2024 CrossFit Games North America West Semifinal Winners and Qualifiers: Justin Medeiros, Abigail Domit Take First

From 26th at the 2023 CrossFit Games to first at the 2024 North America West Semifinal, Abigail Domit proved that consistency is key, finishing all six of the week’s events between third and ninth place. 

Following her on the podium was 2023 CrossFit Games Most Improved (and 2023 North American West champ) Alex Gazan and reigning Third Fittest Woman, Arielle Loewen.

Canadians Hattie Kanyo (a Games rookie) and veteran Emily Rolfe rounded out the top five. 

On the men’s side, there were tight battles for the podium and at the cutline, but in the end, the two-time Fittest Man, Justin Medeiros, took home the gold, followed by veteran Brent Fikowski and second-time Games qualifier James Sprague.

Games veterans and podium finishers Patrick Vellner and Sam Kwant finished fourth and fifth, respectively. 

Here’s how it all went down.

Women’s Division

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The big story of Event 4 was Olivia Kerstetter. Last year’s CrossFit Games Rookie of the Year entered the day in 23rd position—92 points below the cutline—but she proved unstoppable on rowing and handstand walking. 

• Kerstetter’s time of 8:28.64 in Heat 2 held up for the event win, jumping her eight spots up the leaderboard.

The event was also kind to arguably the three biggest favorites of the competition: Alex Gazan, Emily Rolfe, and Arielle Loewen. 

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• Loewen led the final heat from start to finish—challenging but not quite matching Kerstetter’s time—and cruised her way to a second-place finish in the event.
• Rolfe and Gazan finished fifth and sixth, respectively, helping Gazan take the overall lead and Rolfe move from fifth to second overall.

Further, looking to qualify for her second straight Games, Abigail Domit, who started the day in fourth overall, put in another top 10 performance, keeping her solidly inside the top five.

Finally, Caitlin Bernardin, third heading into the day and competing in her first Semifinals, showed her first sign of weakness in Event 4. She finished 35th overall, dropping her into seventh place, just one spot above the cutline.

Worth noting: Games veteran Dani Speegle also did herself some favors on Event 4. She started the day in 17th overall, but her seventh-place finish jumped her into 10th, 16 points from peeking above the cutline. 

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Once again, Event 5 was all about Kerstetter in Heat 3. She finished the 30 progressively heavier snatches in the fastest time we have seen in all of the Semifinals so far, by a long shot. 

• Her time of 3:58.36 was more than a minute faster than the next time—Kelsey Kiel in 4:59.94—and the fastest time we have ever seen on the repeat event from the 2016 Regionals. 
• Her performance helped her jump into 10th overall, but she was still 19 points out of a qualification position.

On the bubble: Speegle, Kyra Milligan, and three-time Teen Games competitor Trista Smith were three athletes who had much-needed big performances. 

• Not surprisingly, Speegle won the final heat, and her time was good enough for third overall, jumping her up the leaderboard into the final qualification spot. Meanwhile, Milligan and Smith, both looking to qualify for their first Games, finished sixth and seventh, keeping them in contention to snag a Games invite.

Thanks to her fifth-place finish on Event 5, Hattie Kanyo jumped into the overall top spot, while Abigail Domit quietly found herself in second overall after her fifth straight top-10 event finish.

Finally, although Loewen finished 16th on Event 5 because the points were so close, the Texas mom managed to climb back into third overall with one event to go.

Worth noting: Bernardin wasn’t able to complete the ladder. She finished 37th overall, dropping her outside the cutline.

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Fighting for her life in Event 6, Kerstetter put forth a great effort, coming from behind after the muscle-ups and hitting the lunges hard. 

• She finished second in her heat, just behind Kelsey Kiel, but would it be enough to gain the 19 points she needed to get into the top eight? 

It would come down to what Speegle, Milligan, and Smith did in the final heat.

• On paper, it didn’t look like a Speegle home run, as ring muscle-ups have traditionally been one of her relative weaknesses, but the veteran proved she isn’t done in the sport yet. After failing to qualify for the Games last year, Speegle finished fifth in the final event, solidifying a Games invite.

Smith placed 21st in the event, but Milligan’s 10th-place finish was enough to secure the last spot, ahead of Kerstetter and just behind the consistent Games veteran Bethany Flores. 

In the race for the podium, Gazan, Domit, Kanyo, Loewen, and Rolfe all still had a chance, and it would come down to who beat who on Event 6.

• Rolfe and Loewen both managed top 10 finishes—seventh and ninth—while Kanyo finished back in 23rd. Although the podium was likely now out of reach, Kanyo had enough of a cushion that she wasn’t in jeopardy of falling out of the top eight. 

Ultimately, the event belonged to Gazan, who proved why she was a favorite going in. She finished her muscle-ups first and lunged her way to an easy event win.

Not to be outdone, however, Domit wasn’t far behind, logging herself a third-place finish.

• Ultimately, it was Domit—and an average event finish of sixth place—who, in silent assassin-style, topped all competitors in North America West when it was all said and done.
• Here’s the finalized top 10:

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Men’s Division

Event 4: Sunday kicked off with veterans Pat Vellner and Justin Medeiros sitting atop the leaderboard and all the athletes going upside down in Event 4. 

It was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it race with Tudor Magda, who sat 63 points outside a qualifying position, literally running on his hands in Heat 3. He finished at 7:40.28. 

The final heat took the floor, and the entire field kicked up almost simultaneously after the first row, with Cole Greashaber looking to move up as he came into the event one spot out of qualifying.

• Greashaber made a statement with a 1:38 pace on his final row and finished with a blistering time of 7:15.48, winning the event.

• Sam Kwant did Sam Kwant things, as he quietly posted a second-place finish in the event, just edging out Brandon Luckett with a time of 7:38.37. 

Event 5: Heading into the snatch ladder, several men found themselves in a make-it-or-break-it moment if they wanted to stay in the hunt for a Games spot — including Max Krieg, Colten Mertens, and Tudor Magda. 

• Magda’s listed max snatch is 325, and it showed as he sped through the ladder in the third heat, finishing with a time of 6:05.64, which ultimately earned him a sixth-place finish in the event.

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It was the final heat that put on the show. Smooth was fast, as Mertens knew he needed a strong showing in this event.

Brent Fikowski attacked the workout with the surgical precision for which he’s known and challenged Mertens as they headed into the final 265-pound barbell.

• Fikowski got the first rep on the final bar up first, but Mertens went touch-and-go unexpectedly to take the win with a time of 5:07.62. After taking his calculated rest and hitting his lift, Fikowski burst into laughter as he crossed the finish line and gave Mertens a big hug.

Several men who looked to have locked up a qualifying spot made the final event more interesting, as they had subpar performances on the snatches. 

• Sprague (14th), Vellner (22nd), and Sager (24th) all finished outside the top 13 in the event.

• Sager sat in 10th overall, one place outside the cut line, setting up his patented “come-from-behind qualification.” 

Worth noting: Mertens took the record on Event 5, besting Bronislaw Olenkowicz (from the Europe Semifinal) and his time of 5:25.94

• Justin Medeiros continued his steady climb up the leaderboard, finishing in fifth place in the event with a time of 6:05.38. He sat comfortably in second overall, only six points behind Fikowski.

Event 6: Going into the final event, several athletes knew they had to go full send if they had a hope of qualifying for the Games.

Magda once again set an early mark to beat at 2:15.97, but as the final heat took the floor, the intensity was palpable. 

Mertens and Sager were separated by only three points, and with final Games spots on the line, all the men went full send on the bike. 

• Brandon Luckett, sitting in eighth place going into the final event, was the first onto the rings. Most of the men attacked the muscle-ups unbroken, with Mertens dropping down to take a quick rest.

• As the men grabbed their dumbbells within seconds of each other, it was a race to the finish line, as Justin Medeiros squeaked in with a heat win and a time of 2:30.94. It was not enough to beat Magda, though, who won the event.

• Mertens and Sager went step-for-step on the lunges, but Mertens received a costly no rep, only feet from the finish, which ended up being the difference in who booked their trip to Texas.

When the dust settled, Sager qualified for his 11th trip to the Games, Rookie Chris Ibarra booked his first trip with a sixth-place finish, and Cole Greashaber snuck into the ninth position, just three points ahead of Tudor Magda. Here’s the finalized top 10:

Men

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Teams Division

The teams returned to the tennis stadium in Carson, CA, this weekend for the first time since the Crossfit Games moved to Madison, WI, in 2016.

Invictus Dominates: True to form, CrossFit Invictus, the Sea of Green, remained the dominant force in the team space. 

• Landing two teams on the podium in first and second place was not the only impressive feat by Invictus this weekend, though, as they battled it out close to their home base in San Diego.

After five events, CrossFit Invictus took first place overall, winning three of five events, while Invictus Unconquerable took second with one event win. 

• Neither team finished a single event outside the top five. More than that, the two teams separated themselves from the field by more than 30 points, with third-place team CrossFit Complex Wodex finishing 36 points behind Invictus Unconquerable.

More impressive yet was Invictus Unconquerable’s record lift total set during Event 2, where they out-lifted every team thus far by a full 40 pounds.

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While Invictus had the chance to send four teams to the CrossFit Games this weekend, their two qualifying teams had an impressive showing that bode well for a promising Games performance.

• CrossFit Invictus also officially cedes its record to CrossFit Oslo, the only affiliate to send three teams to the CrossFit Games two years in a row as of last week.

Mexico Earns First Team Games Berth: While we have had individual athletes representing Mexico at the CrossFit Games, Mexico has never had team representation on the big stage.

That will change this year with not one but two teams headed to represent Mexico at the CrossFit Games.

• CrossFit Complex Wodex and CrossFit Queretaro the W Pack finished third and fourth, respectively. CrossFit Complex Wodex also became the first team to represent Mexico on a Semifinals podium.

Moreover, CrossFit Complex Wodex set an event record in Event 5, beating all teams across North America West, Oceania, Europe, and Asia in the final event.

Here’s the final top 10 from the team division leaderboard:

Featured image: Scotty Freymond