The second week of the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games Open featured a two-part test: 23.2A and 23.2B. Open Test 23.2A is a 15-minute AMRAP of ascending-reps burpee pull-ups and shuttle runs. Open Test 23.2B is a 1-rep-max thruster in the 5 minutes immediately following 23.2A. This is the fourth time we’ve seen a two-part test in the Open. In 2015, there was a 9-minute AMRAP followed by 6 minutes to perform a 1-rep-max clean and jerk. In 2018, there was a couplet of dumbbell squats and bar-facing burpees, followed by a 1-rep-max clean all within a 12-minute window. That format provided a little twist where the less fit you were, the less time you had to perform your lift. In 2021, athletes completed a series of front squats, thrusters, and work on the pull-up bar in 15 minutes before immediately jumping into a max lift in a barbell complex. For 23.2B, every athlete had the full 5 minutes to lift, but some may have been more tired than others after going all out on 23.2A.

For our top 10 country comparison this week, we are looking at Rx’d athletes who completed more than 125 reps (5 rounds) on 23.2A, and lifted more than 225/155 lb (102/70 kg) on 23.2B. The top country on 23.2A based on this metric was South Korea, with 40% of athletes performing more than 125 reps Rx’d. They were followed by Spain with 37% and France with 34%.

For 23.2B, we see a different story. The strongest country based on thruster weight is the United States, with 16% of athletes lifting at least 225/155 lb Rx’d. They are followed by Brazil with 15% and Canada with 13%. Comparing the two tests together, it’s interesting to note that the best performing countries on 23.2A were the worst on 23.2B, and vice versa. This suggests more of a cardio bias in the first group and a strength bias in the second.

In order to do 23.2A Rx’d, an athlete needed to be able to do a jumping pull-up to a bar beyond their reach. Although a jumping pull-up is easier than a normal pull-up, it’s not as easy as one might imagine. For women 18-34, 27% opted to do the scaled version of 23.2A, compared to 5% for men 18-34. Looking at the high performers, 15% of women 18-34 and 49% of men 18-34 were able to get beyond 5 full rounds.

For this week, the version you performed for 23.2A dictated your version for 23.2B. So the same percentage of athletes did scaled and Rx’d on both parts. 

Looking at 225 lb (102 kg) for the men and 155 lb (70 kg) for the women, we see that 10% of women 18-34 and 22% of men 18-34 were able to perform a thruster at least that heavy. For the masters and teenagers, 7% and 3% accomplished the same, respectively.

Below is the distribution of scores for Rx’d individuals on 23.2A. The majority of athletes, both men and women, finished somewhere during round 5. There was also a big group of men who were able to make it into the burpee pull-ups of round 6. Very few athletes were able to get into the shuttle runs of round 6 or beyond.

During the 1-rep-max thruster of 23.2B, over 8,000 women lifted at least 155 lb (70 kg). Over 24,000 men lifted at least 225 lb (102 kg). The 50th percentile weight was 121 lb (55 kg) for women and 185 lb (84 kg) for men. To score in the 99th percentile, women needed to lift at least 185 lb (84 kg) and men needed to lift at least 277 lb (126 kg).

Below are percentile tables for individuals, masters, teenagers, and adaptive divisions with details for each version of the workouts. You can see the breakdown of how many reps or how much weight it took to achieve a particular percentile. For example, for Rx’d Women 18-34 on 23.2A, a score of 123 reps got you into the 75th percentile. These percentiles are comparing you against your division and workout version, which is different from your overall division percentile (compared against all versions).

*The data used for this article is from the official CrossFit Open submissions.

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Cover photo: Open Test 23.2 at CrossFit de l'ouest | Photo by Sam Beriault

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