2022 CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town Semifinals Results and Recap — Who’s Going to the Games?
The stakes were high the weekend of May 27-29, 2022 at the Coetzenburg Centre in Stellenbosch, South Africa. There, the CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town Semifinal brought the best CrossFitters on the continent to compete for the top spots and their ticket to the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games slated for Aug. 3-7 in Madison, WI.
Though only one spot at the Games per division — Women, Men, and Teams — were allotted to the continent, the second, third, and fourth place finishers in each division will be able to compete for one last shot at the 2022 Games in the Last-Chance Qualifier, slated to take place the week of June 29 – July 1, 2022.
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The CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town saw exciting competition across divisions, with winners that some would consider underdogs in both individual divisions and a close race among the Teams.
2022 CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town Overall Leaderboard
There were solid contenders for the single ticket to Madison available to each division. On the men’s side, Games veteran Jason Smith finished 23rd worldwide in the open and first in the Quarterfinals in Africa. He came into this event as many people’s favorite to secure his ticket to the Games. But 28-year-old Kealan Henry ranked 24th worldwide in the 2022 CrossFit Open and first in South Africa and Africa as a whole, where he took home third in the 2022 CrossFit Quarterfinals. Henry came to Cape Town to win — and he did not disappoint.
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In the women’s division, 2021 CrossFit Games competitor Michelle Basnett ranked second in this year’s Quarterfinals in Africa and was also favored to do quite well in this Semifinal. But an incredible performance from Michelle Merand, who ranked first in Africa in the 2022 Quarterfinals, proved too much for Basnett, who ultimately took third and earned her spot in the Last-Chance Qualifier.
Note: The Games qualifiers below are noted in bold, with Last-Chance Qualifiers in italics.
Men
- Kealan Henry (516 points)
- Jason Smith (504 points)
- Darren Zurnamer (492 points)
-
Ruan Potgieter (457 points)
- Mohamed Elomda (446 points)
-
Ruan Duvenage (435 points)
-
Conrad Winnertz (390 points)
-
Devin Ramsden (387 points)
-
Robert Heuer (382 points)
-
James van Dongen (361 points)
Women
- Michelle Merand (552 points)
- Christina Livaditakis (512 points)
- Michelle Basnett (488 points)
- Leeverne Engelbrecht (475 points)
-
Anneke Spies (436 points)
-
Tanha Bouffé (400 points)
-
Reegan Finkel (392 points)
-
Mary Jamieson (382 points)
- Angelique Connoway (347 points)
-
Dina Swift (341 points)
2022 CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town Event Results
To secure his first-place victory and $5,000 prize, Henry put on a solid showing throughout the three days of competition. He bested Smith in Lucky Number 7, the Stellies Chipper, and Time for Pudding and grabbed himself third place in The Deep End. The athletes tied for 10th in the Barbell Complex.
Basnett fought hard for her spot, securing herself two third-place finishes on the first two days of competition. But she ranked seventh and tied for 12th in the events on the third day. That left her in third place as Merand dominated the last day, winning the Stellies Chipper and taking home second in Time for Pudding.
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Christina Livaditakis of Zimbabwe brought home second overall and put on quite the show. She earned herself second place in The Deep End, first in Lucky Number 7, and third and fourth in the Stellies Chipper and Time for Pudding, respectively. South Africa’s Leeverne Engelbrecht ranked seventh in the continent during the 2022 Quarterfinals and took home fourth place over the weekend, securing herself a spot in the Last-Chance Qualifier.
The Deep End
- For time:
- 1,000-meter SkiErg
- Then:
- 5 rounds for time:
- 100-meter swim
- 20 alternating bear hug forward lunges with slam ball (50/30 kilograms)
- Time cap: 24 minutes
Men
- Ruan Potgieter (16:50)
- Jason Smith (17:14.00)
- Kealan Henry (17:22)
Women
- Mary Jamieson (17:28)
- Christina Livaditakis (17:51)
- Michelle Basnett (17:52)
2014 Regional Event 5
- 10 rounds for time:
- 1 legless rope climb (15-feet)
- 170-foot run
- Time cap: 11 minutes
Men
- Robert Heuer (3:02)
- Estian Ferreira (3:04)
- Jason Smith (3:06)
Women
- Michelle Merand (4:16)
- Leeverne Engelbrecht (5:21)
- Reegan Finkel (5:23)
Lucky Number 7
- For time:
- 7 rounds of:
- 7 ring muscle-ups
- 7 bar-facing burpees
- 7 deadlifts (125/84 kilograms)
- Time cap: 18 minutes
Men
- Kealan Henry (10:16)
- Darren Zurnamer (10:58)
- Jason Smith (11:23)
Women
- Christina Livaditakis (12:33)
- Leeverne Engelbrecht (12:50)
- Michelle Merand (13:42)
Barbell Complex
Three attempts for max load of:
- 3 cleans
- 2 front squats
- 1 jerk (shoulder-to-overhead)
Men
- Justin Holliday (315 pounds)
- Assem Effat (313 pounds)
- Brandon Jacobs (311 pounds)
Women
- Megan Faul (225 pounds)
- Michelle Basnett (216 pounds)
- Anneke Spies (209 pounds)
Stellies Chipper
- For time:
- 100 wall balls
- 15-meter handstand walk
- 75-cal row
- 15-meter handstand walk
- 50 handstand push-ups
- 15-meter handstand walk
- 25 toes-to-bars
- 15-meter handstand walk
- Time cap: 21 minutes
Men
- Mohamed Elomda (12:54)
- Ruan Potgieter (12:57)
- Darren Zurnamer (13:33)
Women
- Michelle Merand (15:42)
- Tanha Bouffé (16:12)
- Christina Livaditakis (16:49)
Time for Pudding
- For time:
- 27 chest-to-bar pull-ups
- 27 dumbbell squat snatches (22.5/15 kilograms)
- 18 chest-to-bar pull-ups
- 18 dumbbell squat snatches (22.5/15 kilograms)
- 9 chest-to-bar pull-ups
- 9 dumbbell squat snatches (22.5/15 kilograms)
- Time cap: 8 minutes
Men
- Ruan Potgieter (3:40)
- Mohamed Elomda (3:41)
-
Kealan Henry (3:43)
Women
- Leeverne Engelbrecht (3:43)
- Michelle Merand (3:50)
- Tanha Bouffé (3:56)
2022 CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town Team Results
In the 2021 Semifinals, CrossFit Eikstad Mighty Oaks dominated — but they’ve since disbanded. That left the field of play wide open. But CrossFit Commit Okavango — now sporting two athletes from former Eikstad Mighty Oaks, Mariska Smit and Jaco Brits — earned themselves a victory in the Quarterfinals with a sweep of all four of the workouts. They set themselves up well for a repeat victory in the Semifinals, with a first-place victory in three events, two second place finishes, and one third place ranking.
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Note: The team that will be moving onto the Games is highlighted in bold. The teams eligible for the Last-Chance Qualifier are indicated in italics.
- CrossFit Commit Okavango (580 points)
- CrossFit Tijger Valley UNIT (570 points)
- Bst CrossFit (545 points)
- FireBolt Dragons (490 points)
- Motley Crew CrossFit (400 points)
- Pack Life CrossFit (385 points)
- Crossfit IRA Howling Commando’s (360 points)
- Crossfit WHK Sold Out on Life (335 points)
- Lions Bay Crossfit (335 points)
- CrossFit PBM (315 points)
Though CrossFit Commit Okavango’s win came with an impressive number of top finishes, they weren’t the only ones to shine. CrossFit Tijger Valley UNIT only came in 10 points behind with first place victories in three events. Along with Bst CrossFit and FireBolt Dragons, CrossFit Tijger Valley UNIT will be advancing to the Last-Chance Qualifier at the end of June.
More Semifinals to Come
The next round of the 2022 CrossFit Semifinals will take place on June 2-5. The Adaptive Semifinals and Age Group Semifinals 2 (50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65+) will be held virtually, while the Far East Throwdown and the Granite Games are in-person events. The Far East Throwdown is happening from June 3-5 at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) in Busan, South Korea. Meanwhile, at Viking Lakes in Eagan, MN, the Granite Games will be happening. You’ll be able to watch the livestream of the Far East Throwdown and the Granite Games from the comfort of your couch or CrossFit box.
Featured Image: @fittestincapetown / Instagram