Earlier today, the CrossFit Games announced the two champions for this year’s CrossFit Liftoff. The two newly-crowned Champs are Cameron Pernich and Kelsey Kiel, both of whom have Reebok CrossFit Games experience. Pernich competed on CrossFit teams Verdant Green in 2015 and Boise CrossFit in 2016, while Kiel competed with CrossFit Parralax in 2016.
This year’s CrossFit Liftoff was held between November 28th-December 5th. Within this time frame, athletes had the ability to record their best snatch and clean & jerk for video submission, while recording their best score in the GPP workout provided for the liftoff.
Men’s and Women’s Top Three
Check out the top three finishers in both the Open women’s and men’s divisions below, along with their best snatches and clean & jerks (and where their lifts ranked). Keep in mind, these best attempts were also combined with the GPP workout score to award their rankings.
| Men’s Top Three | Snatch and Clean & Jerk |
| Cameron Pernich | 325 lbs (11th) & 385 lbs (18th) |
| Nicholas Urankar | 305 lbs (24th) & 375 lbs (19th) |
| Aleksandr Tkachenko | 352 lbs (5th) & 418 lbs (7th) |
| Women’s Top Three | Snatch and Clean & Jerk |
| Kelsey Kiel | 202 lbs (10th) & 257 lbs (1st) |
| Anna Rode | 200 lbs (12th) & 240 lbs (12th) |
| Cassidy Duffield | 212 lbs (4th) & 257 lbs (1st) |
This year, Pernich weighed in at 224 lbs. Pernich’s best snatch and clean & jerk total put in 15th overall, but his second place GPP workout finish was enough to earn him the crown. This was a repeat win for Pernich, as he won the 2016 Liftoff, too.
Kiel weighed in at 168 lbs, and finished top ten for her best snatch and clean & jerk total. Her GPP score earned her 12th, which was enough to seal her with first place. Both Kiel and Pernich are walking away with a $3,000.00 USD first place prize.
Other Notable Mentions
Outside of this year’s top three finishers, we wanted to point out a few other big lifts the CrossFit Games highlighted. Overall, 53kg women’s 2016 Olympian Evagelia Veli took home the best pound-for-pound lifter for the second year in a row. She finished with a 205 lb snatch and a 249 lb clean & jerk.
The best snatch for the men was recorded by Gor Minasyan, which was 396 lbs at a bodyweight of 310 lbs, and the best clean & jerk of 496 lbs was hit by Aleksanyan Ruben.
For the women, Quiana Welch (bodyweight of 170 lbs) sealed the best snatch with a weight of 224 lbs, while Cassidy Duffield took first in the clean & jerk with 257 lbs (bodyweight 150 lbs). All of these top placed lifters will earn $3,000.00 USD.
Feature image screenshot from @cpernich Instagram page.
