Thorisdottir, Vellner Win Event 14 at the 2021 CrossFit Games
With her eighth event win of the 2021 CrossFit Games in Event 13, returning four-time Fittest Woman on Earth®, Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr was a lock for a fifth consecutive Games title with two events to go. Laura Horváth built up enough cushion through 13 events that a silver-medal finish was likely in her future, barring a catastrophe. Annie Thorisdottir and Kristin Holte were within five points of each other for the final podium spot, and surely the focus was on them at the start of Event 14.
For the men, Patrick Vellner continued to chip away at Justin Medeiros‘s lead. Those two men are almost certainly going to be the top two on the podium at the end of the Games, but who stood where was still open. The battle for bronze boiled down to Brent Fikowski versus Björgvin Karl Gudmundsson. The Icelandic’s blazingly fast finish in Event 13 leapfrogged him into fourth overall — 39 points behind Fikowski.
Event 14 challenged athletes to deadlifts and freestanding handstand walks. Here were the results:
Individual Event 14 — Top Five Men
- Patrick Vellner — 6:31.65
- Justin Medeiros — 6:41.27
- Saxon Panchik — CAP + Four (T-3rd)
- Noah Ohlsen — CAP + Four (T-3rd)
- Scott Panchik — CAP + Five
Individual Event 14 — Top Five Women
- Annie Thorisdottir — 5:22.12
- Kristin Holte — 5:33.67
- Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr — 6:10.06
- Danielle Brandon — 6:41.85
- Mallory O’Brien — CAP + Four (T-5th)
- Katrin Davíðsdóttir — CAP + Four (T-5th)
[Related: 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games Results and Leaderboard]
Individual Event 14
Six-10-14 reps of:
- Deadlifts (short bars)
- Men: 405 pounds | Women: 275 pounds (short bars)
- Freestanding handstand push-ups
Time cap: seven minutes
Men’s Division
In heat one for the men, Noah Ohlsen found his stride early in the handstand push-ups and took an early lead to the round of 10. The rest of the heat seemed to have a lot of difficulty with the freestanding handstand push-ups, and Ohlsen took a full interval lead into the round of 14.
Scott Panchik, who won the handstand walk event earlier in the competition, eventually found his rhythm and moved into second place. In the final set of handstand push-ups, Ohlsen struggled and could not finish within the time cap. Panchik made up a ton of ground and caught up within a rep of Ohlsen but couldn’t take over the lead in time.
Athletes in the second heat knew that none of the men in heat one made it to the finish line. The focus was on Vellner chasing Medeiros and Gudmundsson chasing Fikowski.
Vellner and Medeiros were synchronized through the round of six. In the round of 10, Vellner took a one rep lead when Medeiros hit a no rep. A second no rep allowed Vellner to advance his lead. Vellner was the first man through the second round of 10 handstand push-ups.
Vellner made it through eight deadlifts in the round of 14 before Medeiros finished his handstand push-ups. Vellner continued his lead into the final set of handstand push-ups. Medeiros made up a lot of ground in the final set — within a rep of Vellner. It was a nailbiter the final three reps, but Vellner crossed the finish line first and Medeiros right behind him.
Women’s Division
In heat one for the women, Arielle Loewen and Emily Rolfe were the first two athletes to the round of 10. Thuridur Helgadottir was not far behind them in third. Halfway through the round of 10, Emma McQuaid and two-time Fittest Woman on Earth® Katrin Davíðsdóttir made their way towards the front of the pack.
Rolfe was the first to the round of 14, next to Davíðsdóttir. McQuaid gathered a lead on the deadlifts and took to the final set of handstand push-ups ahead of the field. None of the women in heat one crossed the finish line, but Davíðsdóttir got the closest — just four reps shy.
In heat two, the focus was squarely on the battle between Thorisdottir, Holte, and Migała for the bronze medal. The crowd in the Alliant Energy Center made noise as Thorisdottir was the first to the round of 10 with Holte right on her tail.
Heading into the round of 14, Thorisdottir had a lead of a few reps. “The Queen of Iceland” moved through the event calmly to a first-place finish with a time of 5:22.12. Holte took second place with a time of 5:33.67. They will enter Event 15 tied for third overall.
The Games Continue
With only one event left before a Fittest Man and Woman on Earth® are crowned, Toomey-Orr is a lock for a fifth consecutive CrossFit Games title. Horváth is also mathematically locked for second place. The battle for bronze in the women’s division is still between Holte and Thorisdottir — they are tied in third place on the overall leaderboard.
Medeiros will need to stumble in Event 15 if Vellner is going to have a chance at taking the title. Here is the scheduled time for the remaining event:
- IE 15 — 2:50 p.m. EST
Featured image courtesy of CrossFit.