Olivia Geisthardt Accepts Backfill Invite as Angonese Withdraws from Mayhem Classic

Manon Angonese has withdrawn from the Mayhem Classic after sustaining a psoas injury during Open Workout 26.2 several weeks ago, and Olivia Geisthardt has accepted the backfill invite to take her spot at the event, scheduled for April 17–19 at CrossFit Mayhem in Cookeville, Tennessee.

Angonese had been part of the original 20-woman field that accepted invites to compete at one of the season's first Semifinal events. Despite competing through the injury, 15 of the 20 women in that field have previously qualified as individuals to the CrossFit Games, making it a brutally deep draw. Angonese finished 40th in the world on 26.2 and ended up 113th overall in the 2026 CrossFit Open before electing to step back and focus on rehab. Her goal now is to navigate Quarterfinals inside the top 2,000, which would keep her path to the CrossFit Games alive for later in the season.

Stepping into her spot is a name many in the community won't immediately recognize. Geisthardt has competed in the CrossFit Open exactly twice: 2024 and this year. In 2024 she placed 1,640th in the world and never registered for Quarterfinals, even though she finished well inside the top 25% cutoff. This season was a different story entirely. She finished 27th in the world in the 2026 CrossFit Open, a result dramatic enough to land her a backfill invite to one of the most loaded women's fields in the Semifinal circuit.

The jump from 1,640th to 27th globally in two years is the kind of trajectory that turns heads, but Geisthardt was already showing up in elite company before the Open even started. In January she placed 3rd overall in the Pro division at TFX, finishing behind Katelynn Sanders and Natalie Thompson. Only three women will advance to the CrossFit Games out of Cookeville, so Geisthardt walks into a field where the margin between a Games ticket and a flight home is razor thin.

The Angonese withdrawal is the second roster change to hit the women's division in a single day. CrossFit Games veteran Arielle Loewen also officially withdrew from the competition, and the Mayhem Classic extended a backfill invite to Maddi Foutz to fill that vacancy. Two exits, two backfills, and the field is still stacked heading into mid-April.

For Geisthardt, Cookeville represents a first crack at the Semifinal stage, and the resume she's building suggests she belongs there.