CrossFit Games

DCC2020 Online Challenge Event One Showcases Top Athletes

May 24, 2020 by
Photo credit: Granite Games (instagram.com/thegranitegames)
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The Dubai CrossFit Championship has long been known for its grueling workouts that have turned some of CrossFit’s superstars into mere mortals. The organizers of the annual event take pride in that, so to think that they would relax their programming because of limited equipment for participants and the competition moving online were sorely mistaken.

Event 1: The opening salvo of the competition was simple enough, a ten-minute AMRAP of alternating, single-arm devil press. The weight for the dumbbell in all eight divisions was 50 lbs for men and 35 lbs for women.

Looking at the Leaderboard: The Morning Chalk Up gave a preview of the star-studded roster throughout the eight divisions, all with their eyes a huge prize purse that totals $47,000. Those stars shined brightly in the first event as a look at the unofficial leaderboard in each division illustrates.

  • Women’s Division: Sara Sigmundsdottir and Carolyn Prevost tied for first place, completing 142 reps. Samantha Briggs finished one-rep behind the co-leaders, completing 141 reps. Sigmundsdottir and Briggs are the last two women’s champions at the Dubai CrossFit Championship Sanctionals. Russian Svetlana Kubyshkina finished in fourth place with 134 reps followed by Yuko Sakuyama, Japan’s 2020 National Champion, in fifth place. Other athletes of note include Andrea Nisler and Lari Cunha who tied for sixth. Emma McQuaid and Jacqueline Dahlstrom each completed 129 reps to tie for tenth. Danielle Brandon and Sarah Pinto placed 12th with 128 reps.
  • Men’s Division: Russian Alexander Ilin leads the men’s division with 156 reps followed by countryman Stas Solodov with 152 reps. Latvia national champion Uldis Upenieks (146 reps), American Colten Mertens (145 reps) and Canadian national champion Jeffrey Adler (141 reps) round out the top-five. Six-time Games qualifier and two-time podium finisher Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson tied for ninth with 137 reps.
  • Women’s 40+ Division: Two-time Games runner-up in the 40-44 division Kelly Friel leads with 130 reps. Kirsten Mckessar (125 reps), Jenn Ryan (124 reps), Joey Kimdon (122 reps), Laura Nielsen (121 reps) and Jenn Short (121 reps) complete the top-five.
  • Men’s 40+ Division: France’s Anthony Gallett recorded the most reps in the division with 135, ten more than Canada’s Derek Arbez. Tony Kurz and Ryan McCarthy are tied for third with 122 reps. Art Hamilton rounds out the top-five with 121 reps.
  • Women’s 50+ Division: Just six reps separated event one winner Francoise Mahier (116 reps) with fifth-place finisher Joyanne Cooper (110 reps). Games veteran Kristi Lunny placed second with 115 reps followed by Zoe Stewart and Tia Vesser who each completed 113 reps.
  • Men’s 50+ Division: A pair of Brits lead the way after event one. Michael Johnson completed 109 reps followed by countryman Simon Wilson-Storey who did 107 reps. Spain’s David Asier Madina De Salustiano tied Wilson-Storey with the United State’s Mark Herbick finishing fifth with 106 reps.
  • Teen Girls (18 and under) Division: Emma Cary continues her dominance of the teen field in 2020 with a resounding event one win. The 16-year old 2019 Games champion in the 14-15-year-old division completed 143 reps, the most reps in any of the women’s divisions. Fellow American Olivia Sulek, the 2018 Games 14-15-year-old division champion, is in second, finishing 11 reps behind Cary. Three-time Games teen division athlete Luiza Marques sits in third place with 124 reps. Sarah Schaefer is in fourth (121 reps) followed by Lilly Rodriguez and Anikha Greer in fifth with 119 reps. Cary’s 143 reps
  • Teen Boys (18 and under) Division: Eighteen-year-old Aussie Zac Thomas led the field with 136 reps. The United Kingdom was represented in second and third with Reece Mitchell (133 reps) and Oscar Sweeney (123 reps) taking those honors. Russian teen Artemiy Lushchikov finished fourth with 117 reps followed by three-time Games teen champion Dallin Pepper, who completed 115 reps.

What’s in store in Event 2: The second event features a 15-minute AMRAP in ascending order of box jumps, step downs and single-arm dumbbell thrusters.

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