One of CrossFit’s most hotly contested Regional competitions ended with excitement and heartbreak on Sunday in Spain. When the dust settled, many familiar faces long associated with the CrossFit Games qualified out of the Meridian Regional, while several members of the sport’s newer elite were left on the outside looking in.

2011 and 2012 CrossFit Games Champion Annie Thorisdottir had a consistent weekend — and two Event wins — to finish third and punch her ticket back to the Games, where she first competed as a teenager in 2009. Thorisdottir needed to finish top six on Event 6 in order to secure a spot, and she went on to finish in first, just three seconds ahead of fellow Games Champion and second place overall finisher Samantha Briggs.

Kristin Holte finished in 1st overall, and her worst Event finish on the weekend was 5th.

On the men’s side, Games veterans Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson and Jonne Koski took the top two spots. Finishing in fifth place — the last qualifying spot — was now three-time Games competitor Frederick Aegidius, who had failed to qualify since 2013. When the final men’s spots were announced, Aegidius had an emotional celebration with girlfriend Thorisdottir, which was captured by cameras on the venue floor. (We’ve embedded a video of that announcement at the end of this article).

Individual Games veterans Lukas Hogberg (6th) and Rasmus Andersen (9th) finished outside of qualification.

The Top 5 standings for Women, Men, and Teams are listed below:

Women:

1. Kristin Holte

2. Samantha Briggs

3. Annie Thorisdottir

4. Jamie Green

5. Thuridur Erla Helgadottir

Men:

1. Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson

2. Jonne Koski

3. Jason Smith

4. Lukas Esslinger

5. Frederik Aegidius

Team:

1. CrossFit JST

2. CrossFit Fabriken

3. CFXY

4. Maspuls Spartans

5. CrossFit Reykjavik

Featured image: CrossFit Games on Facebook