Jeff Adler

Since attending his first CrossFit Games as a volunteer worker in 2016, Rogue athlete Jeff Adler has meticulously turned himself into a competitor, a contender, an Open winner, and at long last, a Games champion: the 2023 “Fittest Man on Earth.”

It’s an achievement that won’t surprise those who’ve known him best or watched his progress. Heading into this summer, Adler already had two Open golds (2021, 2023), two Top 5 finishes at the Games (2020, 2022) and a pair of podium finishes at the Rogue Invitational (2021, 2022). To get to the next level, the 29 year-old French-Canadian worked on refining his mental approach just as much as his physical preparation.

“I can’t workout five hours straight like I could when I was 20,” he said heading into the 2023 Games, “so I have to use my time a little bit better. But the faster, the better. I’m not going to wait until the last second. . . . My goal is to bring a medal back to Montreal.”

Reaching that goal was no easy task, as Jeff found himself far down the leaderboard after the first two days of competition in Madison. By keeping his nerve and relying on his versatile range of skills, however, he quickly turned the tide, winning two workouts (Helena and Muscle-Up Logs) and finishing no worse than 7th in any of the other Saturday and Sunday tests. The result was an overall point total of 953; more than 100 points better than runner-up and fellow countryman Patrick Vellner (837).

Not the flashy or self-promotional type, Adler has usually let his work do the talking for him over the course of his career. Now, as just the ninth men’s champion in CrossFit Games history, he decided to use his platform to thank his coach / fiancée Caroline Lambray for her role in that achievement. “She’s the reason I’m here,” he said. “Today, her dream came true.”