CrossFit fans were treated to early holiday offerings in the form of the 2021 Dubai CrossFit Championships. Forty of the world’s elite fitness athletes gathered in the United Arab Emirates on the weekend of Dec. 17-18, 2021 to give their best efforts in hopes of standing on the podium of one of the bigger international competitions in the sport.
By the end of the final day of competition, Roman Khrennikov and Laura Horvath emerged victorious in their respective divisions. Lazar Đukić and Ricky Gerard rounded out the top three on the men’s side. Kristin Holte and Gabriela Migała took silver and bronze, respectively, for the women. According to the announcer of the event, this was Holte’s final individual competition. The entire competition was streamed on the DCC’s and CrossFit Games’ YouTube channels.
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2021 Dubai CrossFit Games Championships Results
The final placings for both fields are below:
Men’s Division
- Roman Khrennikov — 845 points
- Lazar Đukić — 753 points
- Ricky Garard — 744 points
- Jeffrey Adler — 705 points
- Willy Georges — 653 points
- Henrik Haapalainen — 647 points
- Giorgos Karavis — 640 points
- Elliot Simmonds — 636 points
- Luka Đukić —617 points
- Simon Mäntylä — 609 points
- Alex Kotoulas — 586 points
- Tola Morakinyo — 584 points
- André Houdet — 577 points
- Sam Stewart — 576 points
- Moritz Fiebig — 573 points
- Bronislaw Olenkowicz — 567 points
- Fabien Beneito Selles — 539 points
- Mohamed El Omda — 537 points
- Mahmood Shalan — 533 points
- Uldis Upenieks — withdrew
Women’s Division
- Laura Horvath — 783 points
- Kristin Holte — 750 points
- Gabriela Migała — 723 points
- Samantha Briggs — 706 points
- Jacqueline Dahlstrøm — 704 points
- Andrea Nisler — 691 points
- Sara Sigmundsdóttir — 690 points
- Emily Rolfe — 665 points
- Emma Lawson — 653 points
- Thuri Helgadottir — 618 points
- Mikaela Norman — 607 points
- Rebecka Vitesson — 596 points
- Manon Angonese — 582 points
- Martine Solheim — 534 points
- Julie Hougard — 531 points
- Evie Hollis — 527 points
- Eik Gylfadottir — 525 points
- Christina Agerbeck — 503 points
- Emma Cary — withdrew
- Karin Frey — withdrew
Stay Frosty
Believe it or not, the first event in Dubai involved snow. The athletes started in Ski Dubai, an indoor ski resort. The mission was to complete 500 meters on a ski erg as well as a 400-meter run up and down a slope.
Time caps were 16 minutes for the men and 17 for the women. Ricky Gerard, who returned to the sport after a four year doping suspension, clinched the men’s victory with a time of 14:59. Khrennikov came in second by seven seconds. Đukić took third with a time of 15:19.
On the Women’s side, 2013 CrossFit Games Champion Sam Briggs claimed the win with a time of 16:47. Briggs won by one second over Mikaela Norman. Third place went to Migala with a time of 16:59.
Event 1B
Event 1B was held in the same place as Event 1A. It was simpler in instruction, but still very challenging in execution. Competitors had to run up the 700-meter slope wearing a tactical vest. Men’s vests were 20 pounds, and women’s were 14.
Gerard claimed another win with a time of 3:05. Khrennikov settled for silver for the second consecutive event coming in at 3:24. Willy Georges of France finished in third place three seconds later.
Holte won the women’s event, finishing the run in 1:57. Horvath came in second place two seconds later. The bronze spot went to Rebecka Vitesson, who completed the course two seconds after Horvath.
Lift-Off
Lift-Off was held in the Dubai Tennis Center. It featured athletes establishing their max clean and jerk. Five men were able to complete lifts of 165 kilograms (363.8 pounds). These men had a lift-off within the lift-off to break the three-way tie. Tola Morakinyo and Bronislaw Olenkowicz both were able to lift 160 kilograms (352.8 pounds) and were both awarded first-place points. Third place went to Jeffrey Adler, who maxed out at 155 kilograms (341.8 pounds).
The winner of the women’s event was Manon Angonese thanks to a successful lift of 115 kilograms (253.6 pounds). Migala and Horvath rounded out the top three taking 110 kilograms (242 pounds) over their heads. Migala won the tiebreaker to claim the second-place spot on the leaderboard.
Event 3
The competitors stayed in the tennis stadium for Event 3. This was an endurance challenge to say the least. The list of exercises and rep requirements are below.
- 50 calorie row
- 40 A-jumps with weight vest (20 pounds/14 pounds)
- 30 sandbag cleans (150 pounds/100 pounds)
- 20 bar muscle-ups
- 10 paralette handstand push-ups
- 20 bar muscle-ups
- 30 sandbag cleans (150 pounds/100 pounds)
- 40 A-jumps with weight vest (20 pounds/14 pounds)
- 50 calorie row
Time cap: 25 minutes
Lazar Đukić was the only man in the field to finish this entire workout in less than 20 minutes. His 19:53 result gave him first place points. Khrennikov came in second for the third time in this competition with a 20:44 effort. The third-place finisher was Adler, who came in 10 seconds after Khrennikov.
Briggs took her second individual event win of this contest thanks to being the only sub-20-minute woman. Her time was 19:51. Horvath came in second by almost one minute. Holte claimed third place with a time of 21:51.
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Event 4
This was an elimination event that involved the bike erg, handstand walks, and overhead squats.
Four rounds in repeat cutting the field down (10, 10 | eight, eight | six, six | eight | four)
- 20 calorie bike erg
- 15-meter unbroken handstand walk
- 10 overhead squats (85 kilograms/60 kilograms)
Time cap: three minutes
The overall champions both won this event for their respective fields. Khrennikov took his first event win of the weekend here, while Giorgos Karavis and Lazar Đukić rounded out the top three. The women’s winner was Horvath, with second going to Andrea Nisler. Third place was claimed by Migała.
Event 5
The fifth event in Dubai combined muscle-ups and thrusters:
2-4-6-8-10 reps of:
- Ring muscle-ups
- Thrusters (60 kilograms/40 kilograms)
Time cap: 10 minutes
Karavis and Garard had no trouble with this event, and they completed the session in dramatic fashion. Karavis took the win by two-tenths of a second. Khrennikov finished in four minutes, eight seconds to take the third-place position.
Jacqueline Dahlstrøm took the women’s win as the only competitor with a sub-five-minute time. Holte finished at the five-minute mark to take second. The number three slot went to Emma Lawson, who finished one second later.
Athletes’ Choice — Parts A and B
The sixth event revealed quite the twist. Organizers randomly chose Andrea Nisler and Mahmood Shalan to choose the next two workouts that would be performed. Both athletes opted to take a community approach and consulted the other athletes before making a final decision. The workouts they agreed to are below:
Part A
21-15-9 of:
- Calorie Echo Bike
- Toes-to-bar
Time cap: six minutes. One min rest before Part B.
Part B
21-15-9 of:
- Calorie row
- Bar-facing burpees
Time cap: six minutes
Henrik Haapalainen pulled off the win thanks to a time of 2:54. Second and third place went to Lazar Dukic and Khrennikov, respectively, who both came in less than ten seconds after Haapalainen.
On the women’s side, Emily Rolfe planted her flag in first place thanks to finishing in just over four minutes. Nisler and Horvath rounded out the event podium, with Nisler taking second by two-tenths of a second.
Part B required rowing and burpees. With a time of 5:03, Briggs won another event. Holte finished one second behind the British fitness legend. Canada’s Emma Lawson rounded out the top three.
The men put in serious work in a short time as well. Khrennikov took his second event of the weekend thanks to his 4:10 effort. Simon Mantyla came in two seconds later to take second place, his highest result of the competition. Alex Kotoulas finished in 4:22 to come in third place.
Event 7
The contest climaxed with a course event that featured rope climbs, jerks, deadlifts, and lunges.
- Nine Rope climbs
- 15 Jerks (100 kilograms/70 kilograms)
- 21 Dumbbell deadlifts (90 pounds/60 pounds)
- Lunges to end
Time cap: eight minutes
Khrennikov clinched his victory by taking first place in Event 7. His 3:30 time was over 20 seconds better than second-place finisher Garard. Lazar Đukić completed the top three.
Migała finished the competition by winning the final event with a time of 3:44. However, Horvath came in second four seconds later, which clinched the overall win for her. Sara Sigmundsdóttir finished in third place with a time of 4:23.
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