We at wodstore and wodmagazin have dedicated ourselves to sport from the very beginning. Aspects such as community and a constant increase in our performance were in the foreground. We are therefore all the more proud that Moritz Fiebig, one of the athletes we were able to accompany on his way, has become a national champion.
But in order not only to pay tribute to him, but also to shed more light on the way to the CrossFit® Games and, there is no other way of saying it, to express our homage to all athletes in German-speaking countries, we have published a press release for you in the following blog CrossFit® DACH summarized, which puts the good news about our national best on paper. If you read far enough, you might even come across a first-hand athlete's voice captured by us!
Honor where credit is due:
The global Sport of Fitness names Lisa Eble (DEU), Moritz Fiebig (DEU), Pauly Zikowsky (AU), Victor Schröder (AU), Nicole Heer (CH) and Adrian Mundwiler (CH) as the National Champions 2021 in their countries. This award is based on their final ranking at the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit® Games season, a multi-month competition that began in February with 264,000 athletes. More than 150 countries took part in the preselection, the Open, and faced a global competition that is celebrated in hardly any other sport as in the sport that brought functional fitness to the tableau. Each country selects one man and one woman as their nation's best at the conclusion of the competitions that follow after the Open. “The CrossFit® Games season represents the ultimate test of fitness for athletes worldwide as they go head-to-head against hundreds of thousands of top competitors worldwide,” said Marcus McClain, CrossFit® Country Manager for the DACH region.
“Thanks to their extraordinary performances in the 2021 CrossFit® Games season, Lisa Eble (DEU), Moritz Fiebig (DEU), Pauly Zikowsky (AU), Victor Schröder (AU), Nicole Heer (CH) and Adrian Mundwiler (CH) have themselves as the fittest men and fittest women in their respective countries, and they can be proud to wear the crown of CrossFit® Champions 2021 for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, respectively.”
How exactly did CrossFit® start?
Even though functional fitness has been with us all for a long time, it makes sense to pause for a moment and think back to how it all began. We connect stories about ourselves with the story of CrossFit®. Stories that turned into friendships and stories from the competition floor that burned into their souls with ambition and fire.
A young sport with a lot of appeal:
The CrossFit® Games began in Aromas, California in 2007 as the first competition to objectively measure fitness. Unlike other specialized sports like track and field or weightlifting, CrossFit® doesn't program the same traditional events that require a limited set of skills in each competition. Instead, athletes from all over the world are tested in a variety of previously unknown events. Each event has different movements, is based on a different timing and uses different equipment. So nothing stays the same as it used to be. From swimming to weightlifting, from gymnastics to carrying bulky objects to using kettlebells, anything is possible. “CrossFit® is a global sport and we are proud to recognize the individual achievements of the top men and women who have competed around the world,” said Dave Castro, CrossFit® GM of Sport. “A certain national pride is inherent in CrossFit®, and these titles celebrate the impressive feats of fitness and talent of athletes who have demonstrated the highest levels of fitness in their countries.”
Time for enlightenment: How is the qualification for the games structured?
The way athletes can qualify for the ultimate test of fitness has also undergone some changes over the years. In order to take the pandemic into account and still ensure that the field is as open as possible, the set of rules for the way to the games has been adjusted again:
This year, the CrossFit® Games season includes four stages:
- The worldwide competition of the Open. Athletes around the world took part in this virtually, whether from home or their gyms.
- A virtual quarterfinals in which the top 10% of competitors from each continent had to face new challenges in their local gyms.
- 10 semi-finals based on the continents - half in person and half virtual - in which 300 men and 300 women competed to qualify for the final stage.
- The 2021 NOBULL CrossFit® Games, where 40 men and 40 women will compete in Madison, Wisconsin, July 27-August 1 for the title of Fittest Man and Woman on Earth (also featuring hundreds of additional athletes who represent the strongest teams, physically/mentally disabled athletes and various age groups).
Since when have there been national winners in CrossFit®?
CrossFit® began declaring national champions in 2015, and for that first six years, champions have been determined solely on their performance at the global CrossFit® Open. Due to the changes to the 2021 CrossFit® Games season schedule, this process has been adjusted so that the title is now awarded to the country's athletes who achieve the highest level of the Games season. If more than one person reaches the same stage of the competition, champions will be determined based on their placements in that round.
Finally, to let the spirit of the qualifiers come alive again, we asked Moritz Fiebig how the competition felt for him. At this point, the following applies once again: respect to everyone who has taken on the sporting challenge of the Open. We stand behind you, whoever you are and support you on your way:
The Word of Fiebig:
“The semifinals were a bit of an enlightenment because you could once again compete with spectators. I have experienced the community from thousands of pages and with incredibly positive encouragement.
On top of that, seeing yourself in a video at the CrossFit® Games is even more intense. Achieving this success, even though the future of the sport was uncertain due to the pandemic, was incredibly motivating. Not only to see where you stand, but also to see where the path still leads you.”
Disclaimer: Essential content of this blog comes from a press release from CrossFit®-DACH. We have adapted or supplemented individual passages, but the meaning and main content of the text have not been reinterpreted.