When Was "Moving Day" at the 2024 Semifinals?

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• Australian Semifinalist Zac Thomas struggled at the end of Event 1 in Oceania and ultimately discovered an underlying cardiac issue. Thomas talks us through the events of that day.

• So, was there a “moving day” at the 2024 CrossFit Games Semifinals? Borrowed from professional golf, the term refers to athletes setting themselves up on the second-to-last day for a final run up the leaderboard. But with the new Semifinals format featuring half the points on the final day, how did things shake out this year?

• Get caught up on the 2024 Age Group Semifinal results, and check out some returning champs and big names to watch this Labor Day weekend!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Heaps of people have reached out (on social media) which is awesome. People saying that they’ve had the same thing or similar incidents. [I’ve received] heaps of kind messages.” - Zac Thomas on the responses he’s received following his scary finish to Event 1 at the 2024 Oceania Semifinal

CROSSFIT SEMIFINALS

Australia’s Zac Thomas Shares the Story Behind His Terrifying Cardiac Episode at the CrossFit Oceania Semifinal

Australia’s Zac Thomas went into the first event of the 2024 CrossFit Oceania Semifinal as a dark horse to earn a Games invite. However, a cardiac episode during Event 1 saw his 2024 season come to a sudden halt. 

Thomas usually loves a grindy workout, and had high hopes for the first event of the contest:

• “This was a good workout for me, and I was expecting a top five [finish], probably even top three or two, to be honest,” Thomas said in an interview with the Morning Chalk Up.

• “Going into round four, I started feeling a little bit different. My lungs were starting to hurt a little bit more than they usually would for me to hold my regular cadence on the run.” 

As he headed into the fifth and final round, Thomas said, “I finished the clean and jerks, and my legs were weirdly heavy.”

His lungs continued to hurt, and he started to feel light-headed and dizzy on the run. At this stage, he was still vying for a top-five finish.

• “I’m thinking that I’ll get through the clean and jerks no matter what,” he said. “I’ll come in from the run and maybe even jump in front of someone.”

However, this was not the case.

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SPEED READS

📋📋 Unofficial 2024 CrossFit Games Rosters: Although the final leaderboards are pending until the completion of drug testing and any backfills, check the full Individual and Team CrossFit Games fields now.

🥇🏃New HYROX World Champions: Congratulations to Alex Roncevic and Megan Jacoby are the 2024 HYROX World Champs, taking the men’s and women’s elite medals.

• According to a press release, this was HYROX’s “most successful season ever with a landmark event [the World Championships] welcoming 4,200 athletes and 6,000 spectators to the Palais Des Expositions” in Nice, France. Check out the full live stream now.

⬆️🏋️‍♀️ UPLIFT Challenge: UPLIFT is an annual fundraiser workout initiative created and organized by Mark Moss to help bring awareness to suicide and suicide prevention.

• Every month, UPLIFT runs a challenge with great prizes — this month WODZombie and Hero Barbell. Check it out and learn more.

📸🎥 Dylan and Susana's Lost Gear Recovery: At the North America West Semifinal by West Coast Classic, two friends of the Morning Chalk Up, Dylan Shoemaker and Susana Rodriguez Mata, who are photographers/creators in CrossFit media, had some of their valuable camera equipment stolen.

• Heber Cannon of the Buttery Bros arranged a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to replace the lens and the camera. Check it out and help if you are able.

🏆🏆 Celebrate the launch of the all-new Jocko Hydrate Drink by winning some epic prizes! Win a Jocko Fuel x Blue Cube Ice Bath ($20,000 value), a year's supply of the brand-new drink, or be one of 10 lucky runners-up to snag prizes from YETI and GORUCK. Stay hydrated and win big!

🔥💙 Geaux CrossFit x Working with Larger Bodies: Later this summer, Geaux CrossFit in Baton Rouge, LA, will host the Working with Larger Bodies seminar. The seminar will provide members and the broader community with access to expertise and resources about fitness, nutrition, and working with athletes with varying needs for movement adjustments. Register now!

📊📈 Rogue Invitational Qualifying System: The Rogue Invitational announced a new qualifying system for its annual event, which is moving to Aberdeen, Scotland, in 2024.

• From the announcement: “Over the past few years, we have been working on the method to select the best CrossFit athletes in the sport. This system takes into account the most recent event performance along with the last five years. There is a predictive component to replace missing scores due to various life events.”

• The post clarified that Rogue “reserve[s] the right to invite anyone but plan on using this to choose a MIN of 10 along with 5 MIN from the Q.”

• Check out more details on the qualifying system and search for athletes here.

ICYMI: Kyra Milligan heard her name called as the final Games qualifier at the 2024 North America West Semifinals. It’s her first time as an individual, but that doesn’t mean she lacks experience.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

When Was “Moving Day” at the 2024 CrossFit Games Semifinals?

Moving Day is a term we in the CrossFit world have borrowed from professional golf to use as our own. 

• It’s used to signify the second-to-last day of competition, when athletes are trying to move up the leaderboard and position themselves well for the final day.  

For the 2024 Semifinals, the structure was different than we have typically seen. 

Rather than a more even dispersion across three days, the structure of the 2024 competition featured one event on Friday and two on Saturday, and competitors were left with three events on the final day. 

• With 100 points available per event, this format created a scenario where half the points were available on the final day.

In terms of building anticipation and excitement throughout each weekend, this format was a huge success, but did the new format cause other changes, too?

• In other words, did the 2024 layout of Semifinals events change when we saw big moves on the leaderboard, considering half the competition was on the final day?

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CROSSFIT SEMIFINALS

2024 CrossFit Age Group Semifinal Results

The Age Group Semifinals leaderboards have been finalized and the Masters and Teen Games rosters are set. 

Each division takes up to 40 athletes to the championship event. 

Remind me: For the first time, the 2024 Masters CrossFit Games will be run by Legends and will take place at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Alabama.  

The 2024 Teenage CrossFit Games will be run by the Pit Teen Throwdown and will take place in Kalamazoo and Three Rivers, Michigan.  

• Both events will be held on Labor Day weekend, August 29-September 1st, 2024. 

Multiple athletes competed in the live Individual Semifinals in their respective regions, but just one qualified for both the Individual and Masters CrossFit Games. 

Andreia Pinheiro from Brazil was the only athlete to accomplish this impressive feat.

• Pinheiro won the 40-44 Age Group online Semifinal and placed third at the 2024 Copa Sur, the South America Semifinal.  

The 41-year-old was second at last year’s CrossFit Games to legend Sam Briggs.

HIGHLIGHTS

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

• ⭐️Check out Chan from Brazil as he shows off a new movement challenge: burpees over the “bar.”

• Great job to everyone at Core City CrossFit in Detroit, MI, who competed in the second annual Kids CrossFit competition.

• Nice work to Luka Djukic on the 130-kilo/286-pound snatch.

• Great work to 17-year-old Yezo Cunha of Brazil on the 140-kilo/308-pound barbell complex.

• 👏Congratulations to 14-year-old Ana of Brazil on the 100-kilo/220-pound clean and jerk.