Two of the four In-Person Qualifying Events (IPQE) happening this weekend are in Korea and South Africa.
The Far East Throwdown in Busan, South Korea, and the Rebel Renegade Games in Johannesburg, South Africa, will take place from May 30 to June 1. Each event will send one man and one woman to the CrossFit Games.
Remind me: To qualify for the Games, athletes had to finish in the top 1% of the CrossFit Open and earn one of 30 tickets through the In-Affiliate Semifinals or an IPQE.
- This stage of the Games season began in April with the Mayhem Classic, and so far, five IPQEs and the online Semifinals have concluded.
The busiest weekend is the upcoming one, after which the middle stage of the Games season will conclude with the NorCal Classic on June 6-8. Two Games tickets will be available for men and women. The online Last Chance Qualifier will round out the 2025 Games roster with one final qualifier on each side.
- The Rebel Renegade Games is a regional event, meaning only athletes from the Africa region (including the United Arab Emirates [UAE] and the Middle East, as designated by the event organizers) are eligible to compete.
- The Far East Throwdown has no regional limitations and is open to any athlete who has qualified through the Open.
Table of Contents
2025 Rebel Renegade Games
There are currently 32 men and 20 women listed on the roster for the Rebel Renegade Games.
- Watch the action here.
- Download the event app here to follow the leaderboard and check out the full weekend schedule.
The Favorites
Women
- Sara Sigmundsdottir: The Icelandic legend brings over a decade of experience to Johannesburg. She qualified for six consecutive years, achieving two podium finishes, but has faced injuries ever since and has not returned to the CrossFit Games since the online version in 2020. A three-time winner of the worldwide Open, she finished 15th in 2025 and still possesses the competitive fire.
- Christina Livaditakis: The 28-year-old from Zimbabwe has finished fourth and second in the last two years at the Africa Semifinal. She is poised to break through.
- Evie Hollis: Also competing out of the UAE, she finished sixth last year at the Far East Throwdown.
Men
- Toby Buckland: Hailing from the UK but competing out of the UAE, Buckland finished second to Luka Ðukić at the Dubai Fitness Championship in 2024.
- Lukas Högberg: The veteran is back, having last competed at the Games in 2019. He finished third on the Games podium in 2018, where he tied in points with Brent Fikowski, but won the tiebreaker. Högberg has five Games and seven Semifinals appearances under his belt.
- Michael van Tonder: Van Tonder finished 310th in the 2025 Open and ninth last year at the Africa Semifinal. Along with his team, Cape CrossFit Wolfpack, he competed at the 2023 CrossFit Games in Madison.
Golden Tickets
Before the CrossFit Open, Rebel Renegade Games offered invitations to athletes in the UAE in the form of a “Golden Ticket.” These invitations were awarded to Sara Sigmundsdottir, Lukas Högberg, and Toby Buckland.
- Worth noting: Högberg did not finish in the top one percent during the CrossFit Open; therefore, he isn’t eligible for a Games spot. (He finished 1284th.)
2025 Far East Throwdown
The Far East Throwdown has a larger field, with 40 men and 40 women qualified and registered to compete.
- Watch the action here.
- Full competition leaderboard at Competition Corner, and be sure to bookmark the weekend schedule.
The Favorites
Women
- Seher Kaya: Kaya enters the weekend as the heavy favorite, aiming for her third consecutive Far East Throwdown win. She has competed at the CrossFit Games each of the past three seasons, placing higher each year.
- Seung Yoen Choi: The veteran has already secured her Games spot through the Wodland Fest, but she will undoubtedly be in contention for a podium finish. This will be Choi’s fourth time competing at Semifinals, where she has never finished lower than second place.
- Dawon Jung: Jung is another woman with Games experience; this would be her second consecutive time competing at the CrossFit Games if she qualifies.
Men
- Morteza Sedaghat: He qualified for the 2023 CrossFit Games but was ultimately unable to compete due to visa complications that prevented him from traveling to the event.
- Ant Haynes: The elder statesman of Asian CrossFit, Haynes received a backfill invitation to the 2023 CrossFit Games following Sedaghat’s withdrawal. His debut at the Games was in 2019, and he remains one of the most experienced athletes in the region.
- Andrey Fedotov delivered an impressive performance in the 2025 CrossFit Open, finishing 13th worldwide. He previously placed third and fifth at the Asia Semifinals in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and is regarded as a consistent podium threat.
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Featured Image: Scott Freymond
