In the case of energy and velocity, Brazil’s Gui Malheiros is just like the Simone Biles of CrossFit: He by no means loses.
Final month, that energy was placed on full show on the 2025 TYR Wodapalooza throughout “Well worth the Weight,” the place athletes had three makes an attempt to ascertain a max effort clear plus hold clear.
- Malheiros opened with 370 kilos earlier than hitting 390 and 400 kilos, simply taking the occasion win.
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For anybody else, that may be a profession milestone. For Malheiros, it was simply one other day doing what he does finest.
In the case of heavy or max-effort Olympic weightlifting occasions — and to full-out sprint-style occasions — Malheiros is really unmatched, even in opposition to the most effective CrossFit athletes on the planet.
He additionally tends to win simply and by massive margins; it normally doesn’t even appear to be he’s maxing out more often than not.
Working example: Malheiros gained “Well worth the Weight” on the 2025 TYR Wodapalooza by 20 kilos over the subsequent finest lifters, Austin Hatfield and Jack Farlow.
- Compared, on the ladies’s aspect, two athletes — Anika Greer and Kyra Milligan — shared the occasion win with 255-pound lifts, whereas Dani Speegle and Laura Horvath had been shut behind with 250 kilos.
Gui Malheiros’ Dominance From 2021-Current Day
Right here’s a take a look at a few of Malheiros’ most dominant performances over the previous 4 years.
2021 CrossFit Video games
Malheiros gained three occasions in his rookie season on the Video games, all of them being weightlifting or dash occasions.
- His first occasion win was the 550-meter dash, which he took by three seconds over Will Moorad.
- His second occasion win got here in a exercise consisting of 5 rounds for time of a 250-meter run and one heavy clear. Malheiros bested Jeff Adler, one other athlete identified for each his clear and operating prowess (now), to take the win.
- Lastly, Malheiros gained the max snatch occasion that 12 months, lifting 305 kilos with ease.
2021 Rogue Invitational
Malheiros gained each Occasion 2 and Occasion 7.
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- Occasion 2 was the “Bella Complicated,” a barbell advanced of 1 clear, one shoulder to overhead, one entrance squat, and yet one more shoulder to overhead. Malheiros lifted 367 kilos, profitable by six kilos.
- Occasion 7 was a head-to-head, elimination-style dash occasion, which Malheiros completed in 52 seconds, edging out Sam Kwant due to his pure velocity throughout the end line.
2022 CrossFit Video games
In 2022, the max elevate occasion was an uncharacteristic one: A sandbag ladder. The occasion, nevertheless, nonetheless allowed Malheiros to showcase his pure energy.
- 4 males had been in a position to elevate the heaviest sandbag — 340 kilos — resulting in the tie break, which concerned lifting three sandbags of various weights for time. As soon as once more, Malheiros’ pure velocity and athleticism gained out.
2024 Semifinals
Malheiros took the occasion file throughout all areas on the snatch ladder, an occasion that featured 30 progressively heavier snatches.
2024 Rogue Invitational
Lastly, on the 2024 Rogue Invitational, the Duel IV — one other dash occasion — as soon as once more belonged to Malheiros.
- Malheiros went up in opposition to Brent Fikowski within the closing, a head-to-head match-up of 5 up-and-over the hay bales, a 50-foot sled push, and 4 energy stair step-ups with 300 kilos. He completed the dash occasion in 35 seconds, three seconds forward of Fikowksi.
3 Different Dominant Athletes
Whereas Malheiros is our decide for essentially the most dominant athlete of all time at what he’s finest at, he definitely isn’t the one athlete with a critical energy. So, we thought it was value mentioning three different athletes who persistently dominate in a single space of the game.
Laura Horvath and Odd Objects
If there’s an athlete who comes near being as dominant as Malheiros at a particular kind of exercise, it’d simply be the 2023 CrossFit Video games champion, Laura Horvath. Her specialty: odd objects.
In 2023, 4 out of Horvath’s 5 occasion wins featured odd objects, together with the “Pig Chipper,” a exercise with 20 pig flips, which Horvath gained by almost a full minute over Arielle Loewen.
- She additionally gained the “Ski-Bag” occasion, a exercise with 50 heavy sandbag squats, in addition to “Muscle-Up Logs,” a exercise involving lifting a sandbag over logs.
- Lastly, Horvath additionally gained “Parallel-Bar Pull,” that includes a hand-over-hand sled pull.
Equally, on the 2022 CrossFit Video games, each of Horvath’s occasion wins featured odd objects: “Alpaca,” a exercise with sled pushes and kettlebell clear and jerks, and “Again 9,” which concerned a yoke carry.
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Additional, in 2021, Horvath’s single occasion win was Occasion 5, which included yet one more odd object: a sandbag carry.
Lastly, on the 2024 Rogue Invitational, Horvath had 4 occasion wins, whereas the seven-time Video games champion Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr had 5.
- Of these 4 occasion wins, three of them featured odd objects, together with a single-arm Cyr Bell satan press in Occasion 5, up-and-over a hay bale and energy stair steps in Occasion 6, and a single-arm Cyr Bell overhead strolling lunge in Occasion 8.
Emily Rolfe at Lengthy-Distance Working Occasions
One other athlete who all the time appears to be close to, or on the entrance of the pack, each time there’s a long-distance run is five-time Video games veteran Emily Rolfe.
- Rolfe first made a reputation for herself in her rookie season in 2019 when she took an occasion win in “Ruck,” a 6,000-meter run with a ruck.
- In 2021, Rolfe took one other occasion win, beating out Kristi Eramo O’Connell by one second in Occasion 10, a exercise that includes toes-to-bar and three miles of operating.
The 5k cross-country run on the 2023 CrossFit Video games, although, was arguably when Rolfe confirmed simply how dominant she will be.
- She cruised by the run nicely forward of the subsequent quickest competitor, Katrin Davidsdottir, who Rolfe beat by 38 seconds. Rolfe’s time was so good she would have been 14th within the males’s division.
In the end, Rolfe is such a superb runner that she barely ever runs in training.
- After her bronze medal efficiency on the 2024 Video games, the place Rolfe completed third on “Lake Day,” a 3.5-mile run adopted by an 800-meter swim, Rolfe admitted she didn’t accomplish that a lot as a 5 km run all season, and the one time she added operating to her coaching program was a pair weeks earlier than the Video games when she knew it could be examined in Fort Value, TX.
Whereas Rolfe won’t be on Malheiros’ stage of dominance at what she’s nice at, she’s going to all the time problem for the win with regards to longer-distance operating.
Danielle Brandon at Handstand Strolling
Lastly, there’s Danielle Brandon and handstand strolling. Or, in her case, we should always name it handstand operating.
- Keep in mind that time in 2021 when Brandon annihilated the sector within the intricate handstand stroll course, taking the occasion win in 1:43, greater than 20 seconds sooner than the subsequent quickest athlete within the dash occasion?
And even when handstand walking is only one element of the broader exercise, Brandon all the time excels.
- In 2019, in her rookie debut on the CrossFit Video games, Brandon gained “Second Lower,” a exercise with operating, KB jerks, and a 132-foot handstand stroll.
- In 2022, Brandon gained the “Ability Pace Medley,” which featured handstand strolling, amongst different gymnastics abilities.
- And once more in 2023, Brandon took an occasion win within the “Inverted Medley,” a exercise with handstand strolling, free-standing handstand push-ups, 180-degree handstand pirouettes, and pullovers on the bar.
In the end, for the final 5 seasons, Brandon has confirmed that, if requested to get inverted, she’ll win most of the time.
The Backside Line
Whereas there are many athletes who’ve specialties, no person is sort of as dominant as Malheiros at what he’s finest at: heavy or max effort Olympic weightlifting and full dash occasions that depend on velocity and uncooked athleticism.
- So, for those who’re into sports activities betting, it’s smart to place your cash on Malheiros in these cases.
Higher but, parlay your wager to incorporate Horvath on the odd objects, Rolfe on a long term, and Brandon on her arms.
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Featured Picture: Lydia Stadthoewer