2021 Dubai CrossFit Championship: Day 1 Recap
Day 1 of the Dubai CrossFit Championship came to a close after two events in the most unlikely place you would expect. The opening day found all 38 athletes bussed to the Mall of the Emirates to face the slopes of Ski Dubai, the only indoor ski resort in the Middle East.
Event 1A, “Stay Frosty”: The athletes had to complete five rounds of 500 meter ski erg followed by a 400 meter run up and then down the ski slope. The time cap was 17:00 for the women and 16:00 for the men.
- Women’s Heat 1: From the opening round Gabriela Migała and Mikaela Norman separated from the pack and jockeyed for the lead throughout the first four rounds. Norman took a slight lead on the run up the slope and then sprinted down to just finish under the time cap, completing the workout in 16:48. Migała just made it under the timecap with a time of 16:59. Sara Sigmundsdottir in her first competition since her surgery finished over the timecap but finished third in the heat.
- Women’s Heat 2: From the onset it was a three-woman race featuring CrossFit Games podium finishers in Laura Horvath, Kristin Holte and Sam Briggs. Horvath was the leader through the first three rounds due to her strong ski splits. In the fourth round, the 39-year old Briggs caught Horvath on the run down the slope and opened up a 60 meter lead over the 2021 Games runner-up, finishing the workout one second better than Norman with a time of 16:47 to claim the event win. She was followed by Horvath and Holte who finished after the timecap but still claimed fourth and fifth in the event.
- Men’s Heat 1: Roman Khrennikov looked at home in the snow in the first two rounds, jumping out to a 25 meter lead at one point. During the run up the slope in round three Ricky Garard overtook the Russian but Khrennikov regained the lead by finishing the ski first in round four. Garard soon followed and easily passed him on the run up the slope and then built up a 50-meter lead and finished the event with a time of 14:59. Khrennikov finished second in the heat with a time of 15:06 followed by Lazar Đukić (15:19) and Frenchman Willy Georges (15:20).
- Men’s Heat 2: German Moritz Fiebig came out hot in the opening round but Jeffrey Adler and Andre Houdet chipped away at his lead during the second round. Adler was the first athlete in the heat off the ski in round three and held onto the lead throughout finishing with a time of 15:37 which placed him seventh. German Moritz Fiebig finished second in the heat with a time of 15:49 putting him ninth overall.
Event 1B: A simple run up the entire distance of the slope, roughly 700 meters, with a weighted 5.11 tactical vest. Twenty pounds for the men and 14 pounds for the women. Time cap was 7:00.
- Women’s Heat 1: The opening heat became a race between two Scandinavian women and a Canadian. Norwegian Martine Solheim, Swede Mikaela Norman and Emily Rolfe quickly jumped ahead of the pack. Solheim and Norman then had a foot-race down the slope with Solheim winning by one second, 2:13. Norman finished in 2:14. Rolfe finished in 2:16 followed by Migala (2:17).
- Women’s Heat 2: In an event made for her, Holte finished the course in 1:57 ahead of Horvath (1:59) giving her the event win. Rebecka Vitesson finished third in the heat and overall finishing in 2:01.
- Men’s Heat 1: Garard started strong off the start line and maintained a steady pace and lead over Khrennikov sprinting down the slope and finishing in 3:05, nearly twenty seconds faster than the next competitor securing his second-straight event win. Khrennikov (3:24) recorded his second-straight runner-up finish behind Garard followed by Willy Georges (3:27). Henrik Haapalainen finished fourth in the heat and overall.
- Men’s Heat 2: Adler continued to show off his newfound engine and wasted no time jumping ahead of the pack in this heat, leading from start to finish with a time of 3:33 which placed him fifth in the event.
What’s on tap for Day 2: The athletes will head to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium for the final two days of competition. Friday’s schedule consists of three workouts including a max clean and jerk event. Check with the Morning Chalk Up’s Dubai competition coverage hub for an updated schedule, leaderboard and as well as the DCC YouTube channel livestream times.
Day 1 Leaderboard
- Samantha Briggs (185) | Ricky Garard (200)
- Kristin Holte (180) | Roman Khrennikov (190)
- Laura Horvath (180) | Willy Georges (175)
- Mikaela Norman (170) | Lazar Đukić (165)
- Gabriela Migała (159) | Henrik Haapalainen (160)
- Rebecka Vitesson (153) | Jeffrey Adler (153)
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