The 2022 Dubai Fitness Championship (DFC) wrapped up on Sunday afternoon and it was a dramatic one. Spanish athlete Fabian Beneito won in a technicality after finishing with the same points as 2nd placed Moritz Fiebig. On the women’s side, it was a bit smoother for Karin Frey who was crowned the winner, but the fight for the podium was intense until the last event.
The DFC this year happened on December 2-4 and it was the first event from Dubai after sponsors announced they were parting ways with the brand CrossFit.
Here are the overall winners from 2022 Dubai Fitness Championship and a quick recap of the dramatic days of events for these elite-level athletes.
2022 Dubai Fitness Championship Winners
Men
- Fabian Beneito Selles — 625 points
- Moritz Fiebig — 625 points
- Brent Fikowski — 620 points
- Jonne Koski — 600 points
- Alex Kotoulas — 580 points
- Aniol Ekai — 520 points
- Luka Đukić — 455 points
- Briant Guillaume — 455 points
- Javier Gonzalez — 445 points
- Giorgos Karavis — 435 points
- Reggie Fasa — 430 points
- Lazar Đukić — 420 points
- Victor Hoffer — 395 points
- Luka Vunjak — 320 points
- Michal Wesolowski — 310 points
- Vladimir Sechin — 305 points
- Damián Martínez Satorres — 300 points
- Nikita Yundov — 240 points
- Khan Porter — Withdrew
- Simon Mäntylä — Withdrew
Women
- Karin Frey — 705 points
- Matilde Øyen Garnes — 585 points
- Emily Rolfe — 585 points
- Jamie Simmonds — 575 points
- Oihana Moya Oliver — 550 points
- Manon Angonese — 535 points
- Claudia Gluck — 515 points
- Hanna Karlsson — 500 points
- Freya Moosbrugger — 470 points
- Dana Paran — 445 points
- Lena Richter — 405 points
- Andrea Solberg — 370 points
- Aoife Burke — 360 points
- Ella Kanona Wunger — 335 pionts
- Seher Kaya — 335 points
- Aimee Cringle — 325 points
- Valentina Magalotti — 235 points
- Maria Längfors — 215 points
- Valentina Rangel — Withdrew
- Tayla Howe — Withdrew
Check out the detailed leaderboard here.
Dubai Fitness Championship Recap
For the CrossFit lovers out there, Dubai brought unique events, elimination rounds and a lot of nail-biting finishes.
There were a total of 8 events divided into three days. The first day comprised of only one event, but it was a tough endurance one: to climb up the stairs of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, with a weighted vest.
Alex Kotoulas and Jammie Simmonds would head into day 2 with the first win on their backs. However, both of them would not be on the podium when winners were crowned.
On day 2 athletes performed a clean ladder on event 2 and, in the end, the winners of this strength test finished on top of the podium on Sunday afternoon. For the women’s division, Oihana Moya Oliver and Karin Frey went head-to-head in a showdown with the latter coming out as the winner. For the men’s side, Fabian Beneito and Reggie Fasa went to the tiebreak with the Spanish athlete finishing slightly ahead and taking his first win of the competition.
Events 3 and 4 began to paint the picture of how uncertain the leaderboard would be for the men’s division. Brent Fikowski lead the pack followed closely by Mortiz Fiebig. Karin Frey won event 3 as well and finished 3rd on the last event of the day, solidifying her position coming into Sunday, with Jamie Simmonds following her 45 points behind.
The last day of the competition was not for the faint-hearted. While Karin Frey maintained her dominance on event 7 and finished 2nd on the last event of the day, in the men’s division it came down to the last rep, literally.
Coming into the last event, Fikowski and Beneito were tied in points at the top of the leaderboard and it all came down to who would best who. In the event, Moritz Fiebig cruised the finish line first and embraced the crowd, but all eyes were on Fikowski and Beneito.
The last part of the workout consisted of double dumbbell overhead walking lunge. While Fikowski began the exercise ahead, Beneito was close behind. It seemed like Fikowski would pass ahead of Beneito, securing his overall win at the DFC, but the very last step into the finish line was a no rep for the Canadian athlete. Beneito, close behind, passed him over and finished ahead.
Watch the crucial moment of Fikowski’s no rep at the very last second and Beneito passing him and securing the title.
In the end, Fikowski went from 1st to 3rd on the leaderboard. Moritz and Fiebig finished with 625 points, but the Spanish athlete took the crown with the tiebreak as he won 3 events in total while Moritz won just one.
If you missed out on the action, you can watch the Livestream of days 2 and 3 of the 2022 Dubai Fitness Championship.
Read More: Pat Vellner, Brent Fikowski, and Jeff Adler Team Up for the 2023 Wodapalooza
Image Sources
- 2023 CrossFit Season: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.