Asia CrossFit Championship final day recap: Fikowski, Froning and Holte win in Shanghai

In the end, it all went according to plan at the first-ever Asia CrossFit Championship.

Canadian Brent Fikowski, who made his intentions clear earlier this year that he would use the ACC to book his ticket to the 2019 CrossFit Games, put in a clinical performance to claim top spot.

Fikowski, 28, only lost one event out of six and cruised to the win, booking his ticket to the 2019 CrossFit Games. Last year he came fourth, and Fikowski, who showed little emotion all weekend, finally let loose on a starting block after the final event, smacking the pillar off in what was a pretty clear sign of excitement and release.

“It’s been a really challenging couple of months,” said Fikowski. “This is the first time I’ve been a full-time athlete these past few months and with that comes more pressure internally and externally. I made the choice to make this my livelihood and with every week, every day, every year you just kind of keep layering these levels of dedication, and it doesn’t get easier, it just gets harder.”

Fikowski, who will look to challenge three-time defending champion Mat Fraser for his crown, faced some stiff competition at the ACC. Zeke Grove of Australia stole one event on day two, while Josh Woodhull, who ended up second, kept pressure on Fikowski with each passing event. Hong Kong’s Ant Haynes, who lined up beside Fikowski all weekend, took third.

Fikowski said it’s been an emotional roller-coaster for him given this was basically his only shot to qualify for the Games as he finished 184th in the CrossFit Open and logistically would have been in tough to find another Sanctional to compete in.