Like it or not, when it comes to an athlete's ability to build a brand, collect sponsors, and make a living, social media matters. And there is never a better opportunity for the CrossFit athlete to see an uptick in following than during the one week of the year when their sport is in the best possible light as the CrossFit Games.

This year's Instagram followers results:

The three individual Games athletes who gained the most followers were all women, led by Dani Speegle , who gained 37,805 new followers over the course of the CrossFit Games week. Silver medalist Mal O'Brien followed with 34.713 and Tia-Clair Toomey with 31.385.

• The top three men were champion Justin Medeiros 24,625, followed by Ricky Garard 22,205, and tenth-placed Guilherme Malheiros 20,896.
• When it comes to a percentage follower perspective, Elisa Fuliano, who now has more than 12,000 followers, came out on top by adding 34.27 percent.

When it comes to attracting new followers, dominating the PR event is of paramount importance, which is why both Speegle and Malheiros put on a show when they headlined the sandbag-to-shoulder event on Saturday night.

Additionally, last season Malheiros gained the third-most supporters ahead of any athlete after winning the maximum lift snatch event.

When we compare the raw numbers to last year, no one came even close to gaining as many followers as the top six in 2021.

Brandon topped last season with adding 77,702 followers , while sixth place Brooke Wells added 38,590. Interestingly, Brandon ranked higher overall this year than last, fourth this year compared to eleventh in 2021 , but added significantly fewer followers this year (24,209) than in 2021.

The CrossFit Games Instagram account was ranked #1 over any athlete. They collected 57,009 followers during the week of the Games.