In perhaps the closest races we’ve seen since the sanctionals started, Sean Sweeney and Katrin Davidsdottir claimed the titles of The Fittest in Capetown over the weekend. Davidsdottir proved all she needed was one sanctional to get to Madison, finishing first in four out of ten WODs over the weekend. She led the women’s leaderboard from day two on, with Mia Akerlund and Alessandra Pichelli threatening but never overtaking the two-time Games champion.
Sweeney, a two-time Games competitor, proved that consistency was key, as he did not win a single WOD, but never placed lower than eighth. The men’s leader was different nearly every day of competition. Andre Houdet, of the United Arab Emirates, and Games veterans Cole Sager, Lucas Parker and James Newbury gave the CrossFit Cowboy a run for his money.
Speaking of money, the payouts for Cape Town were less than impressive compared to previous sanctional events this year. The winners pocketed 60,000 South African rand which comes out to just short of $4,500 – probably just enough to break even on the trip. Comparatively, Dubai winners received $50,000 and Wodapalooza winners took home $25,000, and third place went home with $10,000 – still more than double what Cape Town winners received.
For the teams – of which there were 83 that finished the competition – most were locals from South Africa. However, it was a team out of the Netherlands that we’ll see in Madison. Team Vondelgym competed at the 2018 CrossFit Games, finishing 33rd.
Next up: The Open on February 21, of course. But CrossFit Strength in Depth in London, England is your next Sanctional, taking place February 22-24.
