On June 4-6, a total of 30 men, women, and teams will be competing head-to-head in the CrossFit Fittest In Cape Town Semifinal event. So who should you watch at Fittest In Cape Town this weekend? BOXROX has selected 4 men, 4 women and 2 teams for you to keep an eye out that will probably be at the podium come Sunday.
The Fittest In Cape Town Semifinal could be considered one of the most ruthless Semifinal event, as only the top man, woman and team will qualify for the CrossFit Games. There is no room for mistakes.
The 2nd, 3rd and 4th place in the individual female and male division will get an invitation to the Last-Chance Qualifier which takes place on June 28, a week after the last Semifinal event.
Find out how to watch the event live here.
Remember: two African athletes who were supposed to compete in CrossFit Fittest In Cape Town have been moved to different events: Carla Henriet will compete in the Granite Games (North America), and Christina Livaditakis has competed in the Torian Pro (Oceania) last weekend.
Click here to find out how much each athlete will earn following the Semifinal.
Male Athletes to Watch at Fittest In Cape Town
1. Jason Smith
- Country: South Africa
- Age: 36
- Height: 185 cm
- Weight: 195 lb
- 2021 Open Rank Worldwide: 264th
- Quarterfinals Rank: 1st
Proving age is just a number, Jason Smith is a master athlete who competes at the highest level against some younger folks. He was crowned Fittest in Africa every year since 2013. That alone puts him as the man to watch at Fittest in Cape Town.
In 2020 and 2019, he was first place worldwide in the Open in the 35-39 division. With six regionals in, he is the only South African who has ever made it to the CrossFit Games. In 2017, he ranked 10th Fittest Man on Earth.
Last year he lost his invite to the 2020 Games due to the pandemic. He indicated that 2020 could have been his last year competing as an individual athlete. Perhaps then, this year is his last time going individual.
You can read more about Jason Smith here.
2. Kealan Henry
- Country: South Africa
- Age: 27
- Height: —
- Weight: —
- 2021 Open Rank Worldwide: 83rd
- Quarterfinals Rank: 2nd
Relatively speaking, Kealan Henry is a rookie. His first Open was in 2017 and he has never made it this long in the CrossFit competition.
Last year he shocked the African CrossFit community by placing second in the Open, behind Jason Smith. This year he finished the Open 1st place in the African continent and 2nd in the Quarterfinals. He seems to be on the right path to dethrone Jason Smith from his post as Fittest in Africa.
His dream is to qualify for the first time for the CrossFit Games. Perhaps that will happen come Sunday afternoon at the end of the event.
See Kealan Henry’s full interview with BOXROX here.
Male Athletes to Watch at Fittest In Cape Town
3. Abdelrahman Abdullah
- Country: Egypt
- Age: 30
- Height: 185 cm
- Weight: 198 lb
- 2021 Open Rank Worldwide: 694th
- Quarterfinals Rank: 6th
He is the only non-South African male athlete on this list, but that is not the only thing that stands out. He is a pharmacy graduate and a former football (soccer) player and is famously known as “Cavio.”
He has been titled the ‘2nd fittest individual 2015’ in Bahrain and ‘2nd fittest individual 2017’ in Egypt.
His dream is to represent Egypt internationally in fitness competitions and the Semifinals are his best bet this year to do so.
4. Ruan Duvenage
- Country: South Africa
- Age: 32
- Height: 178 cm
- Weight: 90kg
- 2021 Open Rank Worldwide: 476th
- Quarterfinals Rank: 3rd
Ruan Duvenage is another experienced CrossFit athlete from South Africa. He has been competing in the Open since 2013 and has participated in 3 Regionals, always finishing in the top 10.
Duvenage competed in 2018’s Dubai CrossFit Championship and lifted 136kg in event 4, one kilo shy from 1st place Mat Fraser. Of all 10 events that year, he finished 3 in the top 5.
Female Athletes to Watch at Fittest In Cape Town
5. Michelle Merand
- Country: South Africa
- Age: 31
- Height: 158 cm
- Weight: 60 kg
- 2021 Open Rank Worldwide: 127th
- Quarterfinals Rank: 3rd
Born and raised in South Africa, she owns a Box in Cape Town and is considered a “hometown hero” in the local CrossFit community.
Michelle Merand started CrossFit in 2015 and managed to get to the Games in 2019 when she ended up being the 41st Fittest Woman on Earth, plus 2 Regionals in her résumé.
She is the epitome of consistency, as she finished one workout in the first position this Quarterfinals, and four others in the top 10. Perhaps her well-rounded fitness skills are the advantage she will have this weekend.
She is was also Fittest in Cape Town champion back in 2018 and is trying to do that again this year and punch her ticket to the Games.
6. Michelle Basnet
- Country: South Africa
- Age: 24
- Height: 5’5’’
- Weight: 148 lb
- 2021 Open Rank Worldwide: 188th
- Quarterfinals Rank: 1st
The younger of the Michelles is looking to get her first ticket to the CrossFit Games and she has proved she is a strong contender. During the Quarterfinals, she finished 1st in workouts 1 and 5, with two other workouts finishing in the top 10.
Michelle Basnet was born in South Africa but moved to the United States when she was 4 years old. Now she is a realtor and a coach in a Box in North Carolina. In 2019’s Filthy 50 she placed 23rd, so even though she is young in the business, she has enough experience to put her as one of the top contenders.
The African travelled back to Cape Town specifically to compete in the live event. You can read more about Michelle Basnet here.
Female Athletes to Watch at Fittest In Cape Town
7. Engy Hossam Eldin
- Country: Egypt
- Age: 27
- Height: —
- Weight: 61 kg
- 2021 Open Rank Worldwide: 1033rd
- Quarterfinals Rank: 7th
She might have started CrossFit recently, with her first Open competition in 2018, but Engy Hossam Eldin is no amateur athlete.
She qualified for the 2012 Olympics as part of the Egyptian rowing team and secured 2nd place in San Clash in Saudi Arabia and another 2nd place in Battle of the North in the Netherlands.
She does not enjoy doing double-unders, which is part of the second event this weekend titled “Friday Night Lights.” But she loves muscle-ups and toes-to-bar, both of which are set to appear on test 4 and the last event.
8. Aya Fouad
- Country: Egypt
- Age: 27
- Height: 155 cm
- Weight: 60 kg
- 2021 Open Rank Worldwide: 571st
- Quarterfinals Rank: 8th
Another strong woman who could appear on the podium this weekend is Aya Fouad. She is no stranger in the global CrossFit community, as she has competed in the CrossFit Games back in 2019.
She was named Fittest Woman in Egypt in 2019 and 2021, and is looking to become Egypt’s National Champion once again.
Teams to Watch at Fittest In Cape Town
While it will be a nail-biter to find out which man and which woman will advance to the CrossFit Games, the same cannot be said about the teams’ division.
That is because every indicates that Eikestad Mighty Oaks will get the top podium. Why? Simply because of their dominant display during Quarterfinals.
The team from South African managed to get the best results in the continent in workouts 1, 2, 3, and 5 this Quarterfinals. Workout 4, where athletes had to front-squat for the highest combined load, saw them lifting 1096 pounds, the second heaviest load in the continent.
The other team that might pose a threat this weekend is CrossFit Tijger Valley from Pretoria, South Africa. During the Quarterfinals, they finished 3 workouts in the 2nd best place and the other two workouts in the top 6.
Check out the events planned for Fittest in Cape Town here.
