first stage of the worldwide competition,” Oliver said.
“We ran the competition at our gym and well over 50 members of our gym participated.
“There are three stages, with the semi-finals in Brisbane and then the top-five males and females in Oceania go to America for the world championships.
“It begins with three weeks of workouts, which we hosted at Pakenham, and it creates a really fun atmosphere.
“All of our athletes then enter their scores in a worldwide leaderboard and get to measure their results against the best.
“It’s the largest fitness event in the world in regards to participation, with about 140,000 participants across the globe.
“It’s great to see them whittle them down to the top .001 percent.”
CrossFit Innovation last year had six members make it through to the next stage, but a tightening up of standards make it very difficult to qualify this time around.
In 2024, the top 20-percent of athletes made it through to the next stage, while this year that number is for those only at the elite level; with the top one-percent making it through.
CrossFit headquarters announce the workouts for CrossFit Open on Thursday’s, with competitors then having three days to complete the course and input their results.
