In the inaugural year of the Sanctional format we are very proud of how the representatives from the 2018 Dubai CrossFit Championships did at the 2019 CrossFit Games.
Leading the way is female representative Bethany Shadburne. 2019 marked the third consecutive year for Shadburne at the Games. She came in with a 22nd place finish in 2017 and a 16th place finish in 2018. The field of women competing this year is the deepest we’ve ever seen, but that didn’t prevent her from continuing to climb the leaderboard. She finished in the top 12 in 5 of the first 6 events, which was enough for her to survive each of the dreaded cuts and position herself in the top 10 with an opportunity to battle for more throughout the weekend. On the back of a second place finish in “Swim Paddle” and a third place finish in “Ringer 1” she was able to inch up the leaderboard a bit and finished in an outstanding 8th place overall. It is a tremendous achievement to place in the top 10 at the CrossFit Games. Congratulations on an excellent season Bethany!
As backfills throughout the season started trickling down, Connor Duddy was among the last men to learn of his invitation to the 2019 CrossFit Games. Considering this, his performance in Madison was extremely impressive. In the largest Games field we’ve ever seen (144 men), Duddy finished a very respectable 22nd. You’ll find his name wedged between well-known Games athletes Brent Fikowski and Willy Georges. Duddy was cut after Event 5, and only missed an opportunity to compete in the Saturday morning sprint event by 2 points.
Invictus teammates Rasmus Andersen, Tommy Vinas, Lauren Fisher, and Regan Huckaby, were the first of fourteen elite teams to earn an invitation to the Games this year. They had a long season of preparation and it seemed to pay off for them. Despite a shaky start on Event 1 (13th in a field of 14), they were given the opportunity to prove their fitness over a series of events and before long found themselves back in podium contention. Sunday, after a first place finish in the morning “Swim Paddle” event, and a third place finish in “The Trio” the final event, Invictus managed to amass enough points to stand tall on the podium in third place wearing the bronze medal. Many believe this was the most talented field of teams the CrossFit Games has ever seen; finishing third is remarkable and we commend Invictus for this tremendous achievement.
Invictus, Duddy, and Shadburne served as excellent representatives this year of the caliber and class of athletes who compete at the Dubai CrossFit Championship. Congratulations to each of them on their performances and accomplishments this season.
