There are two weeks left in the 2020 CrossFit Open so the leaderboard can still move quite a bit, especially with ring muscle-ups possibly on the horizon. So before 20.4 kicks off, we are taking a look at the leaderboard to see which athletes are on the cusp of qualifying for their first CrossFit Games appearance.
(note: the list of athletes below have the potential to qualify via the “Top 20”. We did not include National Champions as that list would be very long.)
Men
- Tyler Christophel (USA), 7th. Christophel does have some experience at the CrossFit Games as he competed on CrossFit 417’s team in 2017 and 2018. Christophel has also attached his video from all three workouts so far (20.1 | 20.2 | 20.3).
- Giorgos Karavis (GRE), 17th. Karavis is behind Lefteris Theofanidis on the Greek leaderboard, but he is in the Top 20 after three events. After two strong workouts, 20.3 moved him down the leaderboard a bit. Karavis made it to Regionals in 2018 where he finished 31st. He came back last year and placed 74th in the world in the 2019 CrossFit Open.
- Nate Long (USA), 22nd. Long qualified for Regionals in 2017 where he finished 26th at the Atlantic Regional. Last year he came back and finished 79th in the world in the Open. Long struggled on 19.1 and 19.2 last year. If a row/wall ball workout or heavy squat cleans return, we will see if Long has worked on those weaknesses during the off-season.
- Scott Tetlow (USA), 25th. Tetlow has been a Regional-level athlete since 2017. He has competed in two South Regionals with his best finish being 19th in 2018. He ended up 200th in the Open last year after finishing 2,056th on 19.1. Standing at just 5’3″, a tall man’s workout with rowing and wall balls is likely not in his wheelhouse. With rowing and wall balls still not yet programmed in this year’s Open, it could be a difficult road these last two weeks.
- The following athletes are outside the Top 20 cut line, but are still well within reach of moving above the cut line these last two weeks.
- Brendan Willis (CAN), 29th.
- Jake Marconi (USA), 31st.
- Karar Margrandar (GER), 37th.
- Mike Brown (USA), 38th.
- Scott Cottrill (USA), 39th.
- Piotr Szczycinski (POL), 41st.
- Niklas Hecht (USA), 42nd.
- Sam Stewart (IRE), 47th.
- Drew Wayman (USA), 48th.
- Chase Smith (USA), 49th.
- Iakov Filimonov (RUS), 50th.
Women
- Kendall Vincelette (USA), 11th. Vincelette has competed on two Regional teams back in 2015 and 2017. After taking a year off in 2018, Vincelette came back in 2019 to finish 49th in the world in the 2019 CrossFit Open. This year Vincelette has had three solid workouts so far this year, but rowing and wall balls last year on 19.1 was her worst performance.
- Andrea Solberg (NOR), 13th. Solberg has finished in the top 15 in the world the last two workouts. And while many may not have heard of her before, Solberg is not new to CrossFit even though she is just 24 years old. Solberg has competed at two Regional competitions, once on a team and once as an individual. Solberg finished 17th at the 2017 Meridian Regional.
- Alanna Fisk (USA), 17th. Fisk has been on the Regional scene since 2015. Fisk competed at Regionals four times with her best finish in 2017 where she placed 8th. After the 2018 Regionals, Fisk stepped away from CrossFit. But now she is back and looking stronger than ever. Two more solid performances and Fisk will have accomplished something that had alluded her in the past.
- Andrea Nisler (USA), 22nd. Nisler is no stranger to the CrossFit Games…as a member of a team. Nisler has competed on a team at the CrossFit Games four times, most recently on OC3 Black’s 2019 Games team that finished 4th. Could this be the year Nisler makes it to the Games as an individual?
- Kristine Best (USA), T-24th. Best is a five-time Regional competitor who narrowly missed qualifying for the Games in 2017. That year Best finished 6th at the East Regional. Now Best is two workouts away from qualifying for the Games.
- Emma Chapman (NZL), T-24th. Chapman was on the Central Beasts team that finished 5th at the CrossFit Games in 2019. The year before Chapman finished 8th at the Central Regional. Chapman started off with a 9th place finish on 20.1, but has given up some ground over the past two workouts. She will need to get her mojo back these last two weeks to stay in the Top 20.
- Hilary Steele (USA), 27th. Steele has never finished inside the top 100 in the Open. Yet, after three workouts Steele finds herself in the top 30. Like many others on this list, 19.1 with rowing and wall balls was a terrible workout for Steele. At just 4’10”, she will need to figure out a way to manage these two “movements” in order to hang in the Top 20 the rest of the way in.
- Alizee Andreani (FRA), 28th. At just 5’0″ and 116 pounds, Andreani is not your typical Games athlete. But after three workouts, including heavy deadlifts, Andreani has shown he has what it takes to compete. Like a broken record, 19.1. was her worst workout last year so she, like everyone else, will have to manage those the last two weeks.
- Marisa Flowers (USA), 29th. Flowers is new to the competitive CrossFit scene as 2019 was her first CrossFit Open. She finished 347th in the world last year and is looking to improve upon that this year. She is also a smaller athlete at just 4’10” so handling wall balls and rower will be critical on 20.4 and 20.5.
- Paige Henry (USA), 30th. Henry has competed in the CrossFit Open since 2012. She has also competed at Regionals four times, three of which were as an individual. Last year Henry broke into the top 100 in the world where she finished 69th overall. Henry’s worst finish last year was the heavy squat clean ladder (19.2) so if there is not a really heavy weight on 20.4 and 20.5 she should be in good shape.
- The following athletes are outside the Top 20 cut line, but are still well within reach of moving above the cut line these last two weeks.
- Emma Cary (USA), 35th.
- Marykay Dreisilker (USA), 36th.
- Tammy Wildgoose (USA), 38th.
- Olivia Sulek (USA), 39th.
- Hayley Murillo (USA), 45th.
- Caroline Dardini (USA), 46th.
Stay tuned as 20.4 is released tonight. There is a lot on the line for these athletes as there is almost no room for error.
