Jonne Koski and Aniol Ekai fell short of qualifying for the CrossFit Games this past weekend at Wodland Fest. While there are still a lot of In-Person Qualifying Events left on the calendar, there might not be that many opportunities for Koski and Ekai.
The problem for these two guys is that the only remaining European In-Person Qualifying Event is the French Throwdown. Unfortunately, it coincides with the World Fitness Project Tour Event 1. Both are May 9-11.
Koski is one of the signed Pro athletes while Ekai qualified for the Pro division via the online qualifier.
On top of that, neither Koski nor Ekai did the online qualifier for the French Throwdown so even if they wanted to compete they couldn’t.
As for other IPQE’s, Syndicate Crown and TFX Invitational in the United States are limited to the North American East and North American West regions, respectively. Thus, neither could compete in those. The same geofencing restrictions hold true for the Rebel Renegade Games.
That basically leaves it up to the In-Affiliate Semifinals coming up this weekend as the best shot for them to qualify for the Games. But qualifying is no easy task. Only the top 11 men and top 11 women in the world will receive an invite to the CrossFit Games via the Semifinals.
Both men have shown they have what it takes to do well in an online competition. Koski won the worldwide Quarterfinals last year and Ekai finished 9th in the world. However, with this stage meaning more than in previous years finishing inside the top 11 is no guarantee.
If one (or both) don’t end up qualifying, there are still technically invites available to the NorCal Classic. And, while we don’t have information on specifics yet, there is the Last Chance Qualifier.
Regardless of what happens, both of these athletes are in the middle of a brutal three week stretch. From Wodland Fest to In-Affiliate Semifinals this week to traveling to Indianapolis for the World Fitness Project, Koski and Ekai have a lot of workouts to do.
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