While most of the sport’s top names competed at the World Fitness Project (WFP) Tour Event I in Indianapolis, IN, over the weekend, many of Europe’s CrossFit Games hopefuls gathered in Montpellier, France, at the French Throwdown.
- It was the fourth of 10 In-Person Qualifying Events (IPQE) on the season, and two men’s and two women’s Games invitations were up for grabs.
Moritz Fiebig topped the men’s leaderboard; however, because he already qualified for the CrossFit Games during April’s Wodland Fest, the two Games tickets from Montpellier will go to Bronislaw Olenkowicz and Calum Clements, the second- and third-place finishers.
The women’s side told a similar story. Elisa Fuliano took the top spot, but she did not compete in the CrossFit Open and is not eligible to qualify for the Games. Therefore, second- and third-place finishers, Claudia Gluck and Lucy McGonigle, will earn the two qualifying spots.
2025 CrossFit Games-Qualifying Performances
Bronislaw Olenkowicz
A Polish powerhouse, Olenkowicz’s weekend featured five top-five finishes out of eight events, including two event wins.
One of his wins came on “Heavy Isabel” (30 snatches for time at 225 pounds), an event included in every IPQE and the In-Affiliate Semifinals.
- His time of 3:45 is the second-best in the world so far, behind only Jeff Adler’s (still unofficial) time of 3:19 at the In-Affiliate Semifinals.
Olenkowicz also won “Heavy Isabel” at Wodland Fest with a time of 4:10.
This is Olenkowicz’s third time qualifying for the CrossFit Games. He finished 42nd in 2019 and 26th in 2023. The 36-year-old competed at the Masters CrossFit Games by Legends last season, finishing in third place behind Will Moorad and Henry Matthews.
Calum Clements
Spain’s Calum Clements finished just 14 points behind Olenkowicz after putting up five top-10 finishes, including one event win on Event 6 — 30 calorie Echo Bike, 30 bar-muscle-ups, 30 calorie Echo Bike.
This is Clements’ second time qualifying for the CrossFit Games. Last year, he finished 20th as a rookie.
Claudia Gluck
The only French athlete to qualify from the French Throwdown, Claudia Gluck was also one of only two females in the competition with individual CrossFit Games experience (the other being Fuliano) and was the frontrunner to earn an invite.
- Competing in her home country, Gluck did not disappoint. She finished in the top five in five of the eight events, logging one event win along the way.
Gluck will head to the CrossFit Games for the second year. As a rookie, she finished 12th last year.
Lucy McGonigle
As the weekend approached, Ireland’s Lucy McGonigle was sitting four spots below the cutline, in 15th place overall, on the In-Affiliate Semifinals leaderboard, so it looked as though the two-time teen CrossFit Games champion needed a strong performance at the French Throwdown to qualify for her first Games as an individual.
She did just that, putting up five top-10 performances in Montpellier, beating out fourth-place finisher Aline Wirz by 20 points and earning the final spot to the Games.
- But on Monday, after CrossFit assessed penalties to various athletes on the In-Affiliate Semifinals leaderboard, suddenly McGonigle’s name had jumped from 15th to 11th, meaning she has (unofficially) qualified for the Games in two different ways.
According to the CrossFit Games Season Rulebook (Rule 3.01), because the French Throwdown took place before the In-Affiliate Semifinals leaderboard was finalized, McGonigle will qualify via the French Throwdown. Her In-Affiliate Semifinals invite will be backfilled to the next athlete, who is currently Jennifer Muir.
An Update on Mirjam von Rohr
During the final event, Mirjam von Rohr — one of the frontrunners for an invitation to the Games — collapsed during the sandbag squats. Her body was visibly shaking, and numerous medical team members rushed to her side before wheeling her off the competition floor on a stretcher.
- In an Instagram post on Monday, von Rohr explained: “In the last workout, I got dizzy, my vision went dark, I started shaking, and I didn’t know where I was. Parts of that event are a complete blackout. It’s not the first time this has happened – but usually, in training, I stop before it gets that bad.”
She also wrote that while she wasn’t yet sure what happened, “I suspect my central nervous system was overloaded. I suffered a head injury two years ago, and since then I’ve had to be extremely cautious with heavy loads and high-intensity volume.”
Von Rohr, who won the worldwide Open this season and last, did not finish the final event and dropped to ninth on the overall leaderboard, her Games hopes dashed. Or so it seemed.
But then, on Monday, Von Rohr jumped up the In-Affiliate leaderboard from 14th to 10th, meaning she will (unofficially) earn an invite to the CrossFit Games via the In-Affiliate Semifinals.
The Big Picture
With four out of 10 IPQEs and the In-Affiliate Semifinals behind us, 19 of the 30 men’s and women’s CrossFit Games spots are now (unofficially) accounted for.
- So far, 12 of these 38 (unofficially) qualified athletes are Europeans: Gluck, McGonigle, Von Rohr, Siria Meha, Jennifer Muir, Lucy Campbell, Fiebig, Olenkowicz, Clements, Enrico Zenoni, Colin Bosshard, Harry Lightfoot.
With both of this season’s European IPQE’s in the books, opportunities for European athletes are dwindling, as three of the six remaining IPQE’s are regionally restricted to athletes in those regions.
Should any more European athletes hope to qualify for the Games, they’ll have to rely on invitations to the Northern California Classic in Sacramento, CA, the Torian Pro in Brisbane, Australia, or the Far East Throwdown in Busan, Korea.
If not, there’s always a chance to earn the final ticket via the Last Chance Qualifier.
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Featured Image: @frenchthrowdown / Instagram
