We have already had 2 weeks of Semifinals, which have included 4 pretty stacked competitions so far. From these first 2 weeks we have seen a couple of things turn out just the way we expected, but we also had a few surprises.
Below we have included 5 of the biggest surprises to come out of the first 4 Semifinal competitions, in no particular order.
Unknown athlete Jayson Hopper comes out of nowhere to win the Mid-Atlantic Crossfit Challenge
Although Hopper has never been to the Crossfit Games he beat out veteran Games athletes such as Scott Panchik, Ben Smith, Travis Mayer, and even last year’s bronze medalist Justin Medeiros.
In the 6 total events of the weekend he ended up winning 3 of them as well as a 2nd, a 3rd, and an 8th.
It looks like he could make a push for the top 10 at the 2021 Games.
Kristi Eramo-O’Connell finishing 7th at the Granite Games
Out of the 5 times that Eramo-O’Connell has been to the Games she has only finished outside of the top 10 once where she finished 13th in 2017. She also is coming off of a 9th place finish at the 2020 Games.
So it came as a surprise to see her finish 7th at the Granite Games, especially since 4/6 of the athletes in front of her have no Games experience at all, including two 17-year olds.
Anthony Davis snatches 340lbs at the Granite Games
During the first event at the Granite Games Semifinal Anthony Davis hit the heaviest snatch ever recorded in a live Crossfit competition. For reference, the next closest snatch was 305lbs lifted by Chandler Smith.
17 year-old Mallory O’Brien wins 3 straight events at the Granite Games
17 year-old Mallory O’Brien dominated day 1 at the Granite Games, and almost ended up winning the whole thing, but ultimately coming in 2nd by only 4 points behind other Games newcomer Arielle Loewen.
This doesn’t seem to be a fluke as O’Brien also finished 5th worldwide in the 2021 Open and 3rd in the North American Quarterfinals (only 1 point behind 2nd, and 3 points behind 1st).
Samuel Kwant finishes 14th at the Mid-Atlantic Crossfit Challenge
Last year’s silver medalist at the Crossfit Games has had a tough year so far, but it turns out he has been dealing with a Chronic Illness all season, and even past seasons.
Kwant recently said this on Instagram:
“Since the 2017 season, just before my worst CrossFit games finish, I have been dealing with various forms of chronic illness. The flare ups come without any apparent cause and have been a pretty big hurdle for me over the past 5 years.
Seemingly unrelated, leading up to the MACC, I started having trouble breathing during exercise and following workouts. We thought it was just seasonal allergies but it was clearly more.
When I got to Tennessee I had a pretty severe outbreak in hives that put me in urgent care a couple days before the competition and was given medication that left me feeling super drained.
Each day of competition I debated whether I should withdraw, but decided to finish it despite how I felt.”
Coming up this weekend we have 3 online Semifinals:
- Crossfit German Throwdown
- Crossfit Lowlands Throwdown
- Brazil Crossfit Championship
We’re sure to see some surprises come out of these as well, and we will be sure to post them here when we see them.
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