In T-minus less than one-week, the 2015 CrossFit Open kicks off with the announcement of WOD 15.1 at Reebok CrossFit ONE in Canton, Massachusetts, where the ‘champ’, Rich Froning himself, will go head-to-head with the “2nd Fittest Man in the World” and 2014 Games rookie, Mat Fraser.

 

FloElite caught up with Fraser on his surprise in being selected as an athlete for the showdown.

 

Head to head with the man himself, Mr. Froning! Two years ago, prior to your first Games appearance (2014), did you see yourself here—you are at the ‘top’?!

 

Two years ago, I would have never thought any of this would be happening. Heck, one year ago, I never would have thought this would be happening.

 

How did HQ ask you about going head to head for 15.1, and what are your thoughts leading up to it?

 

A couple weeks ago, HQ just sent me an email asking if I would be interested, but I didn't get any details past that. The fact that I didn't know much about it kind of made me nervous. The part I'm nervous about now is having to do the workout immediately after finding out what it is. I usually like to have at least a little time to try and figure out how to strategize it, but other than that, I am excited. 

 

Speaking of being ‘on top’, you won the ECC again this year—you are on fire. Catch us up to speed since the Games last year. What did you learn about yourself there? What weaknesses have become strengths? 

 

Didn't really learn too much about myself at the Games. Once I got home, I competed a bunch and went back to school. I haven't really had enough time of training without interruption to turn any weaknesses into strengths. 

 

What does the 2nd Fittest Man in the World do on a daily basis? Give us a peak at your schedule.

 

My schedule is always a big mix of the things I have to get done, but the order varies depending on school. I look at it as: I can train whenever, but school has to be done on someone else’s schedule, so I just revolve my training and eating around that. A lot of the time, I will be at school in the first half of the day until all my work is done, then spend the evening in the gym. 

How many years have you done the Open? And, have you had a favorite Open WOD-if so, what and why?

 

This will be my third year doing the Open. My favorite open workout was last year’s 14.5 (thrusters and burpees), because it was the first time I felt like I had actually done a good job on an Open workout (8:18 minutes, 2nd place finish Worldwide).

 

Have you redone any old Open workouts recently in training?

 

I haven’t redone a single one

 

What would you like to see in the Open this year?! If you could come up with any workout, what would it be?

Oh man, I don't know. I think the Open has been good in years’ past, so I hope it stays relatively similar. I think it would be cool to retest a workout from several years ago. I always think its cool to revisit things like that so people can track their progress or so we can see how far our sport has come.

 

What advice would you give other competitors on ‘gaming the Open’-especially if they are wanting to break in as ‘underdogs’ to Regionals this year?

 

My advice would be to not "game the Open" Ha ha. Try to do it with someone that is about the same skill level as yourself, so you can push each other. Other than that, just go all out and that will produce the best score and let you know where your fitness level. 

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