The first workout of the 2021 CrossFit Open featured a movement we’ve never seen in any CrossFit competition: the wall walk. The movement challenged athletes to test their coordination and upper-body strength while maintaining the fundamental elements of the handstand position. Paired with high-rep double-unders, Open Workout 21.1 left people’s lungs and shoulders burning.
Hundreds of thousands of fans tuned in to watch the live announcement of the workout, which kicked off the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games season. General Manager of Sport Dave Castro revealed the workout from the CrossFit Home Office in Scotts Valley, California, and the broadcast was streamed live in six different languages on the CrossFit Games website, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch.
When the official leaderboard shook out, one man and one woman sat atop the individual leaderboard.
Women: Johanna Juliusdottir
Johanna Juliusdottir, 24, took the win on the women’s side in Open Workout 21.1, putting up an impressive time of 11:02 — the best time across the men’s and women’s field. A lesser-known dottir (for now), Juliusdottir hails from CrossFit Reykjavik in Iceland, and has competed at the CrossFit Games once in 2017 on Team CrossFit XY.
Juliusdottir has steadily worked her way up in Open ranking over the years, and looks to make a name for herself in the Sport of Fitness in 2021. Watch her winning performance below.
Men: Jonne Koski
Perennial CrossFit Games athlete Jonne Koski won the first workout of the season in the men’s field. The 26-year-old Finland native completed the couplet of wall walks and double-unders in 11:08.
Koski finished seventh in Stage 1 of the 2020 CrossFit Games, narrowly missing a chance to compete in Stage 2 at the Ranch in Aromas, California. Koski also boasts top-10 Games finishes in 2015 and 2017.
Watch his winning performance below.
Both Koski and Juliusdottir showed their attention to detail in a difficult new workout by putting in error-free performances that moved them into first place. Juliusdottir and Koski will be awarded US$2,021 each for the event win.
"Koski’s consistency and diligence with a new standard was impressive to watch," said CrossFit Director of Competition Adrian Bozman. "Congratulations on a great start to the Open!"
At the close of score submissions for 21.1, Andrea Solberg and Felipe Costa were at the top of the overall leaderboard. Just behind Costa was Jacob Wheeler in second. After video review, it was determined that Solberg only completed 197 double-unders in the final round and she was assessed a 13-second penalty. Review of Wheeler's and Costa's videos showed both athletes moved inconsistently throughout the workout and both were assessed a 20-second penalty. Solberg and Costa moved to second place overall in the workout, and Wheeler landed in third.
Open Workout 21.2 was announced on Thursday, March, 18. The couplet of dumbbell snatches and burpee box jump-overs is a repeat of Open Workout 17.1. Check out the movement standards and workout variations here.