The men and women of the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games took the competition floor again Friday morning, and the battle to be the Fittest on Earth is in full swing with many unknown events and athlete cuts on the horizon.
Canadian Brent Fikowski and Australian Tia-Clair Toomey started Friday in first place overall with 322 and 397 points, respectively. With the absence of five-time CrossFit Games champion Mat Fraser — who would usually be dominating the leaderboard by this point — the men’s race was closer than ever. Just 9 points separated Fikowksi and Justin Medeiros, in second. Toomey sat 57 points ahead of Haley Adams.
Event 5 was the only known event on Friday morning, but by the end of the day, athletes had competed in five scored events, making waves on the leaderboard as we look ahead to Saturday.
Event 5
4 rounds for time:
4 rope climbs, 20 ft.
500/400-m SkiErg
42-ft. sandbag carry, 150 | 200 lb.
Time cap: 15 min.
Men
The men took the field first at the Alliant Energy Center. In the first heat, Australian Royce Dunne set the time to beat in the forearm-demanding triplet of rope climbs, SkiErg, and heavy sandbag carries. Dunne crossed the finish line at 12:01.53, which was good enough for third in the event after the last heat had had its way with the challenge.
The final heat was a battle of Canadians as overall leader Fikowski and 2018’s second-fittest Man on Earth Patrick Vellner finished the final round’s SkiErg at nearly the same time. But it was Vellner who persevered, continuing to advance past his unfortunate Event 1 finish as he won the event, grabbed 100 points, and climbed to fourth overall.
“Every now and then you get a little slow-ball pitch for the tall guys,” Vellner said after the event. “The sandbag — when you're a bit longer, you can link the hands and you don't have to squeeze your chest so much. So I think the bigger athletes finally got a break on that one.”
Patrick Vellner during Event 5 — Photo by Meg Ellery
Men’s Event 5 Results
- Patrick Vellner - 11:49.00
- Brent Fikowski - 12:01.27
- Royce Dunne - 12:01.53
Women
Former rock climber and 2018’s second-fittest woman on Earth Laura Horváth established herself as the woman to beat in Heat 2. With a solid grip on the rope, the erg, and the sandbag, Horváth led the heat throughout.
Though she was followed by Gabriela Migała — Horváth’s training partner — in second, Horváth had an enormous lead, which she never relinquished. She started Friday by earning her fourth career CrossFit Games event win and 100 points. The win bumped Horváth up to fifth overall heading into Events 6/7.
“I’m so very excited, I can't wait to do the next event,” Horváth said after her victory. “I’m really pumped for this weekend.”
Women’s Event 5 Results
- Laura Horváth - 11:41.55
- Gabriela Migała - 11:56.87
- Haley Adams - 12:03.29
Events 6/7
5 rounds for time of:
250-m run
1 clean
Women: 165 | 175 | 185 | 195 | 205 lb.
Men: 245 | 265 | 285 | 305 | 315 lb.
Time cap: 7 min.
5 rounds for time of:
250-m run out of the Coliseum
1 clean
Women: 210 | 215 | 220 | 225 | 230 lb.
Men: 325 | 335 | 340 | 345 | 350 lb.
Time cap: 8 min.
Events 6 and 7 took athletes back to the Coliseum for a clean ladder — historically, a crowd favorite. Always finding ways to add twists to classic events, CrossFit Director of Sport Dave Castro announced that a short run outside the Coliseum would accompany each round of heavy cleans, and that Event 7’s lifts would be substantially heavier than Event 6’s.
Select athletes in each heat wore a Whoop device, allowing spectators to watch their heart rates throughout the event. The athletes who excelled in the events seemed to have one thing in common: composure.
Men: Event 6
The roars of the crowd in the Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center could almost be heard across campus as Event 6 went down. The men were up first.
2020’s fifth-fittest man on Earth, Jeff Adler, set the time to beat in Heat 2 (5:45.01) — and it would be good enough for first overall after two more heats. The man who came the closest to catching Adler was the younger Panchik brother, Saxon, in Heat 4, who finished the event in 5:46.56.
Notably, Vellner and Fikowski failed to lift the final 315-lb. bar in Event 6 and succumbed to the time cap.
Men’s Event 6 Results
- Jeffrey Adler - 5:45.01
- Bayden Brown - 5:46.56
- Travis Mayer - 5:51.30
Women: Event 6
Heat 4 was stacked with the top 10 women. Toomey was favored to win, and she did just that, cruising to victory with a time of 5:43.17.
Toomey, who looked relaxed throughout the entire event, said that composure was part of the plan.
“I just knew 205 wasn’t going to be a super challenging weight, but it’s also a weight you can't second-guess,” Toomey said after the event. “As long as I didn’t get that heart rate up too high, I knew I could go for it straight away. The plan executed perfectly.”
Photo by Duke Loren
Women’s Event 6 Results
- Tia-Clair Toomey - 5:43.17
- Kristi Eramo O’Connell - 5:45.88
- Kristin Holte - 6:07.08
Men: Event 7
Event 7 was déjà vu for the athletes — with one exception: The barbells were much heavier.
Guilherme Malheiros of Brazil shone in Heat 3, finishing in 4:51.61 to take over the top spot in the event. No one from Heat 4 could catch him, and he earned 100 points and an event win. Brazil’s CrossFit National Champion was pumped.
“Man, it’s my second time competing here in the Coliseum,” he said. “I knew that this would be a good workout for me. With this amazing energy, everyone just cheering and yelling, I just did my job. (The crowd) helped me a lot … it’s very good to be here.”
“I’m not here to play,” Malheiros added. “I’m here to compete.”
Justin Medeiros, who finished sixth in Event 6 and seventh in Event 7, climbed to the top spot on the leaderboard after the duo of events, followed by Fikowski in second and Saxon Panchik in third.
Men’s Event 7 Results
- Guilherme Malheiros - 4:51.61
- Jeffrey Adler - 4:59.78
- Alex Vigneault - 5:23.83
Women: Event 7
Toomey looked solid in Event 6 — she looked rock solid in Event 7.
She led the event, followed closely by Laura Horváth in second and Amanda Barnhart in third. But Toomey never slowed on the runs and her sound technique and swift transition times helped her sweep the pair of events and earn 200 points, a 29th career event win.
Photo by Charlotte Foerschler
“It’s an honor to be actually rubbing shoulders against the great,” Toomey said of Fraser, who also boasts 29 career Games event wins.
Highlights for Toomey?
“Getting to compete in front of a great crowd and do what I love.”
Women’s Event 7 Results
- Tia-Clair Toomey - 4:44.93
- Laura Horváth - 4:57.22
- Gabriela Migala - 5:13.84
Event 8
For time:
Navigate the handstand-walking course
Time cap: 5 min.
Every year, athletes get inverted at the CrossFit Games.
Walking on your hands has become a commonplace skill in competitive CrossFit — so much so that Castro’s had to come up with ways to make the high-skill gymnastics movement even more challenging.
In 2020 we saw handstand sprints. In 2021, Castro presented athletes with a complex down-and-back handstand-walking obstacle course consisting of ramps, stairs, and parallette bars.
Men
With a 5-minute time cap, Event 8 was a quick one. In Heat 3, perennial Games athlete and fan favorite Scott Panchik, who's been struggling with a knee issue, set the early time to beat at 2:05.21. Panchik’s time would stand even after the top 10 men took on the course.
In Heat 4, Justin Medeiros donned the overall leader’s jersey. The rookie-turned-phenom took methodical breaks throughout the course and won the heat with a time at 2:15.33, taking second overall in the event and extending his lead on the rest of the field.
“The goal was to be consistent and have no failed attempts,” Medeiros said afterward.
“Listen to this crowd!” Medeiros added. “Everyone is so awesome and so fired up. I feel like it's my rookie year again here in the Coliseum. The crowd’s support for me is unreal.”
After Event 8, Medeiros totaled 668 points and held a 45-point lead over second-placed Fikowski.
Surprisingly, Vellner, a former gymnast, struggled with the course, finishing in 3:56.28 for 16th in the event.
Men’s Event 8 Results
- Scott Panchik - 2:05.21
- Justin Medeiros - 2:15.33
- Samuel Cournoyer - 2:19.58
Women
Danielle Brandon stole Heat 3. Brandon — who has been secluded in every event — made quick work of the obstacle course, finishing in 1:43.91 for an event win, the second of her career.
The final heat was a race between Haley Adams and Brooke Wells, who are both notorious for being great on their hands. Both athletes sailed through the course, taking second and third, respectively, in the event.
Laura Horváth has been haunted by handstands in the past. Inverted movements have always been a weakness for the athlete. But today, Horváth finished the obstacle course in 3:39.12, good enough for 12th overall.
Women’s Event 8 Results
- Danielle Brandon - 1:43.91
- Haley Adams - 2:04.47
- Brooke Wells - 2:08.08
Event 9
21-15-9:
Echo bike (cal.)
Snatch, 75 | 105 lb. (short bars)
Time cap: 8 min.
Event 9 featured a classic CrossFit rep scheme: 21-15-9. Athletes closed out the day with a lung-burning couplet of snatches and calories on the Echo bike. The event begged athletes to leave it all out on the floor.
Men
In Heat 1, Chandler Smith put on an impressive performance of grit and stamina as he raced through the final event of the day. Opting for muscle snatches throughout most of the event, Smith smoked the heat, finishing in 3:39.77.
But “the professor” Brent Fikowski was on a mission in Heat 2. Looking for his first event win, Fikowski used his height to his advantage, banging out calories on the Echo bike and making quick work of the snatches. Fikowski took the event win with a time of 3:31.25, but he said he’s just having fun.
“It’s been 20 months since I competed in person, and, being an athlete my whole life … I’m just grateful to be competing again,” Fikowski said after the win. “It’s been a long road to get here and I’m just really happy.”
“I have an amazing support staff with my coaches, my wife, my parents are here … I want this to be my favorite CrossFit Games, and I’m doing that regardless of my finish,” he added.
Photo by Charlotte Foerschler
Men’s Event 9 Results
- Brent Fikowski - 3:31.25
- Alex Vigneault - 3:37.93
- Chandler Smith - 3:39.77
Men’s Overall Standings After 9 Events
- Justin Medeiros (744 pts.)
- Brent Fikowski (723 pts.)
- Patrick Vellner (674 pts.)
- Saxon Panchik (644 pts.)
- Alex Vigneault (624 pts.)
Women
The women closed out the day. With athlete cuts looming tomorrow, there was no choice — give it your all or risk having your Games weekend cut short.
Toomey, Holte, and Horváth held the top three spots on the leaderboard heading into Event 9.
But it was Amanda Barnhart who ripped through the final event of the day, finishing in 4:01.79 for the win. This marks Barnhart’s third career CrossFit Games event win, and the victory saw her climb to fourth place on the overall leaderboard heading into Saturday.
Barnhart’s confidence was evident throughout the event.
“We do a ton of Assault bike sprints at CompTrain,” she said. “I was really prepared for this one.”
Women’s Event 9 Results
- Amanda Barnhart - 4:01.79
- Annie Thorisdottir - 4:07.26
- Laura Horváth - 4:22.04
Women’s Top-Five Standings After 9 Events
- Tia-Clair Toomey (861 pts.)
- Laura Horváth (723 pts.)
- Kristin Holte (684 pts.)
- Amanda Barnhart (678 pts.)
- Brooke Wells (660 pts.)
Note: All scores and placements are unofficial at the time of publication and subject to change.
The team and individual competitions continue tomorrow. Catch all the action right here on Games.CrossFit.com.