After taking a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dubai CrossFit® Championship (DCC) is coming back to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. From Dec. 16-18, the competition will be livestreamed on the DCC’s YouTube channel.
The 40 athletes participating in this CrossFit-sanctioned event will check in on Dec. 15, then compete at an off-site location on Dec. 16 and at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Stadium from Dec. 17-18.
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The 2021 DCC roster boasts some of the most elite athletes in the sport, including 2021 CrossFit Games runner-up Laura Horvath, rising star Guilherme Malheiros, 2018 DCC champ Sam Briggs, and Sara Sigmundsdottir, who won the last DCC in 2019. Ricky Garard will also be returning to competition in Dubai after serving a four-year doping suspension that was completed on Oct. 3, 2021. Brent Fikowski, who won the 2019 DCC on the men’s side, will not be in Dubai this year.
2021 Dubai CrossFit Championship Roster
Twenty men and twenty women will be competing in the 2021 DCC. Below is the roster according to the folks at Morning Chalk Up.
Women’s Roster
- Sara Sigmundsdottir
- Laura Horvath
- Kristin Holte
- Samantha Briggs
- Gabi Migala
- Emma Cary
- Emily Rolfe
- Mikaela Norman
- Rebecka Vitesson
- Andrea Nisler
- Emma Lawson
- Karin Frey (WD)
- Thuridur Helgadottir
- Julie Hougard Nielsen
- Jacqueline Dahlstrom
- Christina Agerbeck
- Eik Gylfadottir
- Evie Hollis
- Manon Angonese
- Martine Solheim
Men’s Roster
- Lazar Đukić
- Jeffrey Adler
- André Houdet
- Henrik Haapalainen
- Ricky Garard
- Roman Khrennikov
- Shalan Mahmood
- Elliot Simmonds
- Uldis Upenieks (WD)
- Willy Georges
- Tola Morakinyo
- Fabian Beneito
- Sam Stewart
- Giorgos Karavis
- Alex Kotoulas
- Luka Đukić
- Moritz Fiebig
- Bronislaw Olenkowicz
- Mohamed El Omda
- Simon Mantyla
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What’s the Prize Purse?
The payouts for the Dubai CrossFit Championships are far from insignificant. Here’s how much the top five men and women are expected to make, according to the promotion:
- First: $50,000
- Second: $30,000
- Third: $20,000
- Fourth: $10,000
- Fifth: $5,000
The top three athletes in each event will also receive a payout. Those payouts are:
- First: $3,000
- Second: $2,000
- Third: $1,000
2021 Dubai CrossFit Championship Events
Little is known about the event schedule for the 2021 DCC. However, on Dec. 14, 2021, the workout for Event 5 was released. BarBend will update this section accordingly as more event info is known.
Event 1A (Stay Frosty) — Dec. 16, 2021
For time:
5 rounds of:
- 500-meter Ski
- Run (up/down)
Time cap: 16 min. for men/17 min. for women
Event 1B — Dec. 16, 2021
For time:
- Full Slope Run w/ Weighted Vest (m: 20lbs/w: 14lbs)
time cap: 7 min.
Event 3 — Dec. 17, 2021
For time:
- 50-Calorie Row
- 40 A-Jumps w/ Weighted Vest (m: 20lbs/w: 14lbs)
- 30 Sandbag Cleans (m: 150lbs/w: 100lbs)
- 20 Bar Muscle-Ups
- 10 Handstand Push-Ups
- 30 Sandbag Cleans (m: 150lbs/w: 100lbs)
- 40 A-Jumps W/ Weighted Vest (m: 20lbs/w: 14lbs)
- 50-Calorie Row
Time cap: 23 min. for men/25 min. for women.
Event 4 — Dec. 17, 2021
For time:
4 rounds of:
- 20-Calorie Bike Erg
- 15-meter Unbroken Handstand Walk
- 10 Overhead Squats (m: 85kg/w: 60kg)
Time cap: 3 mins.
*The field is cut after each round: 10,10 – 8,8 – 6,6 – 8 – 4
Event 5 — Dec. 18, 2021
For time:
2-4-6-8-10 reps of:
- Ring Muscle Ups
- Thrusters (m: 60kg/w: 40kg)
Time cap: 10 min.
What to Watch for in Dubai
At 19 years old, Malheiros earned the title of Fittest Man in Brazil. Now 21, Malheiros has made a huge splash on the international CrossFit scene, taking home three event wins in the 2021 CrossFit Games. It’ll be interesting to see what he does in Dubai to close out this year. A lot of eyes will also be on Garard, who hasn’t competed on an elite CrossFit stage since his suspension four years ago.
On the women’s side, former DCC champ Sigmundsdottir is coming off a ruptured ACL, and Hungarian rising star Laura Horvath is expected to perform well after finishing second in the 2021 CrossFit Games. She also finished second overall in the 2018 CrossFit Games, where she was also dubbed 2018’s Rookie of the Year.
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Also of note: On Dec 1, 2021, the DCC posted a photo of an indoor ski resort — Ski Dubai — implying that athletes will have to contend with wintry terrain.
BarBend will update this article when new information and more details about the 2021 DDC surfaces.
Featured image: @adlerjeff and @holtekristin on Instagram