"Feels great. It's just a year of hard work paying off." - Mat Fraser (Fittest Man on Earth, 2016)

With the final men's heat of Redemption, the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games to an end and Mat Fraser is crowned the Fittest Man on Earth. He took the lead in the first event of the week and only widened it as the competition continued. He finishes the 2016 Games with 1096 points- made up of one event win, seven second place event finishes, and an average event finish of 5.3. 

The real battle in the final event was between Games rookie Brent Fikowski and Patrick Vellner for the third place podium spot. Fikowski finished the event in third and Vellner finished in ninth, but the points weren't enough for Vellner to give up his podium spot. Fikowski finished the weekend fourth overall, but with four event wins. The highest number of event wins of any Games rookie. 

In the heat before Fikowski and Vellner we saw Josh Bridges struggle on the pegboard, finishing tied for 33rd in the event. He finishes the weekend in 13th place overall, his lowest Games finish. His previous lowest finish was a seventh place finish in 2013. 

Well. That was fun.

"I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing- always working my weaknesses and doing the best I can. That's all you can do." - Mat Fraser (Fittest Man on Earth, 2016)

Leaderboard (Men):

1. (1096) Mathew Fraser
2. (899) Ben Smith
3. (863) Patrick Vellner
4. (861) Brent Fikowski
5. (803) Cole Sager
6. (800) Scott Panchik
7. (797) Jacob Heppner
8. (735) Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson
9. (707) Alex Vigneault
10. (702) Travis Mayer
11. (696) Alex Anderson
12. (683) Marcus Filly
13. (678) Josh Bridges
14. (640) Lukas Högberg
15. (608) Noah Ohlsen
16. (588) Samuel Kwant
17. (573) Rob Forte
18. (569) Christian Lucero
19. (535) Travis Williams
20. (530) Garret Fisher
21. (511) Lukas Esslinger
22. (507) Lucas Parker
23. (504) Zak Carchedi
24. (503) James Newbury
25. (497) Rasmus Wisbech Andersen
26. (489) Albert-Dominic Larouche
27. (479) Gary Helmick
28. (473) Ben Stoneberg
29. (441) Jacob Anderson
30. (420) Sean Sweeney
31. (420) Logan Collins
32. (418) Sam Dancer
33. (390) Spencer Hendel
34. (381) Adrian Mundwiler
35. (378) Roy Gamboa
36. (356) Joseph Guesnier
37. (337) Mitchell Sinnamon
38. (328) Khan Porter
39. (219) Zeke Grove
40. (142) Jonne Koski​

Related:
Fraser: 5th at Regionals To 2nd at Games In 1 Year
Mat Fraser: Full Time Student, NY Rhino, Granite Games Champ
Mat Fraser Battling Sickness to Top Granite Games Podium
Brent Fikowski Skype Interview
Fikowski Walks Us Around the Athlete Hotel

Photo Credit: Mat Fraser Instagram (@mathewfras)