It will have been an exhausting weekend for Moritz Fiebig, but in the end every drop of sweat was worth it. Equal on points, but in the end just behind Spain’s Fabian Beneito, the Hamburg native finished in second place at this year’s Dubai Championships. He prevailed against Games athletes such as Brent Fikowski, Jonne Kioski and Luka Dukic and proved that he can more than keep up with the best athletes in the world.
Fiebig kicked off his impressive performance on Friday when he was the seventh fastest to master the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa. In 33:45 minutes, the 27-year-old climbed 160 floors with a ten-kilogram vest, creating a strong foundation for the next two days.
Moritz Fiebig with five-time CrossFit Games winner Mathew Fraser.
And the Hamburg native built directly on his performance of day 1 on day 2. With a 170 kg hang clean he finished third in the second workout, only Fabian Beneito and Reggie Fasa lifted more (172 kg). Fiebig followed up with another top-5 finish in the third workout. After a total of 90 cal on the ski erg, 120 toes to bar and 70 snatches with increasing weight, he settled further up in fifth place.
In the last event of the day, Fiebig then once again gave everything. The athletes had to complete 40 calories on the Echo Bike followed by four Legless Rope Climbs. The top ten qualified for round two (30 cal, 3 Legless Rope Climbs) and the top five for round three (20 cal, 2 Legless Rope Climbs). The 27-year-old fought his way to round three and eventually finished the event in fifth place. This put Fiebig in second place after day two behind Canada’s Brent Fikowski and he was hungry for the third and final day. “Day 1 was great, day 2 insane. Bring on day 3 and let’s see,” Fiebig wrote on Instagram.
Event-Win for Fiebig
On the third day of the Dubai Championships, four more workouts were on the agenda. The start of the last day was not optimal for the Weightlifting Shop athlete this time. After four intervals (2:30 on / 1:00 off) with shuttle runs, burpee box clear and thruster he ended up in 13th place. But Fiebig was not deterred by this. In the sixth workout of the weekend, the 27-year-old again reached the top-5 (75 Heavy Rope Double Unders, 30 meter SB Carry 90 kg, 50 Chest to Bar, 30 meter SB Carry, 75 Heavy Rope DU) and finished the penultimate event (10 Cleans, 10 Front Squats, 10 Shoulder to Overhead with 100 kg) in fourth place.
This put Fiebig in third place before the eighth and final workout, and the podium at his second Dubai Championships was within reach. And Fiebig didn’t let that be taken away from him. After 30 meters of handstand walks, 20 ring muscle ups, 30 devil presses and double dumbbell overhead walking lunges to the finish line, the Hamburg native crossed it first, not only claiming an event win but also catapulting himself into second place at this year’s Dubai Championships.
