The Final Few to Forge Ahead: Week 3 Games Qualifiers

June 5, 2023

Kelley Laxton

Check out the final few headed to the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games from the Europe and Asia Semifinals. 

The final two regions to take on the 2023 Semifinals were Europe and Asia, and the Games roster is now complete with 40 men, 40 women, and 38 teams. 

Take a look at the best-performing individual men, women, and teams advancing to Madison in August. 

Europe

Women

  1. Gabriela Migała
  2. Annie Thorisdottir
  3. Laura Horvath
  4. Emma Tall
  5. Karin Freyová
  6. Matilde Garnes
  7. Manon Angonese
  8. Ella Wunger
  9. Elisa Fuliano
  10. Emma McQuaid
  11. Rebecka Vitesson

 

About the Winner: Gabriela Migała

Gabriela Migała

Photo by Amy Wong

 

First appearing in the teen division in 2016, Migała has attended five CrossFit Games, adding a sixth to her record after her first-place finish at the 2023 Europe Semifinal. 

This is Migała’s first Semifinal win, improving from third-place finishes the past two years at the CrossFit Lowlands Throwdown Semifinal. 

The 24-year-old took six top-five finishes over the weekend, her best finish in Test 3 when she edged out Annie Thorisdottir by just two-hundredths of a second, taking the test win at 12:08.95.

 

Men

  1. Lazar Dukić
  2. Henrik Haapalainen
  3. Moritz Fiebig
  4. Jelle Hoste
  5. Jonne Koski
  6. Uldis Upenieks
  7. David Shorunke
  8. Björgvin Karl Gudmundsson
  9. Bronislaw Olenkowicz
  10. Michal Wesolowski
  11. Fabian Beneito

 

About the Winner: Lazar Dukić

Lazar Dukic

Photo by Amy Wong

 

The season started with Lazar Dukić at the 23.1 Open announcement, and the weekend ended with Dukić taking home his second-straight Semifinal championship title at the 2023 Europe Semifinal. 

But this was a bittersweet moment for the Serbian. 

His brother, Luka, was also competing at the 2023 Europe Semifinal this weekend. But Luka had been sick with the flu when he took the floor and decided his body couldn’t handle the weekend after just one day. This was the second time Luka has missed out on a ticket to the Games while competing alongside his brother. 

After Test 7, Lazar was asked how he felt about his Semifinal win, to which he responded, “At the same time, you feel happiness and sadness. Proud of myself and proud of him (Luka).”

 

Teams

  1. No Shortcuts CrossFit
  2. CrossFit Oslo Navy Blue
  3. CrossFit Walleye Athlete
  4. CrossFit Oslo Blackout
  5. CrossFit Genas
  6. CrossFit Prestanda
  7. CrossFit Portti
  8. CrossFit Trondheim
  9. CrossFit Oslo Najs
  10. CrossFit Rotherham

 

About the Winner: No Shortcuts CrossFit

No Shortcuts CrossFit

Photo by @lifeofmalm

 

In the first year of its existence, team No Shortcuts CrossFit has dominated the team division, taking seventh worldwide in the Open, fourth worldwide in the Team Quarterfinal, and now first at the 2023 Europe Semifinal.

The team might be making its Games debut, but its members aren't new to the finals. All four members — Nienke van Overveld, Julie Hougård Nielsen, Andre Houdet, and Julian Kragh-Maschvitsz — are past individual or team CrossFit Games athletes and have eight Games appearances combined.

 

Asia

Women

  1. Seher Kaya
  2. Shahad Budebs

 

About the Winner: Seher Kaya

Seher Kaya

Photo by @do_project_

 

Seher Kaya made her Games debut last year after taking second at the 2022 Far East Throwdown. She came back to the Asia Semifinal looking for gold. 

While Kaya is leaving her mark on the Sport of Fitness, the 25-year-old is also making waves for Muslim women in sports. Kaya was the only Muslim athlete competing in the individual division at the Games last year, and she continues to be an inspiration to girls wishing to follow in her path. 

Learn more about Kaya in “Seher Kaya: ‘I Want To Be the Face of the Middle East.

 

Men

  1. Arthur Semenov
  2. Morteza Sedaghat

 

About the Winner: Arthur Semenov

Arthur Semenov

Photo by @do_project_

 

Similar to Kaya, Arthur Semenov qualified for his first CrossFit Games just last year after a second-place finish at the 2022 Far East Throwdown. 

Semenov left it all out on the floor this past weekend, taking three first-place finishes and a clean sweep on Day 2. 

After a 39th-place finish at the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games, Semenov will return to Madison with another year of training under his belt and CrossFit Games experience. 

 

Teams

  1. CrossFit Fly High Kolesnikov Team
  2. CrossFit Marvel Black

 

About the Winner: CrossFit Fly High Kolesnikov Team

 

“We’re going to the Games! And let this headline become an annual tradition,” said CrossFit Fly High Kolesnikov Team.

After taking fourth in Asia in the Open and Quarterfinals, CrossFit Fly High Kolesnikov Team kept that streak alive this weekend at the 2023 Asia Semifinal. The team took first place in the first four tests and second in the final two, finishing with a 65-point lead over second-place finisher CrossFit Marvel Black. 

Aleksandr Plyushkin, Denis Catana, Aleksandra Buzunova, and Kseniia Trubetskaia will be headed to Madison to have a shot at winning the title of Fittest Team on Earth. 

 

Up Next: The 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games

Every athlete and team listed in this article has been invited to compete for the title of Fittest on Earth at the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games from Aug. 1-6, and you can watch them compete live in Madison, Wisconsin. Tickets are still available for purchase HERE

Check out more information at Games.CrossFit.com


2023 Semifinals Recaps