2019 CrossFit Games

For this season, the Games qualification procedures were overhauled. For the first year since 2008, the CrossFit Games no longer hosted a regional qualifier and instead sanctioned independently run events around the world. The events were trademarked as "Sanctionals" by CrossFit,{{cite web |url=https://morningchalkup.com/2019/01/10/crossfit-hq-trademarks-sanctionals/ |title=CrossFit HQ Trademarks "Sanctionals" |date=January 10, 2019 |first=Justin |last=Lofranco |work=Morning Chalk Up}} and were used to qualify participants in the Men, Women, and Team divisions for the 2019 Games. In previous years the CrossFit Open was used to determine which athletes and teams qualified for the Regionals. In 2019, each Sanctional was either by invitation or through its own open qualification process. The CrossFit Open still occurred, but was used to qualify directly to the Games.{{cite web |url=https://morningchalkup.com/2018/08/23/how-greg-glassman-is-reshaping-the-crossfit-games/ |title=How Greg Glassman is Reshaping the CrossFit Games |website=MorningChalkUp.com |date=August 23, 2018}} Team rules were also changed so that members no longer needed to be from the same CrossFit affiliate and a team can be composed of the best athletes from different affiliates (hence dubbed the "superteam"), there was therefore also no Affiliate Cup which was awarded to an affiliate in previous year.{{cite web |url=https://www.boxrox.com/the-rise-of-the-superteams/ |title=The Future of CrossFit – The Rise of The Superteams |date=October 16, 2019 |work=BoxRox }}{{cite web |url=https://morningchalkup.com/2019/04/09/the-team-loophole-and-the-rise-of-super-super-teams/ |title=The Team Loophole and the Rise of Super, Super Teams |date=April 9, 2019 |first= Justin |last= Lofranco |work=Morning Chalk Up }}

Individual athletes qualified for the 2019 CrossFit Games in one of four ways by order of precedence: becoming a national champion in the 2019 CrossFit Open, finishing in the top 20 men or women worldwide in the Open, winning a Sanctionals event, or by select invitation at the Games' discretion.

The first set of qualified athletes were the men or women who finished top 20 worldwide in the Open, as well as the top-ranked man and woman in the Open from each country with at least one CrossFit affiliate in good standing, and who had completed each Open workout as written in the Rx'd (prescribed) category after video review. 357,000 athletes registered for the Open, a drop of 14% from the 2018 Games.{{cite web |url=https://morningchalkup.com/2022/02/24/open-registration-continues-to-climb-needs-final-push-to-surpass-2021/|title=Open Registration Continues to Climb, Needs Final Push To Surpass 2021 |date=February 24, 2022 |work=Morning Chalk Up }} The Open took place over five weeks starting on February 21; after the Open was completed, a total of 123 men and 117 women qualified for the Games as national champions pending final review.{{cite web |url=https://barbend.com/2019-crossfit-open-leaders/ |title=2019 CrossFit Open Leaders and the BIG Difference Between National Champion Scores |website=barbend.com |date=March 29, 2019}}{{Cite web |url=https://games.crossfit.com/leaderboard/open/2019?country_champions=1&division=1 |title=2019 Men's National Champions Leaderboard |website=CrossFit Games |access-date=April 2, 2019}}{{Cite web |url=https://games.crossfit.com/leaderboard/open/2019?country_champions=1&division=2 |title=2019 Women's National Champions Leaderboard |website=CrossFit Games |access-date=April 2, 2019}} After the national champions were determined, the next 20 overall male and female worldwide finishers in the Open qualified for the Games. Mat Fraser and Sara Sigmundsdóttir were the overall winners of the Open.{{cite news |url=https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/crossfit-strongman/article/3003868/crossfit-open-2019-results-mat-fraser-and-sara |title=CrossFit Open 2019 results: Mat Fraser and Sara Sigmundsdottir win, pending ratification |first=Mark |last=Agnew |date=March 29, 2019|work=South China Morning Post }}

The 2019 Sanctionals consisted of 15 sanctioned events that took place between December 2018 and June 2019. The events were the Dubai CrossFit Championship (Dubai), Australian CrossFit Championship (Broadbeach), Wodapalooza (Miami), CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town, CrossFit Strength in Depth (London), Asia CrossFit Championship (Shanghai), Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge (Baltimore), CrossFit Italian Showdown (Milan), Brazil CrossFit Championship (São Paulo), CrossFit Lowlands Throwdown (Apeldoorn), Down Under CrossFit Championship (Wollongong), Reykjavik CrossFit Championship (Reykjavík), Rogue Invitational (Columbus, Ohio), CrossFit French Throwdown (Paris), and the Granite Games (St. Cloud, Minnesota).{{Cite web|url=https://games.crossfit.com/article/crossfit-sanctioned-competition-list|title=CrossFit-Sanctioned Competition List|website=CrossFit Games|access-date=2019-02-27}}

Unlike the Regionals of previous years where the events were standardised, each Sanctional devised its own separate workouts, which may vary in number from six to twelve workouts. The male, female, and team winners of each of the events qualified for the Games and if a Sanctionals event winner has previously qualified for the 2019 CrossFit Games, the qualifying place for that competition would be awarded to the next highest finisher who has yet to qualify for the games.

The final method of qualification allowed for the CrossFit Games to issue four at-large bids. No other details were provided by the CrossFit Games rulebook,{{cite web |url=https://games.crossfit.com/rules/open |title=2019 CrossFit Games Rulebook |publisher=CrossFit Games |access-date=January 8, 2019}} but invitations were given to professional obstacle course racer Hunter McIntyre and ten-time CrossFit Games competitor Ben Smith following social media campaigns.{{cite web |url=https://barbend.com/ben-smith-wildcard-crossfit-games/ |title=Ben Smith Receives Wildcard Invite To 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games|first= Jake|last= Boly|date= July 28, 2019 |work=BarBend}}

Following the qualification procedure, there were 148 men and 134 women that had qualified for the CrossFit Games in the Individual competition (143 men and 117 women turned up at the Games). In the previous 4 Games, no athletes were cut during the competition; this year due to the significantly higher number of participants, the Games implemented cuts after each of the first 6 events. The field was cut to 75 competitors after the first event, and 50 competitors after the second. 10 athletes were then cut for each subsequent event until only 10 remained after the Sprint Course on Saturday.{{cite web |url=https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/crossfit/article/3018746/what-crossfit-games-2019-schedule-madison |title=What is the CrossFit Games 2019 schedule in Madison? |website=South China Morning Post |first=Mark |last=Agnew |date=July 16, 2019}} The scoring for each event was adjusted after the cuts so that there would be greater point difference in later events than in the earlier events (wins were therefore more advantageous in later events).{{cite web |url=https://thebarbellspin.com/functional-fitness/2019-crossfit-games-scoring-tables-revealed/ |title=2019 CrossFit Games Scoring Tables Revealed |first= Brian |last=Pyfferoen |date=July 19, 2019 |work=The Barbell Spin}} The drastic nature of the cuts and how early the athletes were cut proved controversial as many podium finishers of previous Games such as Sara Sigmundsdottir, Samantha Briggs, Annie Thorisdottir, Patrick Vellner, Brent Fikowski, and Ben Smith failed to reach the later stages of the competition.{{cite web |url= https://boxlifemagazine.com/different-structure-same-results-tia-mat-do-it-again-a-recap-of-the-2019-crossfit-games/ |title=Different Structure, Same Results. Tia & Mat Do It Again – A Recap of the 2019 CrossFit Games|first= Ashley |last=Dumas|work=BoxLife Magazine}}{{cite news |url=https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/health-fitness/article/3021452/crossfit-games-2019-cuts-divide-social-media-users |title=CrossFit Games 2019: cuts divide social media users after being introduced this year|first=Jonathan |last=White|date= August 5, 2019|work=South China Morning Post }}

Four rounds for time of:

• 400-meter run
• Three legless rope climbs
• Seven squat snatches

The snatch weight for the event was {{convert|185|lb|kg|abbr=off}} for men and {{convert|130|lb|kg|abbr=off}} for women. The event was won by both defending champions, Mat Fraser and Tia-Clair Toomey.

As fast as possible, each competitor accumulated 800 meters on a rowing machine, then lifted two kettlebells from the shoulder to overhead for 66 repetitions, and then finished with {{convert|132|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} of handstand walking. The weight of each kettlebell was {{convert|16|kg|lb|abbr=off}} for the men and {{convert|12|kg|lb|abbr=off}} for the women. Fraser won the men's event again, while Danielle Brandon won the women's side.

Competitors ran four laps around a {{convert|1500|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} course carrying a weighted rucksack. The weight increased by {{convert|10|lb|kg|abbr=off}} each lap, from 20 pounds on the first lap to 50 pounds on the last. Lukas Högberg and Emily Rolfe won the event. A bag fell out of Mat Fraser's rucksack near the end of the 6 km run without his being aware of it, which led to a penalty of 60 seconds, dropping his position in the event from 6th to 17th.{{cite news |url=https://www.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/crossfit/article/3021285/crossfit-games-2019-mat-fraser-penalised-dropping-weight |title=CrossFit Games 2019: Mat Fraser penalised for dropping weight on Ruck run, mistake costs him the lead|first1=Mark |last1=Agnew|first2=Patrick |last2=Blennerhasset |date=August 3, 2019 |work=South China Morning Post}}

• {{convert|172|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} sled push
• Bar muscle-ups; 18 for men and 15 for women
• {{convert|172|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|adj=on}} sled push

The competitors started the event by pushing a sled, then completing the required number of muscle-ups on a pull-up bar, and then finished with another sled push to the finish line. The event was won by Matt McLeod and Amanda Barnhart.

As many repetitions as possible in 20 minutes of:

• Five handstand push-ups
• Ten alternating single-leg squats
• Fifteen pull-ups

A traditional CrossFit workout, the competitors performed five handstand push-ups, then ten squats, followed by fifteen pull-ups. After the pull-ups, they started back at the handstand push-ups and repeated the order until the 20 minute mark. The event was won by Noah Ohlsen, who took the overall lead from Mat Fraser with this win,{{cite web |url=https://sport360.com/article/other/331536/noah-ohlsen-steals-the-lead-and-other-talking-points-from-day-two-of-crossfit-games-2019 |title=CrossFit Games 2019: Noah Ohlsen steals the lead and other talking points from day two |first= Niall|last= McCague |date=August 3, 2019 |work=Sport360}} and Kari Pearce.{{cite web |url=https://www.boxrox.com/kari-pearce-beats-all-the-boys-in-mary|title=CrossFit Games News – Kari Pearce Beats All The Boys in "Mary"|date=August 3, 2019 |first=Robbie Wild|last= Hudson |work=BoxRox}}

Three-round bracket elimination sprint course. In heats of five, competitors ran through a course. The top ten in the first round advanced to the second round, and then the top five in the second round moved on to the final run. Saxon Panchick and Kristin Holte won the event.

Following the event, only the final ten competitors participated in the remainder of the competition.

Five rounds as fast as possible of:

• Peg board ascent
• 100 double-unders
• 10 single-arm dumbbell split snatches
• 10 single-arm dumbbell clean and split jerks

The dumbbell weight was {{convert|80|lb|kg|abbr=off}} for the men {{convert|55|lb|kg|abbr=off}} for the women. Mat Fraser and Tia-Clair Toomey won the event.

The event consisted of progressively heavier weights that each competitor must clean. The men started at {{convert|315|lb|kg|abbr=off}} and the women started at {{convert|215|lb|kg|abbr=off}}. If multiple athlete failed to complete a lift at the same weight, they went to a tie-breaker bar, where they then cleaned {{convert|295|lb|kg|abbr=off}} for men and {{convert|195|lb|kg|abbr=off}} for women five times. The time to complete the five lifts and run to a finish line was the tie-breaker score. The event was again won by defending champions Mat Fraser and Tia-Clair Toomey, with a {{convert|380|lb|kg|abbr=off|adj=on}} and {{convert|265|lb|kg|abbr=off|adj=on}} clean, respectively.

A {{convert|1000|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=off|adj=on}} swim to a buoy in Lake Monona and back to shore, then immediately grabbing a paddleboard for a 1,000-meter paddle on the same course. The event was won by Matt McLeod and Tia-Clair Toomey.

;Ringer 1

• Air Bike for 30 calories
• 30 toes-to-rings
• Air bike for 20 calories
• 20 toes-to-rings
• Air bike for 10 calories
• 10 toes-to-rings

;Ringer 2

• 15 burpees to ring touch
• 15 overhead squats
• 10 burpees to ring touch
• 10 overhead squats
• 5 burpees to ring touch
• 5 overhead squats

Ringer 1 and Ringer 2 were separately scored events, with Ringer 2 starting seven minutes after the start of Ringer 1 (time-capped 6 minutes). In Ringer 1, the competitors alternated between riding an air-resistance stationary bicycle and repetitions of hanging from gymnastic rings and touching their toes to the rings. In Ringer 2, the athletes alternated between completing burpees and jumping up to touch the rings as a target and overhead squats with a barbell. The men's weight on the barbell was {{convert|135|lb|kg|abbr=off}} and the women's was {{convert|95|lb|kg|abbr=off}}. Katrín Davíðsdóttir won both women's events, while James Newbury won Ringer 1 and Mat Fraser won Ringer 2 for the men. Fraser retook the overall lead from Ohlsen by 25 points after his win.{{cite web |url=https://www.floelite.com/articles/6550360-fraser-toomey-mayhem-continue-their-dominance-at-the-crossfit-games |title=Fraser, Toomey & Mayhem Continue Their Dominance At The CrossFit Games|date=August 5, 2019 |work=FloElite}}

• 30 clean and jerks
• 30 ring muscle-ups
• 30 snatches

For the final event, a combination of three standard CrossFit workouts were done back-to-back-to-back: "Grace" (30 clean and jerks), muscle-ups, and "Isabel" (30 snatches). The weight for both barbell movements was {{convert|135|lb|kg|abbr=off}} and {{convert|95|lb|kg|abbr=off}} for the men and women, respectively. The event was won both Mat Fraser and Tia-Clair Toomey, who also both repeated as CrossFit Games champions.

Teams were cut to 11 after Strongman's Fear, 9 after Sprint Relay, 7 after Big Chipper, 5 after Swim Paddle.

• Assault to Bob
• Rope Worm
• Clean and Jerk
• Team Ruck
• Team Strongman's Fear
• Sprint Relay
• Big Chipper
• Team Swim Paddle
• The Trio

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOUJdfGFdEe2l-gNpFLVaZtH2rTnhF6sX 2019 CrossFit Games] Individual events on CrossFit Games official YouTube channel
• [https://games.crossfit.com/workouts/games/2019 2019 CrossFit Games]

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{{CrossFit Games}}

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