2024 CrossFit Games North America East Semifinals Day 1 Recap: Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr and Jeff Adler Take 100 Points
As the saying goes, “last round, best round,” and the final weekend of the 2024 CrossFit Semifinals is off and running, literally.
The field at the North America East Semifinal by Syndicate Crown is stacked in Knoxville. And on Friday, there was just one event on tap for the individuals with 100 points on the line.
This is what athletes had to contend with in Individual Semifinal Event 1:
5 rounds for time:
- 800-meter run
- 10 clean and jerks
Time cap: 30 minutes
Women: 125 pounds
Men: 185 pounds
The top scores carded on this workout thus far out of Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North America West are:
- Uldis Upenieks (Europe) – 20:20.47 | Gabriela Migala (Europe) – 21:11.00
- Ricky Garard (Oceania) – 22:27.38 | Seher Kaya (Asia) – 23:13.00
- Ilyas Kuliev (Asia) – 23:13.00 | Caitlin Bernardin (NA West) – 23:56.00
- Note: While these are the top times in Event 1, direct comparisons are difficult, given the variance in running route length and elevation changes.
Here’s what happened on day one at the North America East Semifinal.
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Women’s Division
At the top
Brooke Wells, who missed out on the 2023 CrossFit Games, came into the weekend with something to prove. Like Patrick Vellner last weekend in Carson, Wells started the day in the first heat after receiving penalties during Quarterfinals.
She didn’t let this slow her down, as she massacred the workout and set the time to beat for the second heat at 22:49.38.
The second heat of women took the floor, and it was stacked with past Games athletes.
Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr and Haley Adams, two athletes making their return to competition this season, jockeyed back and forth for the duration of the event.
- As the two took off for the final run, Toomey-Orr was just ahead of Adams, and she started on the barbell first. Toomey-Orr finished the event with touch-and-go cleans and jerks and set an event record at 20:56. Adams came in second.
Surprise Success
Amanda Barnhart had a tough off-season while dealing with an injury. She looked like she was going to have an equally tough Event 1, as she was at the bottom of the heat early on. However, the veteran paced the workout flawlessly, passing athletes each round and finishing in ninth place.
In Danger
Anikha Greer finished 34th in Event 1, setting herself up for a tough battle up the leaderboard if she hopes to finally qualify as an Individual for the CrossFit Games. Three-time Games veteran Carolyne Prevost (30th) will also have to work hard to move up the leaderboard.
One cool stat: Toomey-Orr has now won the last 10 Semifinal events she has competed in and 11 out of 13 in her career.
Here are the top 11 women heading into day two:
| Place | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr | 100 |
| 2 | Haley Adams | 97 |
| 3 | Emma Lawson | 94 |
| 4 | Caroline Stanley | 91 |
| 5 | Danielle Brandon | 88 |
| 6 | Brooke Wells | 85 |
| 7 | Erica Folo | 82 |
| 8 | Paige Semenza | 79 |
| 9 | Amanda Barnhart | 76 |
| 10 | Lydia Fish | 73 |
| 11 | Alexis Raptis | 70 |
Men’s Division
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With the women done for the day, it was time for the men to tackle Event 1.
At the Top
In the first heat, Taylor Self started to make a move in the third round, becoming the first one out the door heading into his final run. He had the most distance to cover on the competition floor and headed to his barbell for the final clean and jerks.
- He set the time to beat for the second heat at 22:28.45.
The second heat was packed with veterans who all had their eyes on beating Self’s time.
Roman Khrennikov and Jeff Adler came into the arena neck-and-neck from the initial run to attack their first 10 clean and jerks.
- Adler built a bit of a lead early and continued creating separation from Khrennikov as each round passed. Adler finished the event doing singles on the barbell and posted an event record time of 20:28.44.
- Roman completed his final barbell reps touch-and-go to the delight of fans on-site. He finished just behind Adler at 20:38.00.
- There was a tight race between Austin Hatfield and Jayson Hopper in the next group, with Hatfield just edging Hopper out.
Surprise Success
Will Moorad has already qualified in the Master’s division, but don’t count him out of the Individuals. He finished fourth in Event 1, just ahead of Hatfield and Hopper.
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In Danger
Jack Farlow is known for his strength, and he will have to use it for the rest of the weekend if he wants to return to the CrossFit Games after a 34th-place finish in Event 1.
- Jorge Hernandez (29th) hopes to qualify for the first time as an individual, and Ben Smith (21st) is aiming for his potential 12th individual trip. Both men will have an uphill battle.
One cool stat: Jeff Adler is now a runner. He has four first-place finishes in events with 400m runs (or longer).
- Semifinals Event 1 (May 2024)
- Rogue Texas Heavy (October 2023)
- Games Helena (August 2023)
- Semifinals Event 5 (May 2023)
Here are the top 11 men heading into day two:
| Place | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeffrey Adler | 100 |
| 2 | Roman Khrennikov | 97 |
| 3 | Saxon Panchik | 94 |
| 4 | Will Moorad | 91 |
| 5 | Austin Hatfield | 88 |
| 6 | Jayson Hopper | 85 |
| 7 | Dallin Pepper | 82 |
| 8 | Benoît Boulanger | 79 |
| 9 | Travis Mayer | 76 |
| 10 | Tyler Christophel | 73 |
| 11 | Taylor Self | 70 |
Featured image: Carlos Fleury