Brazilians CrossFit athletes will be fighting for the Fittest on Earth title among other superb athletes around the world. This journey starts with the CrossFit Open, and Brazil has the potential to become a household nationality in the sport of CrossFit – just like Iceland has done.
Brazil has the potential to become one of the new up-and-coming nationalities in the CrossFit community – it already is in terms of affiliates. The country has produced some of the fittest teens in the world in previous CrossFit Open editions, for example.
We have highlighted seven Brazilians to look out for during this year’s CrossFit Open.
Remember: CrossFit national champions will be determined differently this year.
1 – Guilherme Malheiros
- Age: 21 years old
- Height: 176cm
- Weight: 87kg
It is impossible to talk about CrossFit in Brazil and not mention Guilherme Malheiros. He is the first Brazilian to be in the top 3 at the CrossFit Games – he won second place in the teen division in 2018 after doing a snatch with 132kg. In the past two years, he has maintained the title of Brazil’s Fittest Man on Earth.
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Few people know that he started as a basketball player in Macaé, a city in Rio de Janeiro. To get better physically at basketball he joined a box and began to do CrossFit in 2015. Two years later, he was Brazil’s fittest teen.
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2 – Larissa Cunha
- Age: 30 years
- Height: 153cm
- Weight: 62kg
On the women’s side, Larissa is the one to keep an eye out for this Open. She has been in the spotlight among Brazilian competitors since 2015, but reached her performance peak last year, at 30 years old.
Aside from being Brazil’s Fittest Woman on Earth, she also finished 39th place overall in the CrossFit Open. She was born in Natal, capital of Rio Grande do Norte, a state in the northeast of Brazil, but has moved to Rio de Janeiro to train professionally.
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I have been an athlete since I was five years old. While my friends would go to the movies on a Wednesday, for example, I had to hit the gym. It is necessary to let go of some things so you can conquer others. Not having my family around is the biggest challenge to me, because they were always supportive of my decisions.
3 – Wesley Queiroz
- Age: 28 years
- Height: 176cm
- Weight: 86kg
Born in Araçatuba, São Paulo, Wesley Queiroz will compete in the Upper Extremity Division this year. Last year he finished 2nd in the WheelWOD 2020 Open Standing Upper Men division. He has also competed in other tournaments such as Monster Games, and some national championships Carioca Games, and BOPE Games. Wesley trains CrossFit since 2017.
I work hard on my body every day. My weakness is the psychological part before a tournament.
This year in the Open he wants to start a new path in his CrossFit career. “I want to be on the top podium among the adaptive division. I know it is hard, being the first. If I manage to finish top three, representing Brazil in the world, it would be very gratifying”, he told BOXROX.
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Wesley is a great example for the adaptive division. It is important that athletes register now to compete. Here is why.
4 – Luiza Dias
- Age: 29 years
- Height: 151cm
- Weight: 53kg
Luiza Dias has performed really well in the CrossFit Open since 2016. She was top 6 on four occasions and came in second last year, tied with Antonelli Nicole.
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Her strenght is gymnastics, but she claimed in the past that her short stature proved to be a big obstacle in previous competitions. She moved on to Regionals in 2016, 2017, and 2018, always improving, finishing 23rd worldwide in 2018 Regionals.
Last year during Brazil CrossFit Championship (BCC), she finished fifth among women.
5 – Vitor Caetano
- Age: 22 years old
- Height: 171cm
- Weight: 86kg
Another Brazilian who managed to keep a high-level performance during his teenage years and now as an elite athlete. Born in São Paulo, Vitor started doing CrossFit as a complement to Taekwondo in 2015 and fell in love with the sport.
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In that same year, he became Brazil’s 2nd Fittest Teen during the Open. In the CrossFit Open 2016, he reached the top podium on the 16-17 year division among Brazilians and 23rd worldwide. In the 2020 Open, he reached 3rd place in Brazil.
My goal is to be among the top 30 in Latin America during the Open 2021. That way I get a spot on the BCC (Brazil CrossFit Championship), a competition in which qualifies athletes for the CrossFit Games.
6 – Antonelli Nicole
- Age: 35 years
- Height: 153cm
- Weight: 60kg
The veteran in this list. Antonelli Nicole is like a good wine, getting better and better with time. For the past six years, she has been in the TOP 3 Brazilians Fittest on Earth on five occasions.
2020 was her last time competing in the Women’s Division and she finished on a high note. Second place among Brazilians during the Open and 105th overall worldwide, her best rank so far.
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Now with 35 years, she will compete once more in the Open division, but her focus shifted to coaching athletes to become as successful as she is. “I want to encourage my students to compete on a high level”, she told BOXROX.
She started her own box in São Paulo in 2016.
7 – Anderon Primo
- Age: 26 years
- Height: 180cm
- Weight: 93kg
Born in São Paulo, Anderon Primo is considered one of the best elite athlete in Brazil. He was our top pick in 2018 and still impresses the crowd with his strength.
He has won the Torneio CrossFit Brazil, a Brazilian CrossFit tournament considered one of the toughest and most important national competition, six times.
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In the sport since 2014, he went through the Latin America Regionals in his first competition. For the past six years, he has been in the TOP 10 fittest Brazilians. Last year he was second among his countrymen and 190th worldwide.
Read more: CrossFit Open, a comprehensive guide to its past, present, and future.
