A Look Back: Comparing the 2016 CrossFit Regionals and 2024 Semifinals Snatch Ladders
When the Regionals workouts were announced in 2016, most competitors knew they would likely not make it through Event 1 before the 11-minute time cap.
And they didn’t.
Remind me: The event, repeated at this year’s CrossFit Semifinals, was:
- 10 squat snatches by 2:00
- 8 squat snatches by 4:00
- 6 squat snatches by 6:00
- 4 squat snatches by 8:00
- 2 squat snatches by 11:00
Women: 135, 145, 155, 165, 175 pounds
Men: 185, 205, 225, 245, 265 pounds
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Back then, the heaviest barbell was higher than many of the athletes’ one-rep max, so when Australia’s Kara Saunders and five-time CrossFit Games champion Mat Fraser set the fastest times in the world — 5:29.82 and 6:05.29, respectively — they were in a class of their own.
Eight years later, when it was revealed that Semifinals Event 5 would repeat Regionals Event 1, we knew these times would likely be shattered.
The athletes didn’t disappoint.
- Olivia Kerstetter set the new world record time at the North America West Semifinals with an unthinkably fast time of 3:48.36. Guy Malheiros took down all male competitors in 4:43.0 at the South America Semifinals.
- Further, a total of eight women and 18 men at this year’s Semifinals went faster than the fastest time in 2016.
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The depth of the field across all regions provides deeper insight into how far the athletes have come.
In 2016, 108 men (33 percent of the 321 competitors) finished the workout before the time cap.
- Thirty-seven men (11 percent of the field) finished the workout in less than eight minutes.
In 2024, 147 men (54 percent of the 274 competitors) finished before the time cap, while 82 finished in less than eight minutes.
On the women’s side in 2016, 66 of the 318 competitors (20 percent of the field) were able to finish the event before the time cap.
- Only 24 women (7.5 percent) finished the event in less than eight minutes.
In this year’s Semifinals, 28 percent of the women’s field finished the event in less than eight minutes, while 53 percent finished before the time cap.
Worth noting: The workout was also featured at the 2021 West Coast Classic Semifinals. That year, two women bested Saunders’ time set in 2016 (Dani Speegle and Kloie Wilson), and only one man went faster than Fraser in 2016 (Tola Morakinyo).
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The big picture: It’s not news that our community is getting fitter, stronger, and faster, but it’s always fun to look back and see just how far we have come. And when it comes to snatches, the gains are phenomenal.
- The question is, where does it end? Will the growth slow?
If we repeat the workout again in one, two, or five years from now, will Kerstetter’s world record time of 3:58.36 — a whopping 25 percent better than the next fastest time in the world — get taken down?
Featured image: Carlos Fleury