John Crimber did not let a nasty groin injury keep him out of the arena during the PBR season-opener. The 20-year-old bull riding phenom led his team to victory in his first competition since the world championships.
He is one tough SOB!
Of course, it is not uncommon in bull riding to see an an athlete to compete through an injury. Every single rider is dealing with some kind of ailment, indefinitely. However, it was a surprise to see Crimber in the lineup. He was initially left out.
John Crimber is the reigning World Champion in bull riding.
At only 20 years old, John Crimber is already in the conversation as the greatest of all-time. He became the youngest rider in PBR history to surpass $1 million in career earnings and finished No. 2 in the world at the age of 18. That was only just the beginning.
Crimber first found success in the teams format. The Texas-native was named as MVP of PBR Teams in both his first and second seasons after being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick. And then he won the world championship as an individual in May.
The massive rise in popularity for Crimber is three-fold. First and foremost, he wins a lot at a young age. His personality as the “young buck” on the tour is electric. It also helps that he is American-born in a sport that is singular to the United States.
Crimber has nearly 900,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 500,000 on TikTok, and PBR obviously sees the most engagement on posts that feature their biggest star. His current trajectory sets him up to be the best and most popular rider the sport has ever seen.
He rode through a gnarly groin injury at the PBR Teams season-opener.
The first event of the 2026 PBR Teams schedule took place in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is one of the coolest events of the year. Six million pounds of dirt are dropped into Canvas Stadium at Colorado State.
The transformation from football field to rodeo arena is mesmerizing.
The dirt is set for a weekend in Ram Country 💪#TakeTheRide | @4Rivers_Equip pic.twitter.com/yqVdZYAwwa
— PBR (@PBR) July 10, 2026
It was initially announced that John Crimber, who competes for the Florida Freedom, would not be in the lineup. He is dealing with a gnarly groin injury that kept him out of the PRCA’s Cowboy Christmas event at the beginning of the month. It was also going to keep him out of the PBR Teams season-opener. He was not listed on the team card.
His recovery must’ve improved between Wednesday and the weekend because Crimber did get on a bull after all! He actually secured a win for his team with a 91.10-point ride on Dirty Honey.
That’s grit right there.
Crimber did not want to let his team down. He pushed through a nasty groin injury to get back on the bull and get the win!