2024 CrossFit Games Oceania Semifinal Winners and Qualifiers: Ricky Garard and Grace Walton Finish on Top Down Under

With additional writing by Sarah Appleby and Kay Wiese

Games veteran and 2022 Third Fittest Man on Earth, Ricky Garard, completed the second comeback of his career, clinching victory at the 2024 CrossFit Games Oceania Semifinal in a knock-down, drag-out fight against Bayley Martin and Jay Crouch, who both secured their second Games invitations.

Youngster Peter Ellis nabbed the fourth and final Games berths on the men’s side, earning his first trip to the big show.

After leading most of the weekend, veteran Maddie Sturt ultimately lost out on the overall podium win to first-time Games qualifier Grace Walton on the women’s side. 

Daisy McDonald and Georgia Pryer took third and fourth, respectively, making it three out of four rookies on the women’s side out of Oceania (and five out of eight total for the region). 

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Women’s Division

Walton Wins, Sturt Survives: In a tight race for the top spot, four-time Games athlete Maddie Sturt started day three with a 12-point lead over Grace Walton. 

Walton earned her first event win of the weekend in Event 4, holding a sub-1:50/500-meter pace on all three rows and finishing in 8:34.70. This was Walton’s first career Semifinal event win. Being out in front was a different experience for Walton, as she shared in her post-event interview:

• “I hate being chased. It was a good cat and mouse race,” she said.

Worth noting: Semifinals rookie Daisy McDonald and fan-favorite Julia Hannaford electrified the crowd at Pat Rafter Arena by pirouetting the turn in the first round of handstand walks instead of kicking down. Look for Danielle Brandon to repeat this (in more than just the first round?) at North America East next week.

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Event 5 was all fireworks as the top women tore through the early barbells of the snatch ladder and then put on a show as the weight got heavy.

• Three of the highlights from the event included Julia Hannaford going touch-and-go on the final barbell (above), Ella Price nailing her personal record snatch for two, and Alethea Boon, who did this workout when it was originally programmed in 2016, proving she’s still got it eight years later.

Another impressive performance by Walton saw her take second in this event, while Sturt’s 13th-place finish was her worst of the weekend by 10 places. This shake-up put Walton in the driver’s seat for the first time all weekend. 

On the bubble: With Walton and Sturt battling it out for the top spot overall, excitement was in the air coming into the final event. 

• But there was another battle to watch, as bubble athletes Georgia Pryer and Danielle Ford hoped to nab fourth place overall and the final ticket to Fort Worth.

Sturt recovered after the snatch event and went to take the Event 6 win (a nasty sprint of Echo bike calories, ring muscle-ups, and a heavy dumbbell walking lunge to the finish) for her fourth total on the weekend.

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Pryer was right on Sturt’s heels, taking second in the event. This was enough to place Pryer in fourth and punch her first ticket to the Games as she shared:

• “This whole competition has been just crazy. I exceeded my own expectations, so that, for one, is amazing. I’m just really proud of myself,” she said.

Walton’s sixth-place finish in the final event was enough to put her on top of the podium in the overall standings.

An emotional McDonald finished in Event 6 in 11th place, which placed her in third overall.

Here’s your final top 10. Bolded names indicate CrossFit Games qualifiers.

Men’s Division

To call the podium battle between Bayley Martin, Jay Crouch, and Ricky Garard a slobber-knocker would be an understatement, as the three men traded positions throughout the day. 

The start of Sunday: Heading into Event 4, all eyes were on Bayley Martin, given his speed upside down. Garard started hot on the rower, but Martin quickly passed him on the handstand walk. 

It would be Crouch, though, who ended up pushing it hard on the last row and sprinting on his hands to take the win with a blistering time of 7:32.16. 

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While he may not have had the weekend he wanted, Jake Douglas proved his spot in the elites with an Event 5 win on the snatch ladder. 

• Douglas, who qualified for the Games last year, demolished the event with a time of 5:38.10. 

Of the three men battling it out for the crown, Garard had the best placement of Event 5 with a third-place finish. Followed by Martin (fifth) and then Crouch (ninth). 

• “It’s anyone’s game for sure; anything can happen,” Crouch said during his post-event interview, referencing the battle to come in Event 6. 

Crouch joked that the dumbbells are “pretty heavy” for that last event, but it’ll be a good race.

• Luke De Jonge was on the bubble going into Event 5. Peter Ellis was only 12 points ahead of De Jonge going into Event 5 and had a tough go of the snatch ladder near the end. De Jonge and Ellis went into Event 6 tied in points. 

A sprint to the end: There’s no doubt that Event 6 was made for the fans. A dumbbell lunge to the finish is an iconic CrossFit move and one that always proves to be exciting. 

Going into Event 6, Garard was in first place, with Martin in second and Crouch in third. The boys were fired up and ready to pounce on those Echo bikes. 

• Garard was off the bike first and right onto the rings. But it was Ellis who got to the 100-pound dumbbells first. Garard slowly overtook Ellis and ended up taking the event win. 

Ellis, who came out very hot, still managed to stay ahead of De Jonge and earn the final qualifying spot to the Games.

The moment he crossed the finish line, Ellis knew he had done it and started crying immediately. Friends and other competitors came over to hug and congratulate him on his first time qualifying for the Games. 

• “This is the best day of my life,” Ellis said in a post-event interview. 

Ellis’s grit and determination were palpable as he fought for his spot the entire weekend. He ended up 45 points ahead of De Jonge. 

• “I’ve never felt like that before in a last workout. I was going to die before I stopped moving,” he added. “It was everything I had.” 

Nothing like a comeback: Garard cemented his place in the sport of CrossFit once more, being crowned first place at the Torian Pro. Martin finished in second, while Crouch took third.

Here’s your final top 10. Bolded names indicate CrossFit Games qualifiers.

Team Division

Several Australian legends took the floor this weekend to try their hand at the Team division. Here’s what you need to know from the teams in the Land Down Under.

The Mayhem flag flies: While Invictus found itself with a double podium in North America West, Mayhem represented well in Oceania, with two teams landing on the podium at the end of the weekend.

Raw Iron CrossFit Mayhem Thunder and CrossFit Torian Mayhem finished first and second, respectively, separated by just four points.

• With no finish outside the top three, Raw Iron CrossFit Mayhem Thunder proved that they are not to be messed with and, perhaps more importantly, that Kara Saunders has not missed a beat during her time away from competition.

The team, which also includes Australian legends Khan Porter and James Newbury, put on an absolute showcase over the weekend, including a nearly 90-second win in the first event.

While Kara Saunders took some time away from individual competition, 2024 marks her return to competitive CrossFit, this time in the team division. Her performance thus far is proving that she and her team might be able to make a run for the podium later this summer.

Here’s your final top 10. Bolded team names indicate CrossFit Games qualifiers.

Featured image: @johnnyrollinsphoto / Instagram