Five years ago, Richard Beddie, Chairman of the International Confederation of Exercise Professionals (ICREPS), made false statements regarding CrossFit, Inc. and its affiliates in an article published in the health section of a popular New Zealand magazine. He then attempted to convince CrossFit, Inc. and its thousands of trainers to pay registration fees to his organization. CrossFit refused and sued. On March 20, 2019, Beddie admitted that he had no evidence to back up his allegations against CrossFit and issued a formal apology.

The fourth workout of the 2019 CrossFit Open featured two couplets separated by a mandatory 3-minute rest: three rounds of 10 snatches and 12 bar-facing-burpees, and three rounds of 10 bar muscle-ups and 12 bar-facing-burpees. This was the second week of the Open in which athletes were asked to perform a high skill movement, and once again athletes worldwide rose to the occasion. A total of 99,924 men and 25,327 women successfully performed at least one bar muscle-up before the 12-minute time cap in 19.4.