Day one in Dubai wrapped up with what might be a sample of what we’ll see more of this Games season: lots of new faces. Athletes completed workouts 1 and 2, which both included a swim portion, on the Jumeirah Al Qaser Layali Beach.
Currently, here’s where the podium spots sit:
MEN
1. Alex Kotoulas
2. Matt McLeod
3. Björgvin Karl Gu∂mundsson
WOMEN
1. Samantha Briggs
2. Harriet Roberts
3. Jamie Greene
TEAM
1. Invictus (Lauren Fisher, Regan Huckaby, Tommy Vinas, Rasmus Anderson)
2. Team Sweden (Simon Mäntylä, Amanda Fränden, Sara Armanius, Alexander Elebro)
3. Cassidy, Jen, Adrian, Lukas (Cassidy Lance-McWherter, Jennifer Smith, Adrian Mundwiler, Lukas Esslinger)
Workout 1
21-15-9
Dual Kettlebell Snatch 24kg/16kg (53#/35#)
Dual Kettlebell Front Squat 24kg/16kg (53#/35#)
350m swim (nearly a quarter mile)
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To kick off the Dubai CrossFit Championship on the women’s side, three familiar faces took the top spots. Sara Sigmundsdottir took first in the kettlebell-swim event with Sam ‘The Engine’ Briggs right behind her and Jamie Greene finishing two seconds behind Briggs.
On the men’s side, no one was surprised to see Mat Fraser take the top spot. Behind him were two relatively unknown names: Matt McLeod, out of Australia and Alex Kotoulas from Greece. McLeod competed in the 2016 Pacific Regional while Kotoulas debuted in the 2018 Europe Regional competition.
For the team competition, there were no surprises on the beach: Stacked teams Invictus and the “unnamed” Team Cassidy, Jen, Adrian, Lukas, full of all Games veterans, took the top two spots with Team Sweden finishing third. Team Invictus X with Sam and Jen Dancer finished in fifth place.
Workout 2
800m Assault Air Runner
350m Swim
Athletes had about an hour break between the two day-one workouts on the beach. On the women’s side, Pacific Regionals veteran Harriet Roberts out of Australia took first place. Sam Briggs was behind her in second and newcomer Karin Frey from Slovakia in third. Frey placed 7th at the European Regional competition this year.
On the men’s side, Kotoulas and McLeod were first and second, with France’s Willy George’s taking third. 2017 Dubai Fitness Championship winner Gudmundsson was behind them in fourth. And where was Mat Fraser? Ninth place, third out of the American men behind Travis Mayer in fifth place and Connor Duddy in seventh. Fraser’s ninth place finish in this event dropped him out of the top three spots to fourth overall.
For the teams, it was again Invictus in first, with Team Sweden nine seconds behind in second place and Training Think Tank four seconds later in third. DCC favorite Team Omnicide, including Chandler Smith and Travis Williams, finished in seventh on the event.
Team prizes increased
Without warning, DCC announced Wednesday on Instagram that the team prizes would be increased to:
1st place $30,000 (previously $20,000)
2nd place $20,000 (previously $10,000)
3rd place $10,000 (previously $5,000)
4th place $5,000 (previously $4,000)
5th to 10th place $3,000 (previously $2,000)
This represents a $32,000 total purse increase.
Streaming Issues
CrossFit fans on the other side of the globe looking to watch the DCC live were disappointed to find DCC’s YouTube live stream blocked on copyright grounds. This could be due to the use of music DCC did not have the rights to in the video. Needless to say, fans were not happy. There also seemed to be audio issues on the DCC streaming website.
Looking to catch up? Check out DCC’s Instagram story for some highlights.
Photo courtesy of Dubai CrossFit Championships Instagram.
