Saxon Panchik, together with his twin Spencer and older brother Scott, will be taking part in the CrossFit Open live announcement on Thursday March 25, challenging his brothers to workout 21.3 right after it’s announced. Most CrossFit fans already know Scott Panchik — five-time individual CrossFit Games veteran — but who is Saxon? Does he have a shot at the podium this year?
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At 24 years old Saxon Panchik has achieved more in his CrossFit career than many of us will in our whole lives. Raised in Ohio, Saxon’s journey is an inspiring one. As a teenager he started investing in football, and planned to earn a scholarship to play in college. Everything changed when he was 12 years old following an incident where both he and his twin brother Spencer fell from a 75ft cliff while hiking. The accident resulted in significant injuries and a recommendation that Saxon do not participate in contact sports again due to head trauma.
“Thankfully, CrossFit entered my life six months later as a rehab tool,” Panchik said in a 2019 interview. “Once Spencer and I found out that it was something we could actually compete in, we were hooked.”
By the time Saxon took up competitive CrossFit, his older brother Scott was already becoming a household name. Saxon started competing in the Open in 2014, earning his first invite to Regionals just one year later and landing 23rd. He’s been on an uphill trajectory ever since, placing 11th in 2016 and 7th in 2017, before securing his first invite to the CrossFit Games in 2018 where he earned a very respectable 19th place.
He was also a member of Team Mentality in 2014/2015 alongside twin brother Spencer and sister Christin. The Panchik’s sure do keep CrossFit a family affair.
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By 2019, Saxon would start to challenge his brother Scott’s Games supremacy. Both Scott and Saxon competed in the Games that year, with Scott securing 4th and Saxon making 9th.
“When I was a little kid, I was always going to his football camps and striving to keep up with him. He set the standards really high! But even though I was 10 and he was 18, I still had it in my head that I was going to kick his butt at everything. And that carried over once we came together again with CrossFit. We’re pushing each other back and forth. It’s still me trying to catch my big brother, and that forces him to stay on top of it so he doesn’t lose to his little brother!”
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Looking at the 2021 season, Saxon certainly hopes to continue his climb towards the podium. At the time of writing he currently sits in 14th place in the Open, two spots ahead of Scott and several ahead of Spencer.
Saxon and Spencer Panchik opened CrossFit Cliffside in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio in 2018. Saxon is also expecting his first child with wife Taylor Panchik later this year.
Read More: Two Teenagers Top the 2021 CrossFit Open Leaderboard After 21.2
Image Sources
- saxonpanchik: Photo: Michael Valentin / CrossFit Inc.