Mirjam von Rohr and Jonne Koski Win 2024 CrossFit Open

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• Following Grace Walton's penalty in 24.3, CrossFit announces Mirjam von Rohr and Jonne Koski winners of 2024 Open

• Does higher Open participation promote lower membership churn for affiliates?

• Get to know West Point cadet, CrossFit athlete, and the seventh-place overall man on the Open leaderboard, Cale Layman

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I didn't think it was real at first because I thought, why are they talking about me? I'm just some no-name kid from Vermont doing these workouts.” - Cale Layman on hearing his Open performance being discussed on Talking Elite Fitness

CROSSFIT OPEN

2024 CrossFit Open Results — Mirjam von Rohr and Jonne Koski Top the Leaderboard

The battle for the top spot in the 2024 CrossFit Open was a close one, with less than 10 points separating first and second place in the men’s and women’s divisions. Here’s who took home the wins — and the $15,000 prize purse — in both divisions.

Women’s Division

Mirjam von Rohr took the overall win with 40 points, netting a first-place finish on 24.1, 37th on 24.2, and second on 24.3. Von Rohr is a regular on the HYROX circuit, having won the 2022 HYROX European Championships, and has participated in the CrossFit Open over the past three years. She placed 54th in 2023 and has yet to participate in the CrossFit Games.

Here are the top five: 

1. Mirjam Von Rohr ($15,000)
2. Grace Walton ($10,000)
3. Anikha Greer ($7,500)
4. Arielle Loewen ($6,000)
5. Carolyne Prevost ($5,000)

Australian Grace Walton was at the top of the unofficial leaderboard previously, but according to CrossFit, “Walton’s score in CrossFit Open Workout 24.3 was adjusted with a 10-point penalty due to two reps in which her feet rose above the height of the bar during bar muscle-ups. Her adjusted time of 9:42 moved her to second place overall with 45 points.”

Men’s Division

Finnish Games athlete Jonne Koski tops the men’s leaderboard with 30 points. He scored a 27th-place finish on 24.1 and followed up with a second on 24.2 and a first on 24.3. 

A nine-time Games competitor and seasoned veteran at age 29, Koski’s first Open was in 2013 at the age of 18, where he placed 607th worldwide. This is Koski’s 11th Open and his first win. His highest placing previously was ninth in 2017.

Here are the top five: 

1. Jonne Koski ($15,000)
2. Saxon Panchik ($10,000)
3. Jay Crouch ($7,500)
4. Luka Vunjak ($6,000)
5. Noah Ohlsen ($5,000)

Four out of the top five on the list are well-known Games athletes, with a combined 28 individual Games appearances. Fourth place Luka Vunjak out of Serbia is 24 years old and has narrowly missed qualifying twice. He finished ninth at the 2022 Lowlands Throwdown, and 14th at the 2023 Europe Semifinal.

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SPEED READS

👩‍🏫📋 Good Read: Check out BarBend’s recap of a potentially important new study on the effects of intermittent fasting on cardiovascular health.

• From the recap: “On Mar. 18, 2024, the American Heart Association (AHA) highlighted an in-review study with a shocking headline: That time-restricted feeding may increase your risk of cardiovascular mortality by as much as 91%.”

🚨🚨 Affiliate Owner Quarterfinals Database: With a tip of the hat to Morning Chalk Up contributor Mike Halpin at Known and Knowable, here’s a super useful tool for affiliate owners heading into the Quarterfinals.

• Simply search your affiliate name in the drop-down menu to access a full list of all your athletes who qualified for the next stage of competition.

🦋👻 Pat Vellner x Butterfly Squad: Last week Games legend and current Second Fittest Man on Earth, Pat Vellner announced that he had partnered with the animated children’s cartoon Butterfly Squad on a new series about mental health.

• From the announcement: “I am super excited to announce that I am partnering up with the Butterfly Squad! They have made a cartoon series that teaches kids about their mental health and the best part is they are giving it away for free to every parent & child on the planet and I am super excited to be part of the journey.”

😭 WIT London Closes Doors: In case you missed it last week, WIT London has announced that its final classes will run on March 28 at District Battlesea.

• From the post: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of WIT London, St Paul’s.”

• “We want to thank everyone that’s visited and trained with us since our opening in 2018. WIT London was a special place for so many, and was made even more special by the people that came to it.”

• “Rest assured, this is not the end for WIT. Plans are already in motion to come back bigger and better, so watch this space, and we’ll be sure to keep you fully updated on the journey.”

✍️ Now Hiring: PRVN Fitness is looking for some interns local to Nashville. If you have a passion for learning and want to be part of the PRVN Team, send your application now.

💪 Saunders to Compete at CrossFit Expo Games: The AusFitness Expo announced that fan-favorite CrossFit Games veteran Kara Saunders will compete at the CrossFit-licensed Expo Games at the AusFitness Expo on April 13-14. Saunders announced earlier this year that she will lead Team Mayhem Thunder in the 2024 season.

• Saunders will be joined on the competition floor by Harriet Roberts and Saunders’ own 2024 Mayhem Thunder teammate, Emily de Rooy. Khan Porter will be on hand as co-emcee of the event.

ICYMI: How accessible was the 2024 Open compared to years past?

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Does the CrossFit Open Help Improve Gym Member Retention for Affiliates?

Talk to any affiliate owner, and they’ll tell you the CrossFit Open brings their community together and brings all the good feels like no other time of the year.

• And according to PushPress data, it might also be your best client retention tool. The gym management software company’s data suggests those who check in for the Open are less likely to quit in the following 12 months. 

PROFILE

Fitness, Fraser, and Finals (at West Point): Get to Know Newcomer Cale Layman 

As we move from the Open to Quarterfinals, the CrossFit community is accustomed to seeing many of the usual names at the top of the leaderboard. But this year, after what some may say is an Open with a different feel, there are several names high up on the leaderboard that are new to everyone.

• One new name is Cale Layman, who finished seventh in the Open, one spot ahead of defending champion Jeff Adler.

Layman grew up in Williston, VT, and has always been into fitness, playing hockey, football, baseball, and lacrosse in high school. Layman chatted with the Morning Chalk Up about his background and experience in the 2024 Open. 

• Layman: “Football and hockey were my favorites – I went back and forth depending on the year. I probably could have gone to play D3 college football, but I just didn't feel like going to those schools.”

Layman had other goals.

He had always wanted to be in the military, and when West Point accepted his application, he couldn’t turn it down. He graduates this spring with a degree in civil and mechanical engineering. CrossFit played a significant role in his time at West Point after discovering the sport early on.

• “I was in a really bad spot in my first two years at West Point and got really unfit, just hanging around the wrong people. I stumbled into an open CrossFit workout because I thought, what's the hardest thing I know – it’s CrossFit. And so I thought, why not try that to get myself back on a better journey.”

• “I loved it and started doing it on my own. Soon after I started, the team had their tryouts, and I made the team.”

Layman trains at Black and Gold CrossFit, a competitive club at West Point and the home of the US Military Academy’s Functional Fitness Team.

THINGS TO…

…MOBILIZE

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HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise? Send us a tip.

• 💕Congratulations to Eik Gylfadottir and partner Sam on their recent marriage.

• Nice work to Jessica Androsik on the 200-pound/90-kilo snatch after two UCL tears.

• Congratulations to Invictus’ Jessi Smith on the 170-pound/77-kilo power snatch PR.

• Great job to Stephen from Whitehouse Marlborough CrossFit in the UK on demo-ing some innovative new combo movements.

• 💪Congratulations to Rebecah of CrossFIt Mayhem on the 200-pound/90-kilo snatch.