SANTA CRUZ, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 2015 CrossFit Liftoff, powered by Rogue, took place November 5-9. The event tested the weightlifting ability and overall fitness of athletes from around the world, with Rogue Fitness offering $56,000 cash and $45,000 worth of gear to top finishers. In its inaugural year, the Liftoff included three events: the snatch, the clean and jerk, and a 12-minute workout in which athletes accumulated as many repetitions as possible of weightlifting and bodyweight movements.

Rogue 28MM Olympic weightlifting barbell

Four—time CrossFit Games champion Rich Froning and Lauren Fisher, an athlete who has twice competed at the CrossFit Games and represented Team USA at junior meets worldwide, won the overall competition by accumulating the most pounds and repetitions. As the champions, Froning and Fisher each took home $3,000 in prize money plus a complement of equipment, including the new IWF-standard Rogue 28MM Olympic weightlifting barbell.

CrossFit awards over $2,000,000 in prizes per year, paying men and women equally. However, in weightlifting it’s rare to find a cash purse at all. With Rogue Fitness awarding a generous prize purse, CrossFit has brought a unique opportunity to elite Olympic weightlifters.

Olympian Sarah Robles, called the Strongest Woman in America after her 7th-place finish at the 2012 London Olympics, earned $9,000 for setting the heaviest snatch, clean and jerk, and weightlifting total. Fellow Olympian Holley Mangold earned $2,000 for setting the second heaviest weightlifting total.

Caine Wilkes of Team USA, like Robles, won three weightlifting events and $9,000.

Lighter weight Olympic weightlifters excelled in the pound-for-pound rankings, where an athlete’s weightlifting total was divided by their body weight. $12,000 worth of cash was awarded to National-level lifters from around the world, including Brendi Roque (Mexico), Efrain De La Rosa (Dominican Republic), Ilya Popov (Russia), Yana Dyachenko (Ukraine), Evagjelia Veli (Greece), and Morghan King (USA).

“We’re proud to offer one of the largest payouts to Olympic weightlifters in the world,” said Rogue Fitness CEO Bill Henniger. “CrossFit’s worldwide platform allows us to open this to any lifter in the world. We think this will only grow as more lifters become aware.”

The Liftoff was open to anyone 14 years old or older who wanted to register, allowing regular athletes to compete with Olympians and CrossFit Games elite. In total, over 3,800 men and 1,720 women signed up to compete.

“Weightlifting is just one of many components it takes to be fit, but it’s great to see world-class lifters competing in a CrossFit event,” General Manager of the CrossFit Games Justin Bergh said. “CrossFit has led to big increases in Olympic weightlifting participation. In the next Olympiad, I expect you’ll see world records climb as a direct result.”

About CrossFit:

CrossFit Inc. is the developer and provider of the CrossFit® Fitness Program and a recognized worldwide leader in functional fitness. Founded by Greg Glassman and built on the foundations of constantly varied, high-intensity functional movements, education and collaborative competition, CrossFit-brand workouts develop strength and fitness while cultivating community and camaraderie in each of the more than 12,000 affiliated gyms in CrossFit’s global network. CrossFit Inc. is a leading accredited certificate issuer for physical-training professionals worldwide and offers specialty certificate programs in addition to its core curriculum. CrossFit Inc. publishes the CrossFit Journal, promotes physical and cognitive health and fitness through the CrossFit Kids Foundation, and created and operates the CrossFit Games, an annual competition where elite athletes compete to be named the Fittest on EarthTM. To learn more, visit www.CrossFit.com, Games.CrossFit.com, Facebook.com/CrossFit orhttps://www.youtube.com/CrossFitHQ.

CrossFit, Forging Elite Fitness, The Sport of Fitness and Fittest on Earth are registered trademarks or trademarks of CrossFit Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

About Rogue:

Rogue Fitness is the leading provider of American made strength & conditioning equipment. Rogue employs more than 350 employees across their manufacturing, distribution and headquarters facilities in Columbus, Ohio. Rogue has an international network of distributors outfitting top professional, collegiate, military, CrossFit and garage gyms around the world. Rogue has been the official equipment supplier for the CrossFit Games since 2009.