All of the attention in the CrossFit community over the last week or so has been on the upcoming 2019 Open which kicks off on Feb. 21. And for good reason because the Open will play a huge factor in determining who will make the trip to Madison this summer.

However, there is another Sanctional event that is looming on the horizon and it will determine the next man, woman and team to earn their tickets to the Games. We’re talking about the the Strength in Depth UK event, or SiDUK for short, and here is what you need to know about it.

The Basics

SiDUK will be taking place Feb. 23-24 in London. It will be the first sanctional ever held in Europe. A few details about the workouts have been shared on the event’s Instagram page as well as on the website.

The organizers conducted an online qualifier and the winners of that qualifier earned invites to compete. Dani Speegle and Jacob Heppner, both from the USA, were the winners of that qualifier and will join the rest of the field in London. 

In regards to teams that will compete, no direct invitations were issued so the teams that are participating will be determined by the teams' rankings. There have been invites sent to some of the top tier individual stars in the sport to throw their hats in the ring. Here are a few of the key players who can be considered top contenders for the weekend.

Men

Lukas Hogberg 

If you’re the third fittest man on Earth, you go into events like this as a favorite and maybe the favorite. Hogberg has been on a steady rise since his debut at the Games in 2014, and 2019 is the year that he wants to make his move and claim the ultimate title in CrossFit. For the 28-year-old, his 2019 journey starts here.

Willy Georges

Georges finished third worldwide at the 2018 Open. He went on to finish ninth at the Games. The native of France started this season finishing on the podium with a third-place finish at the Dubai CrossFit Championships. If he starts off the weekend on a hot streak, he could be hard to catch.

Roman Khrennikov

Khrennikov is the 2018 European Regionals Champion. Unfortunately, visa issues kept him from making it to the U.S. to compete at the Games. His name is still relatively new to the global community because he only started competing in the Open back in 2017. Some people may not know about him now, but don’t be surprised if he is in the mix at the end.

Women

Sara Sigmundsdottir

Sigmundsdottir has already hit midseason form. She competed in both Dubai and Miami at Wodapalooza, finishing third in both events and was in the mix until late in the weekend. If she can finish this event strong, then her ticket to the Games will be punched.

Jamie Greene

Greene started off the 2019 season by finishing as the runner-up in Dubai and also competed as a part of a team event at Wodapalooza. The former gymnast and rugby player is the 2016 Open champion and will make her fourth trip to the Games, third as an individual, if she’s successful in London.

Thuridur Helgadottir 

This Icelandic athlete has competed six times as a Games athlete (four individual). Her last appearance was in 2017 and she placed 18th. She’s also a three-time IWF world championship weightlifter. If there is a lot of barbell work on the schedule, she’ll be one to watch. 

Roger Lockridge is from Lewisburg, West Virginia. His work has been featured on numerous platforms and magazines in the fitness industry over the last 10 years. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @rocklockridge.