Semifinals Week 3: Who to Watch

Two weeks down, two to go.

We’re halfway through the NOBULL CrossFit Games Semifinals season, and tomorrow marks the start of the third weekend of competition with the Brazil CrossFit Championship, the CrossFit Lowlands Throwdown, and the CrossFit German Throwdown. All three competitions will be virtual; you can find the events here.

But just because the events won’t be live doesn’t mean there won’t be action to watch.

Scores are due at 12 p.m. (noon) PT each day — and here are the names to look for.

Brazil CrossFit Championship

The Brazil CrossFit Championship (BCC) will send two men, two women, and two teams to the Games in July, and Larissa Cunha and Sasha Nievas are looking to be among them.

Of the nine women with prior individual Regional experience, Cunha and Nievas had the best 2021 Open performances, ranking 23rd and 25th worldwide, respectively. In 2019, Cunha missed Games qualification by just one spot. She would have made her Games debut the following year after taking Brazil’s top Open spot, but COVID-19 had other plans. A training partner to past individual and teen Games athlete Guilherme Malheiros, Cunha will be looking to make this her breakthrough year.

Still, top Open performers don’t always become Games qualifiers, and Melina Rodriguez (41st worldwide) has been to Madison twice. Will Argentina’s three-time fittest woman (2018-2020) — and last year’s BCC winner — make her third trip in 2021?

On the men’s side, you’re not gonna wanna miss Agustin Richelme’s performance. The winner of Open Workout 21.3 and ninth-place overall finisher took 49th at the Games in 2019 and eighth at the 2020 BCC. The fittest man in South America, Richelme also competed twice at the Regional level.

But to get one of those two Games tickets, Richelme will have to contend with Anderon Primo (128th worldwide and seventh at the 2020 BCC), Omar Martinez (52nd worldwide; 66th at the 2020 CrossFit Games), and the teen-turned-individual Games athlete Malheiros.

Likely Event Standouts

Event 1

Melina Rodriguez: Took 8th in “Friendly Fran” at the 2020 Games

Event 4

Sasha Nievas: Highest women’s listed snatch at 220 lb.
Anderon Primo: Highest men’s listed snatch at 308 lb.

Up-and-Comers to Watch

Amanda Fusuma: Top South American woman in the 2021 Open; took 14th at the 2020 BCC.

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CrossFit Lowlands Throwdown

The CrossFit Lowlands Throwdown (CLT) leaderboard features a host of household names. Laura Horváth, Emma McQuaid, Annie Thorisdottir, Thuridur Erla Helgadottir, Gabriela Migała, Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson, Frederik Aegidius — any of those ring a bell?

*Horvath ascends the pegboard at the 2018 Games (Photo by Alicia Anthony)*

They’ll be competing for one of the five Games spots reserved for the men and women (five teams will qualify out of CLT as well).

While the women’s competition is stacked with 10 past Games athletes, seven of those have two or fewer Games appearances. To put that in perspective, Horváth has three, Helgadottir has five, and two-time CrossFit Games champion Thorisdottir has an entire decade at her back.

Thorisdottir returns to competition after having her first child in August of 2020. Will she join Kara Saunders as another CrossFit Games veteran to return to the Games field just a year after giving birth?

Meanwhile, a new generation of Games athletes is looking to turn veteran.

If Horváth qualifies, it will be her fourth appearance. She won the CLT in 2016 and 2017 and took 52nd worldwide in the Open this year. McQuaid and Migała are looking to become three-time Games athletes, and with sixth and 12th-place Open finishes, respectively, chances look good.

If you’re a betting sort of person, you’d best bet on Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson to take the top men’s spot at the CLT. The seven-time CrossFit Games veteran has four top-five Games finishes and made the podium twice.

Gudmundsson — *Guðmundsson gets gymnasty at the 2018 Europe Regional (Photo by Nerijus Dusevicius)*

Still, Frederik Aegidius will be nipping at his heels. The four-time Games athlete returns to competition after two disappointing years: Though he qualified in 2019, he withdrew before events began due to a back injury. The next year, he was derailed by a penalty in the Open.

Likely Event Standouts

Event 1

Emma McQuaid: Took 9th in “Friendly Fran” at the 2020 Games
Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson: Tied for 10th in “Friendly Fran” at the 2020 Games

Event 4

Karin Freyová: Highest women’s listed snatch at 209 lb.
Bronislaw Olenkowicz: Highest men’s listed snatch at 313 lb.

Up-and-Comers to Watch

Elena Carratala Sanahja: Took eighth worldwide in the 2021 Open.
Reggie Fasa: Took 38th worldwide in the 2021 Open.

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CrossFit German Throwdown

The third and final Semifinal event of Week 3 brings another set of Games celebrities.

The women’s field features eight former Games competitors, including eight-time veteran and two-time champion Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir, seven-time Games athlete and 2019 silver medalist Kristin Holte, and 2013 champion Samantha Briggs, who has eight individual appearances and one masters under her belt.

Though her last Games win was in 2016, Davidsdottir showed the world she’s not out for the count with a second-place podium finish in 2020. She entered the 2021 season 14th worldwide after the Open.

At 35, Holte is now technically a master. But you wouldn’t guess it by her 17th-place Open finish, and of her seven total Games appearances, she’s placed in the top seven for the last four consecutive years.

Still, watch out for fresher blood like Jacqueline Dahlstrøm and Emma Tall. Both have been to the Games once — Tall would have qualified in 2020 if it weren’t for the changes due to COVID-19 — and with 35th- and 42nd-place Open finishes, respectively, they’re ready to rise.

Dahlstrom — *Dahlstrøm at the 2018 Meridian (Photo by Pete Williamson)*

Above, you heard about Guðmundsson, Europe’s fittest man since 2015. Well, just behind him is Jonne Koski, a six-time CrossFit Games veteran with three top-10 career finishes. He’s not competing against Guðmundsson in this Semifinal, but his 14th-place Open finish suggests he’s coming into the 2021 season stronger than ever.

The only other Games veteran challenging Koski this weekend is Lukas Esslinger, who’s vying for his fifth trip to the Games — but he will have to work hard for it after a 192nd-place Open finish.

Meanwhile, the vets will have to stand their ground against Elliot Simmonds, who took 15th in the Open and looks to make his third Games appearance, and rising stars Giorgos Karavis (12th), André Houdet (22nd), and Joshua Al-Chamaa (28th).