The first week of the 2024 CrossFit Open featured a couplet of dumbbell snatches and lateral burpees over the dumbbell. Athletes were tasked with a total of 90 of each movement to be completed within a 15-minute time cap. The rep scheme was a spin on the classic 21-15-9, but with two sets of each movement at each rep level instead of one.
This year, we saw a departure from the standard alternating dumbbell snatches as athletes were required to complete all the snatches on the same arm for a given rep level, perform the burpees, and then switch arms for the next set. We’ve seen a lot of burpee variations in the Open over the years, but this was the debut of lateral burpees over a dumbbell.
Open Workout 24.1 was very accessible with no high-skill movements, and the majority of athletes were able to perform the Rx’d version. The combination of a moderately weighted dumbbell paired with burpees made this workout a major test of muscle stamina and cardiovascular endurance. With no real blockers, it all came down to how fast you could cycle the snatches and how much rest you needed to stay upright.
Participation by Country
Below we take a look at the top 10 countries in the Open based on participation. All countries in the top 10 saw an increase in participation from 2023, but the relative rankings did shift a bit.
The United Kingdom regained their spot in second place after losing it to France in 2023. Brazil also saw a jump from sixth in 2023 to fourth in 2024.
South Korea saw another big jump in the rankings, up to seventh in 2024 from ninth in 2023 and 13th in 2022. Their absolute participation numbers were up 39% from 2023.
For each week of the Open, we’ll compare how the top 10 countries stacked up against each other. For 24.1, we can see the percentage of athletes who completed the Rx’d version of the workout within the time cap compared to those who didn’t finish, as well as the percentage who did the scaled or foundations version.
Based on the percentage that completed the Rx’d version of 24.1, the top country was South Korea with 70% finishing under the time cap. Last year, they also took the top spot for the highest percentage of athletes doing 23.1 as Rx’d. So not only is South Korea one of the fastest growing countries in the Open, they are also consistently among the most competitive.
Behind South Korea we see Spain with 67% and Australia with 66% of their athletes completing the Rx’d version of the workout.
Workout Analysis by Division
A higher percentage of men were willing to attack this workout as Rx’d, with 87% of athletes, aged 18-34, choosing that path. On the women’s side 73% chose the Rx’d version, compared to 74% for all masters divisions and 71% for all teenage divisions.
Looking at the chart below, showing the distribution of scores, divided by movements and rep ranges, we can see there was no major roadblock in this workout. Oftentimes, the workout features either a high-skill movement or an especially challenging weight, or both. These workouts cause pronounced breaks in the smoothness of the distribution.
For the Rx’d men, aged 16-54, we see the highest concentration of times hovering around the 10-minute mark. For Rx’d women, we see it centered around the 12-minute mark.
Fewer than 1% of athletes finished the workout in under 7 minutes.
Below are percentile tables for individuals, masters, and teenagers with details for each version of the workout. You can see the breakdown of how many reps or how much time it took to achieve a particular percentile. For example, for Rx’d girls, 14-15, a time of 10:19 got you into the 75th percentile.
These percentiles are comparing you against your division and workout version, which is different from your overall division percentile (compared against all versions).
*The data used for this article is from the official CrossFit Open submissions.
btwb is the premier workout-tracking app and Gym Management Solution. Log, plan and analyze your WODs with friends at your CrossFit® affiliate and around the world. All plans come with a 30-day free trial.
Cover photo by Ruby Wolff