Sam Briggs

Winning the 2013 CrossFit Games was impressive enough on its own, but it’s the way Samantha Briggs did it that really proved her mettle. The native of Leeds, England, made her first Games appearance in 2010 and broke out the following year with a 4th place finish. Just as her star was rising, though, a devastating knee injury put Briggs on the shelf and prevented her from competing in 2012. After a spirited rehab program, she was back in action a year later, but no one was sure what to expect. It didn’t take long for Sam to answer her critics, taking home the title of “Fittest Woman on Earth” and earning the respect of athletes both in and out of the CrossFit community. By no coincidence, one of Briggs’s official Rogue Signature Series t-shirts features a mythical phoenix rising from the ashes in front of a Union Jack.

Briggs spent her formative years in the UK training as a multi-sport athlete. She played soccer for the Northern Premiership League and competed in triathlons, duathlons, and indoor rowing competitions. The same year as her CrossFit Games triumph, she also took 1st place in the 2013 English Olympic Lifting Championships (58kg category).

Sam remains one of Britain’s elite CrossFitters and an all-time great competitor at the Games, with six Top 10 finishes overall. She made her debut in the Masters Division at the 2018 Games, finishing second to Anna Tobias.