CrossFit stars face do-or-die test in Online Semifinals

The Online Semifinals have become the year’s most unforgiving checkpoint, with only seven Games berths left to settle after 23 athletes already punched tickets through the in-person path. For Justin Medeiros, Pat Vellner and Arielle Loewen, the next workouts are not a tune-up. They are the bridge to San Jose, where the 2026 CrossFit Games will run July 24-26 at the SAP Center with 30 men, 30 women and 20 teams chasing the title of Fittest on Earth.

CrossFit’s schedule puts the Team Online Semifinals on June 4-8 and the Individual Online Semifinals on June 11-15, making this the last qualifying stage for both the 2026 CrossFit Games and Divisional Games. The field is not just deep, it is crowded by design: athletes had to come through Quarterfinals, and CrossFit’s cutoff required the top 2,000 men and women just to remain eligible for Individuals. That keeps the pressure locked on every rep, especially with the 20th CrossFit Games looming as a milestone season marker.

Colten Mertens enters with the cleanest runway. CrossFit’s official leaderboard had him first overall in the men’s online standings, and he has already banked two fifth-place Semifinal finishes this season. Even with a lower-arm issue in the background, he has given himself margin before the workouts are released. Right behind him are Peter Ellis, Jeffrey Adler, Jonne Koski and James Sprague, while Medeiros sits 13th and must climb out of a dangerous spot after falling just short at Torian Pro. For Medeiros, any early stumble could be fatal if the online tests favor the same consistency that slipped away in person.

Loewen may be the most direct example of a make-or-break online campaign. Her entire qualification plan has been built around this route, and her athlete profile lists her as a full-time wife and mom while ranking her first in North America West in the 2026 Quarterfinals. That makes her one of the safest names on paper, but it also means there is no fallback. Grace Walton is in a different kind of pressure pocket after opening Torian Pro with a 34th-place finish on Event 1 before recovering, a reminder that one bad test can distort an entire weekend.

Vellner brings the longest résumé in the group and the heaviest burden. He has competed at the Games since 2015 and owns four podium finishes, but seventh at NorCal Classic left his final season riding on one more online attempt. Around them, the bubble stays crowded with veterans such as Harry Lightfoot, Chris Ibarra, Nick Mathew, Enrico Zenoni, Alexis Raptis, Fee Saghafi and Emily Rolfe. The Online Semifinals are not a side event anymore. For some of the sport’s most recognizable names, they are the last chance to make San Jose real.