The CrossFit Open is over and even with the Quarterfinals just behind us, there is still a lot of fun facts and information to dig about the first stage of the season. As the process to establish the Fittest Man and Woman in each country gets underway, here are a few CrossFit curiosities that might have slipped through your radar and that BOXROX thinks you should know.
2021 CrossFit National Champions
Note, the National Champions list is not final. Earlier this year, CrossFit announced a new way to establish who gets crowned as Fittest Man or Woman in their country. Previously, the highest-ranked athlete on the CrossFit Open leaderboard would receive the title and become the National Champion.
Now, the athlete in each country who makes it the furthest into the CrossFit season, all the way to the CrossFit Games, becomes the Fittest in their Country.
Source: BOXROX
You can check out the official National Champions list for men here and for women here.
CrossFit Open Fun Facts – Country’s Fittest
The list of National Champions will change throughout the CrossFit season, depending on how many athletes from each country pass through the Quarterfinals, reach the Semifinals, and ultimately the CrossFit Games.
However, a few athletes around the world can already claim to be the fittest in their territory. That is because they ranked best in the CrossFit Open leaderboard, and no one in their country managed to make the cutline to the Quarterfinals.
In total, 32 men and 30 women from their respective countries can put a crown on their heads and claim to be the fittest in the land.
Check out the list of the athletes who are already the Fittest in their Country:
North America – Male
Country | Name | Worldwide position |
Barbados | Richy Jordan | 18306 |
Bahamas | James Thompson | 24312 |
Dominica | Mazen Harake | 73676 |
Haiti | Gladimy Coffy | 38305 |
Saint Lucia | Heskeith Flavien | 28820 |
North America – Female
Country | Name | Worldwide position |
Antigua and Barbuda | Ali Maginley | 69349 |
Bahamas | Ryen Robinson | 41781 |
Belize | Mirella Bacab | 15853 |
Grenada | Sasha Jones | 28769 |
Saint Lucia | Charlie Gillmor | 39214 |
Trinidad and Tobago | Marisa Degannes | 36911 |
Europe – Male
Country | Name | Worldwide position |
Andorra | Edu Bouso | 15785 |
Armenia | Robert Dallakian | 34364 |
Azerbaijan | Nadir Imamaliyev | 19046 |
Liechtenstein | Sandro Lang | 19260 |
Europe – Female
Country | Name | Worldwide position |
Albania | Asimelda Levenishti Limieri | 44154 |
Azerbaijan | Natalie Wirth | 78601 |
Georgia | Nino Goguadze | 20587 |
Liechtenstein | Jhanine Banzer | 17940 |
Moldova | Olesea Cojohari | 10288 |
Montenegro | Mia Matkovic | 20172 |
Kosovo | Alisa Hasani | 16433 |
Africa – Male
Country | Name | Worldwide position |
Benin | Hafiz Tiomoko Ali | 54921 |
Botswana | Katlego Kgwadi | 29181 |
Congo | Yani Litho | 58915 |
Cape Verde | David Silva | 92184 |
Djibouti | James DeSimone | 60606 |
Ethiopia | Elim Thomas | 58330 |
Libya | Mohamed Sarkaz | 77295 |
Malawi | Khumbo Jere | 91825 |
Seychelles | Ivan Leong | 51998 |
Sudan | Mohamed Alhassan | 34637 |
Tanzania | Emanuel Shila | 100227 |
Africa – Female
Country | Name | Worldwide position |
Cameroon | Estelle Laisin | 78561 |
Algeria | Yasmine Boudaoud | 28980 |
Mauritius | Masha’ael Peerbux | 15908 |
Mozambique | Isabel Seu | 18067 |
Senegal | Yasmine Sayegh | 35483 |
Sudan | Fay Mohammed | 59195 |
Uganda | Millie Busuulwa | 17673 |
Zambia | Kim Otteby | 21925 |
Asia – Male
Country | Name | Worldwide position |
Afghanistan | Jawed Hussaini | 88941 |
Bangladesh | A S M Sarwar Zahan | 84253 |
Cambodia | Kobe Khy | 19402 |
Laos | Virakone Sengchanh | 79322 |
Maldives | Yazz Abbas | 63671 |
Nepal | Buddha Gurung | 31320 |
Qatar | Rashid Alkuwari | 23753 |
Yemen | Salem Baragaa | 78172 |
Vietnam | Hoang Vi Tang | 17358 |
Asia – Female
Country | Name | Worldwide position |
Bangladesh | Fatima Rashid | 46168 |
Iraq | Lena Albazie | 34382 |
Sri Lanka | Hiruni Perera | 19282 |
Mongolia | Maralerdene Bayart | 20203 |
Oman | Aala Noorani | 18334 |
Oceania – Male
Country | Name | Worldwide position |
Fiji | James Colata | 16503 |
Nauru | Hi George Quadina | 27575 |
Papua New Guinea | Kila Kilaverave | 55319 |
Oceania – Female
Country | Name | Worldwide position |
Fiji | Charnele Chow | 39550 |
Palau | Deena Ngiraiwet | 44359 |
Solomon Islands | Lynette Kairi | 37049 |
Vanuatu | Lenise Monteiro | 11325 |
CrossFit Curiosities – South America Is Most Competitive Continent
South America is the only continent where not a single country has determined a National Champion, so the race to become the Fittest Man or Woman is still on.
Every South American country that participated in the CrossFit Open managed to get at least two men and two women invited to the Quarterfinals.
Source: Photo courtesy of Sasha Nievas
Note: Quarterfinal stats have not been included.
Youngest Fittest
The youngest athletes to top their countries leaderboard after the Open were 16 years old! They were:
Male
- Elion Bobani – 16 years old – Kosovo (Europe)
Female
- Emma Lawson – 16 years old – Canada (North America)
Note: Elion Bobani and Emma Lawson are not officially Kosovo’s Fittest Man and Canada’s Fittest Woman respectively yet.
Oldest Fittest
The oldest CrossFit National Champion around the world is 51 years old!
Male
- Yani Litho – 51 years old – The Democratic Republic of the Congo (Africa)
Female
- Charlie Gillmor – 44 years – Saint Lucia (North America)
- Kim Otteby – 44 years old – Zambia (Africa)
CrossFit Curiosities – Name Your Kid Emma or James
Among the list of the fittest by country, taking into consideration only the CrossFit Open leaderboard, Emma is the most common name among women while James is for men. There are four women named Emma and four man named James who managed to get the best CrossFit Open position in 2021.
- Emma Lawson – Canada
- Emma McQuaid – Ireland
- Emma Tall – Sweden
- Emma Cary – United States
- James Thompson – Bahamas
- James DeSimone – Djibouti
- James Colata – Fiji
- James Kristanto – Indonesia
It might just be a coincidence, or maybe this under-the-radar is one of those CrossFit curiosities that only a handful of people know. Would it hurt to name your future kid Emma or James just to give her/him an extra advantage to getting fit?
Read More: What the New Age Group Qualification System Means for Top CrossFit Masters and Teens
Image Sources
- 2021 CrossFit National Champions: BOXROX
- sasha-nievas-crossfit-argentina: Photo courtesy of Sasha Nievas
- Woman lifting barbell CrossFit fittest: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.