Mat Fraser, Samantha Briggs Wins The Dubai CrossFit Championship

December 16, 2018

Sam Briggs and Mat Fraser & Win 2019 Dubai CrossFit Championship

Mat Fraser won Events 7, 8 and 9 adding 300 points to his already established lead. Going into the final event, he had 835 points, a massive 102 point lead over BK Gudmundsson in second.
The American went on to win Event 10, earning himself a further 100 points; finishing the competition with a total of 935 points.

Fraser was fully deserving of the title, after winning seven of the ten events across the competition. This Championship win ensures his place in the CrossFit Games, where he hopes he can win his fourth straight title.

Speaking after his win, Fraser said:

“It’s a big relief to know that this is out of the way and I can focus on what I want to focus on now.”
“I’ll train with Tia up until Wodapalooza and then hopefully get some traveling in and have some fun with family.”

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Having established himself as the dominant CrossFit athlete by winning the past 3 CrossFit Games, Mat Fraser came to Dubai with the laser focus of a fighter before a match. Arriving a week before the competition, Mat kept his schedule of training and recovery and his eyes on the prize. In Dubai, that prize is big. Really big. With $30,000 on the line in the last workout alone, and over $700,000 in total cash prizes available, the rewards for traveling to the United Arab Emirates are obvious. But it's not just about money- winning this very first official CrossFit Sanctional means Mat has clinched a spot at the 2019 CrossFit Games, which is nearly 8 months away. Mat's performance at the 2018 Dubai CrossFit Championship was nothing short of remarkable. 6 (7) 1st place finishes, 1 2nd-place, an 8th- and a 9th-place finish helped him sit pretty walking into the last Event, 102 points over the next competitor. What's always interesting about watching Mat compete is that although we as spectators often take it for granted that he will win, Mat himself doesn't approach anything as a given. He has a plan, he focuses on his task and on his competition (without being distracted by them) and he executes each workout with exacting determination. Congratulations, Mat on securing your ticket to the 2019 Crossfit Games by winning first place here at the 2018 Dubai CrossFit®️ Championship! 📷: @ckdesigns_sa @mathewfras #dubaicrossfitchampionship #crossfitgames #crossfit
A post shared by Dubai CrossFit® Championship (@dxbfitnesschamp) on Dec 15, 2018 at 10:05am PST

The final standings in the men’s leader-board:

Mat Fraser 935
BK Gudmundsson 823
Willy Georges 798
Travis Mayer 766
Roman Khrennikov 716
Streat Hoerner 712
Jason Smith 681
Connor Duddy 664
Paul Castillo 648
Ruan Duvenage 646

The women’s section, however, was a lot tighter, with Samantha Briggs seizing her moment in the final event to beat Jamie Greene, Karin Frey, and Sara Sigmundsdottir.

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Experience and grit counts! Samantha Briggs came off a season plagued by injury and surgery. And yet here she is, standing atop a field of elite women significantly younger than her. With 7 event finishes in the top 3, including event wins on 2 of the final 3 events, she has proven that she still has the capacity to not just compete, but to dominate events at the highest level. Samantha battled next to her friend and training partner Jamie Greene all weekend. Lined up next to each other in the last event, the two women propelled themselves toward the finish, with Sam being the only woman to complete Event 10. What a race to close out a contest that went back and forth between the two fierce competitors all weekend long. Welcome back to the individual competition at the 2019 CrossFit Games Sam Briggs! We are excited to announce you as the woman who has earned the qualifying spot from the2018 Dubai CrossFit®️ Championship! 📷: @ckdesigns_sa @bicepslikebriggs @jgreenewod #dubaicrossfitchampionship #crossfitgames #crossfit
A post shared by Dubai CrossFit® Championship (@dxbfitnesschamp) on Dec 15, 2018 at 9:58am PST

The final event was a winner-take-all finale with just seven points separating the women heading into Event 10.

Speaking after the final result, an emotional Briggs said:

“Missing out on Regional’s and being able to go to the Games last year as an individual, I couldn’t have asked for anything better than to do the first sanctioned event, and I’m going to the Games!”