The second day of the 2025 CrossFit Games delivered non-stop action and dramatic leaderboard shifts at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York. Day 2 featured seven events across individual and team divisions, testing everything from grip strength and endurance to raw power and recovery ability. The day started with Individual Event 4, “Albany Grip Trip,” followed by Team Event 5 “Up, Over, and Back,” Individual Event 5 (1RM Back Squat), Team Event 6 (1RM Back Squat), and concluded with the back-to-back Individual Events 6 and 7 (“Throttle Up” and “Hammer Down”) with only seven minutes of rest between them.
Tia-Clair Toomey and Jayson Hopper proved to be the biggest favorites, as they took the lead in their respective divisions at the end of day two. However, the day was marked by significant challenges to their dominance, particularly from Lucy Campbell who briefly overtook Toomey for the overall lead after Event 4. Tia-Clair Toomey held a small lead at the start of day two of the 2025 CrossFit Games but ended up losing it to Lucy Campbell after Event Four. It did not take long for Tia-Clair to reclaim the top spot, doing so in the 1RM Back Squat.
Event 4 Winner: Albany Grip Trip
For the first time in his career, Jay Crouch managed to win an event at the CrossFit Games. Crouch dominated the demanding 5-round workout consisting of 400-meter runs, 12 deadlifts (350 lbs for men), and 100-foot handstand walks, with a 150-foot handstand walk on the final round. He maintained a stable pace on the running portions, not leaning forward too much and thus preserving some energy for the deadlifts. His handstand walks were perfect as well, since he often performed them unbroken up until the final round. In the end, he finished with a time of 16:28.57.
Kalyan Souza was not far behind Jay Crouch, especially during the final moments of the event. Kalyan made up a lot of time on the final deadlift set and nearly overtook Jay Crouch who nonchalantly crossed the finish line while celebrating his win. Souza finished just 4 seconds behind at 16:32.62.
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In the women’s division, Lucy Campbell came into day two of the 2025 CrossFit Games just 6 points behind Tia-Clair Toomey. So, she understood what she had to do in order to overtake the 7x Fittest Woman On Earth. Campbell won the event with a time of 16:33.05, using 220-lb deadlifts for women. While many wondered how well Lucy could perform the handstand walks, having undergone wrist surgery just last year, Lucy proved to be more than capable of being the best.
The victory temporarily gave Campbell the overall lead, earning her the nickname “queen slayer” as she dethroned the reigning champion. Tia-Clair Toomey went shoulder-to-shoulder with Lucy Campbell for 15 minutes, even leading the race for a large portion of it. However, Lucy managed to get a lead ahead of Tia-Clair on the deadlifts, since the defending champion had to separate the 12-rep sets into two parts.
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Team Event 5 Winner: Up, Over, and Back
CrossFit Oslo Kriger had another great start to the day, taking the event win by being the only team to finish in less than 16 minutes. This helped them get back into the title race as they continue pushing toward becoming the first team from Europe to win the CrossFit Games.
The event featured a complex format requiring exceptional teamwork: 3 rounds of 40 synchro chest-to-bar pull-ups (completed in alternating sets of 10) plus 10 Worm clean over-and-backs, followed by 3 rounds of 28 synchro bar muscle-ups (completed in alternating sets of 7) plus 7 Worm clean over-and-backs.
One of CrossFit Oslo’s team members encountered issues on the final set of muscle-ups, which potentially cost them some time. However, they were so far ahead of everyone that there was no need to worry. They finished in 15:56.30, with CrossFit Butcher’s Lab Vanlose taking second place at 16:20.21.
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Event 5 Winner: 1RM Back Squat
Colten Mertens easily won the 1RM Back Squat attempt, as his second attempt of 555 pounds was already enough to top the leaderboards. However, he wanted to solidify his win with a 570-pound squat on the third event, making it look extremely smooth. This victory marked a significant comeback for Mertens after a challenging Day 1.
After the event Colten revealed that his 570-pound squat felt the same as his 400-pound warm-up, indicating that he was capable of loading even more weight if the situation required it. Nick Mathew claimed second place with a massive 555-pound squat, while Austin Hatfield and Jack Rozema tied for third with 515 pounds each.
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In the women’s division, Mirjam Von Rohr crushed a 340-pound squat on her second attempt, after which she realized that she was more than capable of winning the event. Taking a look at the leaderboards, she noticed that the best squat that anyone achieved was 355 pounds. So, Mirjam loaded 360 pounds for her final attempt, achieving the lift without any major inconveniences.
This event was crucial for Tia-Clair Toomey’s championship hopes, as she used her 335-pound squat to reclaim the overall lead from Lucy Campbell. The strength event played to Toomey’s advantage, allowing her to build back her points cushion
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Event 6 & 7 Winner: Throttle Up, Hammer Down
James Sprague made no calculations going into event six, having full confidence in his ability to recover in the short time frame that the athletes got before starting event seven. He went full out from the start and made sure to utilize his impressive agility on the burpee box jump-overs. Sprague won with a time of 3:10.72, showcasing his strategic approach to the back-to-back events.
The “Throttle Up” workout consisted of 35-calorie Ski Erg, 28 chest-to-bar pull-ups, and 24 burpee box jump-overs while wearing a weighted vest (22 lbs for men, 16 lbs for women). Ricky Garard had a similar approach to James Sprague but didn’t seem quite as quick on the box jump-overs. So, he ended up being four seconds slower than the 2024 Fittest Man on Earth and settled for a second-place finish.
With only seven minutes of rest between events, Event 7 “Hammer Down” truly separated the field. The short rest between two events separated the athlete pool, shining a light on athletes with the ability to quickly recover in a short time period. Ricky Garard proved to be the best, following up his second-place finish from event six with a win in the seventh workout.
The workout mirrored Event 6’s format but substituted a 35-calorie C2 bike for the Ski Erg and 28 bar muscle-ups for chest-to-bar pull-ups, maintaining the 24 burpee box jump-overs. Ricky Garard understood that he needed to gain a lot of points in order to get himself in the title race going into the final day of the 2025 CrossFit Games. His winning time of 4:17.54 propelled him into second place overall on the leaderboard.
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In the women’s division, Arielle Loewen came out victorious in the ‘Throttle Up’ event after winning the intense race against Tia-Clair Toomey. The two women went shoulder-to-shoulder for nearly four minutes, with Arielle gaining the winning advantage on the burpee box jump-overs. Loewen’s victory elevated her to third place overall.
Lucy Campbell excelled in the seventh event of the 2025 CrossFit Games and took away her second win of the day. Her key to success was pacing on the C2 bike and exceptional form on the muscle-ups, which allowed her to be the first athlete to progress onto the box jump-overs. Campbell’s victory in 5:09.60 secured her second-place position overall heading into the final day.
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Team Event 6 Winner: 1RM Back Squat
CrossFit Undivided came out to perform the 1RM Back Squat in the first out of two heats but ended up setting a score that was unobtainable for everyone else. Each member of the team achieved a squat that would rank them nicely in the individual division, giving them a combined score of 1,690 pounds.
This remarkable team total was 60 pounds heavier than second-place CrossFit 1124’s 1,630 pounds. That is not to take away from their incredible performance, which was only bested by a truly mind-blowing score that the winners achieved. The victory helped CrossFit Undivided climb significantly in the overall team standings.
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Leaderboard Implications
After an intense day of competition, the leaderboards showed both stability at the top and significant movement throughout the field. Tia-Clair Toomey – 610 points maintained her lead in the women’s division despite Lucy Campbell’s strong challenge. Lucy Campbell – 541 points secured second place overall, while Arielle Loewen – 456 points claimed third.
In the men’s division, Jayson Hopper 539 points held onto the lead through consistent performances across all events. Ricky Garard – 529 points moved into second place with his strong finish to Day 2, while James Sprague – 516 points climbed to third.
The team competition remained incredibly tight with CrossFit Oslo Kriger – 475 points and CrossFit Mayhem – 475 points tied for the lead, followed closely by CrossFit Butcher’s Lab Vanløse – 465 points.
Day 2 demonstrated the incredible depth and unpredictability of the 2025 CrossFit Games field. With Lucy Campbell’s temporary takeover of the women’s lead and multiple athletes making significant moves in the standings, the stage was perfectly set for a thrilling final day of competition. The back-to-back events particularly showcased the athletes’ ability to perform under extreme fatigue, separating those with exceptional recovery capacity from the rest of the field.