She didn’t earn a Games spot — but Adams put everyone on notice.
Last updated on April 8th, 2025
Fee Saghafi and Abigail Domit topped the women’s podium at the 2025 Mayhem Classic, becoming the first two women to earn roster spots for this summer’s CrossFit Games in Albany, NY.
However, there were many other noteworthy performances in Cookeville, TN — and the one fans will remember most likely belongs to five-time CrossFit Games veteran Haley Adams in Event 4.
- Adams claimed the event victory with a time of 11:48.58, while the runner-up, Emily Rolfe, finished almost two minutes later at 13:33.79.
Adams also topped the fastest man in the event, James Sprague, by a little over three seconds.
- “I needed to take my shot, so I did,” she said in a post-event interview.
Remind me
Event 4 was three rounds for time of:
- 50 GHD sit-ups
- 100-foot dumbbell overhead walking lunge (70-pound dumbbell)
- 100-foot handstand walk.
How Adams Did It
1. Relentless GHD Speed: Adams completed the first 50 GHD sit-ups in only one minute and 23 seconds, putting her in the lead right from the start (although Manon Angonese and Andrea Nisler kept pace with her during the first round of sit-ups).
- Adams maintained her speed on the second set of 50 GHD sit-ups, finishing in an identical time as her first set, while her third set of GHD sit-ups was only three seconds slower.
2. Consistent Lunges: Adams performed well on the lunges in each round, finishing the first set in one minute and 12 seconds, gaining some ground on the field in the process. Her second round was slightly slower than the first at 1:23.
- The only hiccup Adams encountered during the entire event was in her third round of lunges, where she set the dumbbell down just a few feet before the end. Still, she completed the lunges in one minute and 45 seconds, doing more than enough to extend her lead.
- In fact, Adams had almost finished her final set of lunges before the next closest athlete, Rolfe, had even begun hers.
3. No Rest on the Handstand Walk: While other athletes understandably took some rest before their handstand walk and divided the 50-foot sections into two segments, Adams did not. With a quick loosening of her weight belt, she started on each round.
- Consider the fact that Adams demonstrated unprecedented speed on her hands — 39 seconds, 43 seconds, and 45 seconds for each 100-foot handstand walk, respectively — and it appeared as though her core was not fatigued at all.
The Bottom Line
Adams finished seventh overall at the Mayhem Classic and has not yet earned an invitation to this summer’s CrossFit Games.
However, as they say, you have to celebrate the small wins along the way, and her dominance in Event 4 should be viewed that way, at the very least.
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Featured Image: Sara Ines Chew
