Prize Purse Draws Top CrossFitters to DCC2020 Online Challenge

It didn’t take long after announcing a huge prize purse, for a whos-who of CrossFit athletes to start registering for the Dubai CrossFit Championship 2020 Online Challenge. On May 13 the organizers of the recently cancelled 2020 Dubai CrossFit Championship Sanctional announced a prize purse of $46,000 spread across eight divisions, four each for male and female, one of the largest payouts for an online-only competition in CrossFit competition history.

Big money = big names: The competition started on May 15 with the first of three weekly workouts consisting of minimal equipment. Registration will close on May 22, and these are a few of the top names competing for the cash prize. The winners of both the men’s and women’s individual division will win $10,000.

• The 2019 CrossFit Games podium on the women’s side will be well represented as Kristin Holte (2nd Fittest Woman on Earth) and Jamie Simmonds (formerly Greene, 3rd Fittest Woman on Earth). Holte finished third in the Open while Simmonds placed fifth, both earning their invitation to the 2020 Games in Aromas, CA.
• The winner of three of the last four women’s Opens, Sara Sigmundsdottir has also registered. Sigmundsdottir competed in three of the ten Sanctionals before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the rest of the season. She recorded two Sanctional victories and a runner-up finish at Wodapalooza to cement herself as a contender for the 2020 Games title.
• Emma McQuaid (9th in the Open) and Andrea Nisler (15th in the Open) round out the Games qualifiers through the Open competing for the prize money in Dubai.
• 2019 Games rookie and the top-ten finisher Danielle Brandon rounds out the roster of current Games invitees. She received her Games invite through the back-fill process at the Mayhem Classic.
• Other top athletes on the women’s side competing for the $10,000 prize include Carolyne Prevost, Steph Chung, Emily Rolfe, Mikaela Norman, Larissa Cunha, Bailey Meraviglia, Sarah Viets, Mikaela Norman, Evie Hollis and Marnie Sykes.
• The men’s division features Games invitees Jeffrey Adler (5th in the Open) and Khan Porter who won the Pandaland CrossFit Challenge to earn his Games ticket.
• A collection of international athletes, some with Games experience, also paid their $5.00 registration fee in hopes of turning it into $10,000. Greek athletes Giorgos Karavis and Alex Kotoulas, South African Jason Smith and Andre Houdet from Denmark want that big payday at the end of the competition.
• Craig Kenney, Nick Bloch and Colten Mertens are United States representatives with Games experience in the field.

Age Group Athletes Competing for Big Dollars: The individuals aren’t the only division that will payout big, the organizers are awarding $5,000 for the winner of the man and woman who finish atop the leaderboard for the 40-49 and 50+ divisions. In the under 18-year-old divisions the winners receive $3,000.

• The huge payday has attracted some of the top age-group athletes, many of them still processing being left out of the 2020 Games.
• The 40-49-year-old women’s division features the two-time Master’s division champion Janet Black. Black won the title of “Fittest 40-44 Year Old” at the 2015 Games and then won the 45-49-year-old Games title last year in Madison, WI.
• Other Games veterans in the field include Jenn Short, Sara Joy and Laura Nielsen. All three were set to earn an invite to the 2020 Games through top-ten finishes in the AGOQ before the cancellation of their competition.
• On the men’s 40-49-year-old division side, Giulio Silvino, Sascha Tank and Heath Moody are all Games veterans in the Masters division. All three finished in the top-ten in this year’s AGOQ in their respected divisions with Silvino finishing as the runner-up in the 45-49 field.
• The women’s 50+ division features a pair of Canadians who have become staples of the Master’s divisions at the Games. Laurie Meschishnick won her first Games title last year competing for the first time in the 55-59 division. Fellow Candian, Joyanne Cooper has appeared in four Games as a Masters athlete and placed second in the AGOQ for the 50-54 division this year.
• Zoe Stewart, Cindy Hinkle, Maricruz Prieto and Lasara Magnani are some names to keep an eye out in the division.
• The 50+ men’s field is highlighted by Games athletes Jody Clements and Stuart Swanson. Both have competed at a high level and each finished top-ten in the AGOQ in the 55-59 division this year.
• The teen divisions for the DXB2020 features a trio of Emma’s competing for the $3,000 prize. Emma Cary, the “Fittest 14-15 Year Old” last year leads the group. Canadian Emma Lawson finished on the podium beside Cary at the 2019 Games, taking third. Emma Gardner was one of the top 16-17-year-olds this season, finishing 15th in the division in the Open.
• Olivia Sulek was the 2018 “Fittest 14-15 Year Old” and followed that up with a fourth place in 2019. The top teenager in terms of Open finish, she placed 50th worldwide before following that with a third-place finish in the AGOQ.
• Lilly Rodriguez, Jadzia Onorati-Phillips, Sophia Grimmer and Sarah Schaeffer are four other teenagers to keep an eye out on during the competition.
• The boys field is headlined by three-time Games teen champion Dallin Pepper. Now aged out of the age group divisions, the 18-year-old won three-straight teen division titles from 2017-2019.
• Other teen boys to watch for include Amato Mazzoca, who placed second at the Games last year in the 14-15 division and Brazilian Luiz Henrique Moreira placed second in the AGOQ in the 16-17 division this year. American Elijah Subiono won the AGOQ for the 14-15-year-old division this year.