BOXROX has compared every single Semifinal athlete result for the two events that they had to endure across the globe to figure out who are the fittest athletes coming into the final part of the CrossFit season.
When CrossFit announced it would program two events across all Semifinals, it was an opportunity to compare how some of the fittest individual athletes in the world stack up against one another.
The events replicated in each of the 10 Semifinals around the world were:
WORKOUT 1 – 2014 Regional Event 5
10 rounds for time:
- 1 legless rope climb – 15 feet
- Run 170 feet
Time cap: 11 minutes
WORKOUT 2 – Barbell complex
3 attempts for max load of:
- 3 cleans
- 2 front squats
- 1 jerk (shoulder-to-overhead)
10 Highlights, Surprises and Shocks of All 2022 CrossFit Semifinals
How We Scored Athletes
Since in both men’s and women’s divisions more than 280 athletes were competing, BOXROX utilised the Open system to discover who was the fittest.
Athletes would get a minimum of 1 point in each event. The fastest person on WORKOUT 1, for example, would get 1 point, the second-fastest would get 2 points and so on. In case of a tie, athletes would get the same amount of points. The scoring system was applied to WORKOUT 2.
In the end, adding both points, the athlete with the smaller number was crowned the fittest.
Athletes with the name in green have received an invitation to the Crossfit games. names in yellow means that athlete can compete at the last-chance qualifier.
Men Leaderboard
Women Leaderboard
Tia-Clair Toomey Dominating (Again)
Tia-Clair Toomey won every single event at her respective Semifinal this year, the only individual athlete to do so this year. When comparing the numbers of both workouts that every 280+ athlete had to endure, she also came out on top with flying colours. Only 3 points – 2 points being the best outcome possible.
Jeffrey Adler Edges Out Competitors
While Tia-Clair Toomey simply dusted the opposition, in the men’s division the race was much tighter. Jeffrey Adler came out on top with 2 points difference from 2nd place Tudor Magda and Roman Khrennikov.
Justin Medeiros Makes a Statement
Justin Medeiros is the current Fittest Man on Earth on the path to defending his title. Some people consider him not the strongest athlete in the mix – last year at the snatch event he finished 7th with a 285lb lift.
Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.However, his numbers proved he is a well-rounded athlete with great capabilities. Compared with all 281 athletes that did the barbell complex, he came out tied in 8th.
Best Athletes That Didn’t Make It
We know we are comparing only two workouts out of 6 events, but still it is mind-boggling to see some athletes that did very well on these two events, but failed to get an invitation to the CrossFit Games or to try again at the Last-Chance Qualifier.
On the men’s side, we saw the biggest disparity possible. Luis Oscar Mora, a Mexican athlete who competed at the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge, finished in 4th place across all Semifinals in these two workouts but did not get even close to getting to the Last-Chance Qualifier.
At the MACC, his 335-pound lift was the heaviest and he finished the 2014 Regional Event in 5th place. However, the other workouts programmed for his Semifinal only got him to the 12th placement, not enough to secure him a chance in Madison, Wisconsin.
In the top 10, we also saw Kristof Horvath not staying inside the top 8 at the Strength in Depth Semifinal to give him, at least, a spot at the Last-Chance Qualifier. And yes, his last name is famous as he is the brother of 2021 2nd Fittest Woman on Earth Laura Horvath. He is also the coach of his girlfriend Gabriela Migala, 6th Fittest Woman on Earth.
In the women’s division, there was less disparity, but still one athlete in the top 10 did not stay above the cut line at the end of the weekend in her Semifinal. Marie Robin is a 25-year-old French athlete who competed against Katrin Davidsdottir, Jacqueline Dahlstrom, and Emma McQuaid among others at the Strength in Depth Semifinal.
Robin finished 9th, one spot shy of receiving the Last-Chance Qualifier spot.
The Best of the Last-Chance Qualifier
Below you will find a list of the best 5 athletes from both divisions that somehow did not get an invitation to the Games just yet, but will probably compete again at the Last-Chance Qualifier.
Best 5 Men Who Got a Spot at the Last-Chance Qualifier
- Artur Semenov – 35 points (Far East Throwdown)
- Griffin Roelle – 58 points (Syndicate Crown)
- Nick Mathew – 75 points (Granite Games)
- Tyler Christophel – 80 points (MACC)
- Matt Dlugos – 94 points (Granite Games)
Best 5 Women Who Got a Spot at the Last-Chance Qualifier
- Gabby McClelland – 55 points (Syndicate Crown)
- Kloie Wilson – 106 points (Granite Games)
- Kelly Clark – 107 points (MACC)
- Lindsey Porter – 121 points (MACC)
- Arielle Loewen – 122 points (Syndicate Crown)
Bottom of The Pack
We’ve seen some of the best athletes in the 2 workouts that didn’t make the cut, but how about the “least fittest athletes” who managed to get a Games invitation.
Last 5 Men Who Qualified for the Games
- Kealan Henry – 329 points (Fittest in Cape Town)
- Pedro Martins – 325 points (Copa Sur)
- Colten Mertens – 234 points (Granite Games)
- Uldis Upenieks – 220 points (Lowlands Throwdown)
- Bayden Brown – 206 points (Torian Pro)
Last 5 Women Who Qualified for the Games
- Julia Kato – 328 points (Copa Sur)
- Seher Kaya – 238 points (Far East Throwdown)
- Brooke Wells – 225 points (MACC)
- Emily Rolfe – 198 points (Granite Games
- Michelle Merand – 180 points (Fittest in Cape Town)
Shortcomings of this comparison
Although the Semifinal events were relatively identical to each other, there are a few factors we need to take into consideration when seeing who was the fittest in our list above.
First and foremost, the order in which the events were fit into the Semifinal’s program. Some organisers decided to have the event at the very end (Atlas had WORKOUT 1 as the last event) while for athletes in other Semifinals the workouts were programmed earlier (Far East Throwdown had the workouts on events 2 and 3). Undoubtedly an athlete is more tired towards the end of a competition program than at the beginning and that can affect the overall performance.
Another factor that could affect the performance of the athletes is the type of competition floor they had to run on. At the Granite Games, for example, athletes did the shuttle run on turf, which can be slippery and make people more conscious about going full-speed.
BOXROX also didn’t take into consideration:
- The temperature of the environment when athletes were competing (the seasons are opposite in the north and south hemispheres).
- Possible travel fatigue – some athletes had to travel across the globe to compete in their Semifinals such as Roman Khrennikov and Tia-Clair Toomey.
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Image Sources
- How is Justin Medeiros so good at CrossFit: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.
- Semifinal Workouts Compared: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.