Lift big, and lift fast, or you’re out. 

That was the name of the game during Saturday’s second of three events at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX.

Heading into the event, six-time champion Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr had a too-close-for-comfort lead over Emily Rolfe — just 23 points separated the two — and was looking to distance herself on what can only be described as a wheelhouse event for her. 

Just behind them was Haley Adams, who sat out last season for mental health reasons but has come back stronger than ever in 2024. 

Heavy events have been a weakness for Adams in the past, so this was the perfect opportunity to prove that taking a year off competing gave her the chance to plug some holes in her game.

On the men’s side, James Sprague went into the event as the surprise leader, with Roman Khrennikov trailing him by just 15 points. 

Following them were the pair of veteran Canadians, Brent Fikowski and Pat Vellner, who were third and fourth, respectively, and Jayson Hopper, who was fifth. 

Considering the event (on paper) looked like damage control for Sprague — and a potentially strong event for Vellner, Fikoswki, and Hopper — it was the perfect time for some serious leaderboard shifts. 

Image: Dallas Hamm  

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Individual Event 6: Clean Ladder

For time:

Round 1: 3-3-2-2-1 cleans

Round 2: 2-1-1-1 cleans

Round 3: 1-1-1 cleans

Round 1: 

Women: 165/175/185/195/205 pounds

Men: 255/265/275/285/295 pounds

Round 2: 

Women: 205/215/225/230 pounds

Men: 295/305/315/325 pounds

Round 3: 

Women: 230/240/250 pounds

Men: 325/345/365 pounds

Final Results

Recap

Women’s Division

With Arielle Loewen, Dani Speegle, and Jacqueline Dahlstrom withdrawing after Saturday’s first event, the women’s field was reduced to 32.

Kyra Milligan set the tone early, winning the first heat. Shelby Neal took the second, nine seconds faster than the next-fastest competitor. 

The third heat belonged to Alex Gazan, who casually power cleaned her way to an easy heat win. Meanwhile, Australian veteran Madeline Sturt managed to hold off Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr on her way to taking the final heat. 

Milligan’s time from the first heat, though, held up as the fastest of the round (0:45.85).

As expected, both Rolfe and Adams had a hard time in the event. 

Neither finished the cleans before the two-minute time cap, and neither advanced to the second round. Rolfe finished 27th and Adams 31st.

The excitement built in round two, with Neal making it look easy. She won the first heat more than 25 seconds ahead of Grace Walton. 

The second heat was a showdown between Toomey-Orr and Milligan, who were neck-and-neck the entire way. 

Toomey-Orr managed to stand the final barbell up a little bit faster and took the heat, but both Milligan and Gazan were just one second behind.

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Round three was an even tighter one between Toomey-Orr and Milligan, ending in a near-photo finish. 

The result: Toomey-Orr by one-tenth of a second. And just like round two, Gazan was close behind in third.

Gabi Migala finished fourth, and last year’s silver medalist, Emma Lawson, was fifth, doing herself a huge favor as she entered the event in 17th and needed a strong performance to keep her in the mix.

The performance was also huge for Migala, another athlete who is chasing the podium. She went into the event in fourth overall and managed to pass both Rolfe and Adams and now sits in second overall. Rolfe dropped to third and Adams to fourth with one event left on Saturday.

Men’s Division

Three of the overall top-five men made it through the first round — Roman Khrennikov and James Sprague both missed the cut. 

They finished 21st and 22nd, respectively.

Meanwhile, Games veteran Travis Mayer put up the fastest time of any athlete in round one.

In the second round, Pat Vellner took the first heat, just ahead of Hopper, while rookie competitor Austin Hatfield, coming off a second-place finish on Saturday’s first event, all but dominated. Mayer finished second.

Of the top five overall men, Vellner and Fikowski both advanced to the final, but the third round looked like it would be a showdown between Hatfield and Mayer for the event win.

The final three barbells in the third round didn’t disappoint. 

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As expected, Hatfield took the early lead, power cleaning the first barbell before finally switching to a squat clean on the second lift. The third barbell, though, got the best of him. 

He failed the lift, opening the door to the rest of the field.

It was ultimately two-time champion Justin Medeiros, in 13th overall heading into the event, who took advantage of Hatfield’s fail. 

He catapulted himself out of nowhere to capture the event win, just ahead of Brazil’s Bruno Marins, while Mayer snuck in for third. Fikowski went on to finish eighth, Vellner 10th, and Hopper 12th. 

The win is possibly a pivotal turning point for Medeiros, who now sits in 11th overall.

Heading into the final event on Saturday, Sprague and Fikowski are tied for first in points. Khrennikov is third, and Vellner is knocking on the podium door in fourth.

Up Next 

Saturday’s final event, Push Pull 2.0 begins at 5:10 pm CT and is a throwback event from the 2014 CrossFit Games.

It starts with 45 handstand push-ups, followed by an 80-foot sled pull at 110/180 pounds, and continues with 30 strict handstand push-ups and an 80-foot sled pull. It finishes with 15 freestanding handstand push-ups, all in a 10-minute time frame.

Featured image: Dallas Hamm  

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