First it was Dubai followed by Miami and Australia. Then the eyes of the CrossFit community were focused on Cape Town, South Africa. Fittest in Cape Town delivered yet another great event for the 2019 season, and we now have two more names added to the list of CrossFit Games qualified athletes.

Women

1st – Katrin Davidsdottir

The two-time Fittest Woman on Earth picked her spot and came through big this weekend. Going into the last event she had a lead of more than 60 points and had the overall victory in hand so long as she didn’t finish in the bottom three. She finished fifth in the final event due to a difficulty with the rope climb portion, but she has time to turn that negative into a positive between now and the Games.

2nd – Mia Akerlund

Akerlund hung around throughout the entire weekend but struggled in the eighth event, finishing 13th. By that point Davidsdottir was performing up to her championship standard and pulled ahead for good. Akerlund certainly put on a great overall showing for herself and was rewarded with a chance to stand on the podium next to a past Games champion.

3rd – Alessandra Pichelli

Pichelli and Akerlund actually tied on the final points score but Akerlund takes the silver thanks to the tiebreaker. Pichelli, an Ontario native and former competitive rower, has been to the Games in the past and finished 14th in Madison last year. So she can very well still qualify in another Sanctional or the Open.

Men

1st – Sean Sweeney

“The CrossFit Cowboy” pulled off an upset this weekend and defeated the popular favorite Cole Sager to snag the win and his spot in the Games. Sweeney is a testimony as to why the Sanctionals are so important for these athletes. He has a history of struggling in the Open so this may have very well been his only opportunity to make it to Madison, and he was up to the challenge. This will be Sweeney’s third trip to the Games with his previous best finish being a 22nd last year.

2nd – Cole Sager

Sager pushed Sweeney to the very end, even winning the final event of the competition. The 28-year-old former North West Regional champ is currently ranked as the seventh Fittest Man on Earth so the odds are that he will find another way to Madison.

3rd – James Newbury

Newbury, winner of the Australian CrossFit Championship, came in third this weekend, an impressive feat considering he competed last weekend, won his spot in the Games, traveled halfway around the world to compete again and still made the podium. He actually won two events, too. 

Teams

1st – Vondelgym

2nd – Superheroproject

3rd – Jacked Rebels

Vondelgym finished in the top five at every event in the competition, but Superheroproject was hot on their heels by the end of the day. They started the final day behind by 100 points but came all the way back to be in a position to win. Alas, thanks to coming in third to Vondelgym’s second, they lost by just four points.

Future Events

The next Sanctional on the schedule takes place in the United Kingdom. The CrossFit Strength in Depth event takes place Feb. 23-24 in London. Sara Sigmundsdottir will be competing in the women’s side of the field. Lukas Hogberg, the current third Fittest Man on Earth and four-time Fittest Man in Sweden will be competing among the men. You can find out more about this event by following @strengthindepthuk on Instagram.

Also coming up is the CrossFit Open. Feb. 21 is the first of five weeks’ worth of workouts and for many athletes, this will be their path to the Games. Thanks to the new opportunities for the 162 countries involved in CrossFit, this is the most exciting Open yet. We will share more about the Open and SiD later this month here on FloElite.

Roger Lockridge is from Lewisburg, West Virginia. His work has been featured on numerous platforms and magazines in the fitness industry over the last 10 years. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @rocklockridge.