Posted by George Jones
on July 27, 2026
Lewin Tubuna just finished 2nd in the world in the 16-17 division at the 2026 CrossFit Games. Not just top 10. Not just top 5. Second best teenage athlete on the planet.
And the way he got there is the best part.
A Slow Start, A Relentless Finish
The Games are brutal by design. Six events, no room to hide, no easy days. Lewin's week didn't start with fireworks:
- Reboot – 4th place
- Reboot Part B – 10th place
A tough opening. If you'd looked at the leaderboard after those two events, you might not have picked him for a podium finish. But this is exactly where the mental side of the sport shows up, and Lewin didn't blink.
The Turnaround
From there, he simply started climbing:
- Alameda – 1st place
- Shark Tank – 3rd place
- Upload – 3rd place
- Catalyst – 2nd place
- 5-Minute Limit (the final event) – 4th place
Five events in a row inside the top 4, four of them on the podium, capped off with a gutsy final push. That's not luck. That's an athlete who trusted his training, stayed composed under pressure, and refused to let one bad session define his week.
By the time the final scores were in, Lewin had climbed all the way from 4th to 2nd overall, finishing behind only Friso van Saase of the Netherlands, and ahead of a stacked field of the best young athletes in the world.
Why This Matters
Competing at the CrossFit Games at 16-17 years old is already rare air. Standing on the podium there is another level entirely. It takes years of consistent work, the right coaching, and a mindset that doesn't crumble when the leaderboard doesn't go your way on day one.
Lewin showed all three this week.
Relentless. Never Out.
If you followed Lewin's week, you'll know the phrase that we attached to his season: Never out. After dropping to 4th early on, he had every reason to play it safe. Instead, he attacked the rest of the week and climbed his way to a podium finish.
That's what relentless actually looks like.
Congratulations, Lewin. This is only the beginning.
