CrossFit French Throwdown 2019 Round-Up

The French Throwdown at the end of June gave Athletes their last chance to qualify for the 2019 CrossFit Games.

Built for Athletes takes a look at the best of the action from the final sanctioned event of the season.

Elite Men

Finland’s Jonne Koski took the top prize in the Men’s Elite field, with Willy Georges of France and Josh Miller of the USA finishing second and third respectively.

Koski, 25, was in the middle of the pack after the running-based first round, but a win in Event 2 left him well-placed after the first day. A dominant Saturday performance, with finishes of first, first and second, followed by two solid scores on Sunday enabled him to scrape the win by just 14 points.

As Koski and Georges had already qualified for the Games, Miller secured his first appearance at Maddison. On his Instagram account, the 35-year-old posted: “After 7 years of hard work and dedication, a dream has finally became a reality for me... To say I am excited would be an understatement.”

Elliot Simmonds, who had already secured his qualification for next month’s season finale, was the top-ranked British athlete in fifth.

Elite Women

The women’s section was won by Jacqueline Dahlstrom from Norway. The USA’s Carrie Beamer and Iceland’s Eik Gylfadottir made up the podium.

Dahlstrom’s consistency set her apart. Although the 27-year-old failed to win an event, she placed in the top 10 of every stage except one, taking 12th in the Sumo Deadlift High Pulls and Shoulder to Overheads on Day 2.

With the top-three finishers having all already qualified for this year’s CrossFit Games, fourth-placed Sabrina Caron booked her ticket on home soil to secure a first Madison appearance.

Caron had missed out on qualification at The Open, where Carole Castellani was first French woman, but this time ranked seven places higher than her rival.

Hellen Nutter of Second City CrossFit in Birmingham was the best Brit in 18th.