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Good morning and welcome to theMorning Chalk Up.
In today’s edition:
An action-packed weekend at the North America East Semifinal ended with six-time Fittest Woman on Earth, Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, reminding everyone of her G.O.A.T status. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Adler picked up the win on his way back to the CrossFit Games to defend the title of Fittest Man on Earth. Get caught up on the weekend’s events below.
How finding balance and joining group classes at her affiliate helped CrossFit Games rookie qualifier Hattie Kanyo get over the hump.
The South America Semifinal by Copa Sur and the Africa Semifinal by Renegade Games both wrapped over the weekend. Ruan Potgieter, Gemma Rader, Guilherme Malheiros, and Victoria Campos secured their spots in Fort Worth, TX, along with many more.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I’m a big Disney fan and found Star Wars through that. It’s basically my whole personality now.” - Comeback kid, Haley Adams on her new-found Star Wars fandom
CROSSFIT SEMIFINALS
Credit: Carlos Fleury
2024 CrossFit Games North America East Semifinal Winners and Qualifiers: Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr and Jeffrey Adler Reign at Syndicate Crown
Death, taxes, and Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr standing atop the podium—few things in life are more certain, and there’s not much left to say about the six-time champ’s return to the Semifinal floor.
Toomey-Orr took five event wins on her last stop before Fort Worth and another date with history this summer.
Behind her on the podium were Alexis Raptis in second and Emma Lawson in third, both looked fit as they hope to build upon very successful Games runs in 2023 (sixth place for Raptis, second for Lawson).
Rounding out the top five were fan favorite Danielle Brandon in fourth and 2023 Games rookie Shelby Neal (who spent some time training with Brent Fikowski) in fifth.
On the men’s side, it was a battle for the podium as well as along the cutline for three days straight.
When the dust settled, the reigning Fittest Man on Earth, Jeffrey Adler, took home gold by three points over Dallin Pepper, who took silver by three points over Roman Khrennikov.
More than 70 points back, Jayson Hopper took fourth, while Samuel Cournoyer finished in fifth.
Final Standings (top 11 men and women qualify):
Jeffrey Adler - 546 | Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr - 594
See AlsoWeek 3 — 2024 Semifinals Highlights and Games QualifiersScott Milanovich embarks upon first season as Ticats head coach2024 CrossFit North America East Semifinal Results — Jeffrey Adler and Tia-Clair Toomey Triumphant – Fitness VoltIndustries Fabkor Inc. · 1819 rue St-Cleophas Street, Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, CA-QC, J0K 2N0, CADallin Pepper- 543 | Alexis Raptis - 516
Roman Khrennikov - 540 | Emma Lawson- 498
Jayson Hopper- 468 | Danielle Brandon - 483
Samuel Cournoyer - 459 | Shelby Neal - 450
Jack Rozema - 447 | Haley Adams - 441
Saxon Panchik - 441 | Brooke Wells - 423
Austin Hatfield - 414 | Paige sem*nza - 411
Alexandre Caron - 402 | Chloe Gauvin-David - 369
Travis Mayer - 384 | Caroline Stanley - 362
Luke Parker - 378 | Lexi Neely - 355
Seth Stovall - 363 | Anikha Greer - 354
Here’s what what down in Knoxville.
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Credit: @kate_bandanza / Instagram
CrossFit Games Rookie Spotlight: How Finding Balance and Doing Group Classes Helped Hattie Kanyo Earn her First CrossFit Games Invitation
After finishing eighth at the Atlas Games Semifinals in 2022, Hattie Kanyo decided to double down on her efforts to make a push to qualify for the CrossFit Games in 2023.
So, leading up to the Semifinals last year, she moved to Houston, TX, to train with 2023 Games athlete Kelly Baker and their coach Triston Patrick at CrossFit Greater Heights.
“I thought, ‘OK, I need to push myself. I need more volume.’ So I picked my life up and I moved,” Kanyo said in an interview with the Morning Chalk Up.
While she loved training with Baker, the environment soon became stressful for Kanyo.
“Kelly and I are both really competitive. We literally were doing the same thing every single day…We would do our strength together. We would do our metcons together,” Kanyo said.
And even on the days when they decided, “OK, let's just chill today…we’re not competing every frickin day,” before you knew it, at “3-2-1-Go!,” they’d be competing again.
“I think by the end, I was just so burned out by competing, competing, competing, trying to live up to Kelly…It was just too much for me,” said Kanyo, now 32.
Feeling burnt out, Kanyo finished 18th at the 2023 North America West Semifinals.
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CROSSFIT SEMIFINALS
Credit: Fabio Prado
2024 CrossFit Games South America Semifinal Winners and Qualifiers:
For the first time in the Semifinals era, South America will send three men and three women to the CrossFit Games after the strong performances by the collective field in the CrossFit Open and Quarterfinals.
Final standings (top three men and women qualify):
Guilherme Malheiros — 573 | Victoria Campos — 555
Kalyan Souza — 528 | Julia Kato — 546
Bruno Marins — 528 | Andreia Pinheiro — 510
Benja Gutirrez — 489 | Emily Andrade — 443
Henrique Moreira — 474 | Lucia Viretti — 420
The biggest storyline on the men’s side was whether or not Guilherme Malheiros could return to the CrossFit Games in 2024 after finishing just below the cutline in 2023.
To punch his ticket, Malheiros had to compete alongside 2023 CrossFit Games rookies Kalyan Souza and Kaique Cerveny, Games veteran Agustin Richelme, and several other up-and-coming athletes from South America.
For the women, Victoria Campos, who finished 38th at the CrossFit Games last year, looked to win her third consecutive South America CrossFit Semifinal. Her toughest competition was expected to come from 2022 CrossFit Games athlete, Julia Kato.
CROSSFIT SEMIFINALS
Credit: CrossFit Games
2024 CrossFit Games Africa Semifinal Winners and Qualifiers: Ruan Potgieter and Gemma Rader Victorious
The Fittest in Africa have been crowned.
In a top-heavy, evenly-matched field, athletes needed to perform flawlessly to earn a coveted CrossFit Games spot. This is even more important in Africa as it was the only region allocated just a single ticket per division.
And there will be fresh faces in Fort Worth.
Final standings (top man and woman qualify):
Ruan Potgieter — 558 points | Gemma Rader — 561 points
Josh Kernot — 498 points | Christina Livaditakis — 555 points
Darren Zurnamer — 483 points | Gilmari Reyneke — 534 points
Women’s Division
Gilmari Reyneke came out hot with an Event 1 win. She kept her lead until Event 5, with Gemma Rader and Christina Livaditakis steadily gaining on her throughout the weekend.
A favorite to win the competition, Lividitakis fought her way back after starting with 12th place in Event 1. She made the steady climb from there with a second and third on day two, which put her in striking distance going into the final day.
HIGHLIGHTS
Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise?Send us a tip.
🥳Congratulations to Dex Hopkins, who qualified for the Masters CrossFit Games.
Congratulations to CrossFit Games athlete Anthony Davis, who just completed his first 50K race.
Nice work to Xander from Niche CrossFit in Australia, who completed 300 pull-ups total in a 30-minute EMOM format.
Great job to 15-year-old Leozinho from Box Taubate in Brazil on the 100-kilo/220-pound snatch complex.
🇺🇸In case you missed it, amazing work to Dan Bailey, who completed Murph with 100 pounds.
