The 2016 CrossFit Liftoff, powered by Rogue, is behind us, and four-time Games athlete Alessandra Pichelli and CrossFit Games team competitor Cameron Pernich sit atop the leaderboard.
Two max-effort lifts and a CrossFit workout made up the events for the second-annual Liftoff. This year’s test of GPP was a 15-minute AMRAP of 25 pull-ups, a 50-calorie row, 100 overhead squats, 50 box jumps and another 25 pull-ups. The weight was 45 lb. for men and 35 lb. for women, and the men used a 24-in. box while the women jumped on a 20 in. box. Athletes had from Thursday, Nov. 3, to Monday, Nov. 7, to complete the tasks and log their scores.
Pichelli and Pernich took the top spots, logging 815 and 1,123 points, respectively.
Pichelli, who took ninth at the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games, snatched 210 lb. at a body weight of 159 lb., and she clean-and-jerked 245 lb. at a body weight of 157 lb. She logged 360 reps on the AMRAP.
Pernich, who has competed on teams for Boise CrossFit and Verdant CrossFit, snatched 315 lb. and clean-and-jerked 405 lb. at a body weight of 233 lb. He logged 403 reps on the AMRAP.
Similar to 2015, world-renowned weightlifters lifted the most in the snatch and the clean and jerk.
For the men, the heaviest snatch effort was logged by Sargis Martirosjan of Austria. Martirosjan snatched 385 lb. at a body weight of 236 lb. The 30-year-old qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics. See his snatch effort below.
The heaviest clean and jerk on the men’s side was 464 lb., put up by American weightlifter Cameron Swart, who falls in the 226+ lb. weight class. Swart competed in weightlifting for Team USA at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. See his clean-and-jerk effort below.
For the women, Romanian Olympian Andreea Aanei snatched the most weight. Aanei lifted 231 lb. at a body weight of 267 lb. The 23-year-old competed in the Women’s 75+ kg event at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The heaviest clean and jerk on the women’s side was set by Egyptian Dina Barakat, who lifted 285 lb. at a body weight of 167 lb. Barakat competed in weightlifting at the 2015 World Weightlifting Championships. See Barakat's lift below.
The best pound-for-pound male lifter was Christos Xotzaras, who snatched 319 lb. at a body weight of 153 lb. and clean-and-jerked 385 lb. at a body weight of 156 lb. See his efforts below.
The best pound-for-pound female was Albanian weightlifter Evagjelia Veli, who snatched 194 lb. at a body weight of 109 lb. and clean-and-jerked 238 lb. at a body weight of 108 lb. Veli competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the Women’s 53-kg weight class, where she finished in eighth place. See Veli's lifts below.
Pichelli and Pernich will be awarded the most valuable prize purse: US$3,000 plus a stacked Rogue gear package. The heaviest snatch and clean-and-jerk efforts will earn US$3,000 each in the men’s and women’s divisions, and the best pound-for-pound lifters will receive US$3,000 each for their efforts.
Rogue gear packages and cash prizes will be awarded to the athletes with the second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-largest overall totals, and Rogue weight belts will be awarded across all weight classes. Be sure to check out the official leaderboard to see who else won.
Thank you to all who challenged themselves and participated in this year’s event!
Ready for more competition? The Open is just around the corner. Registration starts Jan. 12, 2017.
