It was a tough four days for Moritz Fiebig, but in the end, the 27-year-old will remember his first CrossFit Games® forever. In Madison, Wisconsin, he got to compete with the fittest athletes in the world over the past few days, completing ten workouts in four days.
Fiebig’s first event was on Wednesday – in addition to several miles of cycling, athletes had to complete gymnastic elements. “I was very nervous before my first event. You start together with athletes you only know from TV and who are of course also role models for me. And then I thought, hopefully I won’t come in last place,” said the Hamburg native in an interview with CrossFit in German. In the end, however, the 27-year-old couldn’t have asked for a better event to start his first CrossFit Games®. He finished it in ninth place, landing right in the top ten in his first workout. “The atmosphere was great and it was also a lot of fun. I was happy about ninth place, but I also had it in my head that this was just one test of many.”
Moritz Fiebig finished the first event of the CrossFit Games® in ninth place.
Two more events followed on Wednesday, in which Fiebig finished 23rd and 34th. On Thursday, the athletes would have had the day off, but due to bad weather, an event from the previous day had to be postponed. Here the CrossFitters had to run three laps of several hundred meters and complete Shoulder-to-Overhead. “I failed my first two jerks at 136 kg and I don’t know when I didn’t get that weight over my head the last time. I made a lot of mistakes, but I was also a rookie this year. The mistakes I made were completely my fault, but accordingly I know what I need to work on.”
“Being hell-bent on getting my own way”
For Fiebig, the third Games day now dawned, which started directly with a very intensive workout. “The Capitol” consisted of 20 Pig Flips, three and a half miles of running, and 400 meters in which the athletes had to carry a Jerry bags (object with handle) and a Husafell (sandbag) for 200 meters each. “In this workout, I ran really well by my standards and the 400 meter carries worked well too.” So the Hamburg native ended up in 25th place in this event and was ready for the next two workouts coming up that day.
Moritz Fiebig gained a lot of experience during his first CrossFit Games®.
This was followed by a 37th place in the “Up and Over” and 27th place in the “Echo Press” event. In both workouts, the 27-year-old gained a lot of experience – as he did in general during the entire CrossFit Games® – which he will put to good use. “I’ve done a lot of competitions, but I always want to be the best and I’m the type of athlete who is hell-bent on getting my own way. But there are situations where that doesn’t work. I’m taking this experience with me and will also grow from it.”
Then on Saturday, the fourth day of the Games, the athletes started with a swim event in which Fiebig finished in a strong 24th place. In the sprint workout “Hat Trick”, the male and female athletes had to complete 20 wall-ball shots and 6 dumbbell snatches as quickly as possible in three rounds – the Hamburg native finished this event in 32nd place. The last workout of the day was particularly exciting, because after that the cut from 40 to 30 athletes was imminent. In the “Sandbag Ladder” the 27-year-old lifted 140 kg onto his shoulder and placed 22nd. But it was to be the last workout and the end of the Games for Fiebig. In the overall ranking he was ranked 36th after this event and unfortunately did not make the cut. But this fact will by no means drag Fiebig down. He is already motivated for next year.
Toomey and Medeiros defend title
While Fiebig watched the final day of the Games from the stands, 30 male and 30 female athletes each had to complete three more workouts. In the men’s competition, a neck-and-neck race had formed between defending champion Justin Medeiros, Roman Khrennikov and Ricky Garard. In the end, however, Medeiros kept the upper hand, relegating Khrennikov and Garard to second and third place and thus crowning himself “Fittest Man on Earth” for the second time in a row.
In the women’s event, meanwhile, Tia-Clair Toomey made history. The Australian fought her way back after initial teething troubles and moved into the lead. She defended the lead until the end and came in first place for the sixth time in a row. Mallory O’Brien from America, who is only 18 years old, came in second, and Laura Horvath from Hungary was third.
