The 2014 CrossFit Games Day 3 brought everything spectators could want with upsets and phenomenal performances in almost every event.
Kara Webb and Noah Ohlsen sat on top of the leaderboard coming into the day, but a leaderboard shake up was to come.
Muscle-Up Biathalon
Women
Coming into the event, high expectations were placed on the shoulders of Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet to go unbroken on the three sets of muscle-ups.
While it was a huge ask, her reputation as a gymnastics queen has been well established.
In Heat 2, Tiffany Hendrickson set the time to beat of 15.08, but LeBlanc-Bazinet was unable to come close it in the final heat.
LeBlanc-Bazinet broke her muscle-ups multiple times which resulted in extra penalty runs before finishing in a time of 16.09.
It was enough to put her on top of the leaderboard as Kara Webb struggled with a 25th placed finish.
Men
The crowd was far from disappointed with three men going unbroken on all the muscle-ups.
As expected, Games veteran Chris Spealler performed exceptionally well in this event, but it was yet another rookie who took the day.
In Heat 1 Cody Anderson set a smoking time of 10.43 that wouldn’t be beaten, despite a great attempt from Ben Smith who finished in 11.15 and Spealler who finished in 11.17.
Surprisingly, none of the top three times came from the final heat with none of the sport’s biggest names able to hold onto the rings.
Overall leader Noah Ohlsen won the final heat and finished fifth.
Sprint Carry
Women
Yet another rookie stole the veterans’ thunder with Lauren Brooks taking out the women’s sprint carry by almost three seconds.
Brooks outpaced Christy Adkins on the final unweighted sprint and hung onto her lead as she raced the 100 lb cylinder down the field to win in a time of 2.47.
None of the women from the final heat were able to crack the top three overall, with Brooks, Adkins and Mandi Janowitz all in Heat 2.
Crowd favourite and former champion Annie Thorisdottir took fifth and Webb placed ninth.
Men
Like the women, the top time of the event wouldn’t come from the big names in the final heat.
There was no finesse required to win the Sprint Carry, but the technically excellent Nate Schrader was the clear winner of the event with a time of 2.22 in the first heat.
Games veteran and known workhorse Tommy Hackenbruck took second in a time of 2.33 with Will Moorad coming in third at 2.35.
Clean Speed Ladder
Women
The Clean Speed Ladder was a crowd favourite with big lifts coming fast and furious from athletes in all heats.
Unsurprisingly, three of the top four finishers in last year’s Clean and Jerk found themselves at the top of the ladder with Elisabeth Akinwale first to finish the 225 lb max weight in 1.09.
Amanda Goodman, the winner of Clean and Jerk, finished in 1.26 and Webb claimed third.
Men
The roar in the stadium was deafening when the men took to the barbells.
Event winner Neal Maddox displayed incredible strength and power to beat rookie Jeff Evans onto the mat.
Mathew Fraser, who came equal first in the Overhead Squat on Wednesday, took third.
The support of the crowd made the difference between a successful lift or afailed lift for many of the athletes, including the lightest man on the floor Chris Spealler.
Spealler did not progress beyond the first round, but the weight started at almost 100 lbs over his bodyweight.
With the very vocal support of the crowd, Spealler was able to clean 275 lbs to clear the first ladder, but his time wasn’t good enough for him to progress to the semi-final.
Push Pull
Women
Strict handstand push-ups proved a killer for many of the women after a brutal opening three days of competition.
The strict handstand push-up is a movement that once lost through muscle fatigue it’s hard to recover.
Michele Letendre took the event in 5.00 with the second fastest time coming from Heat 1.
Nicole Holcomb destroyed the competition in the opening heat to finish in 5.10.
LeBlanc-Bazinet finished second in the top heat but, with Kara Webb unable to finish, it was enough to give her a 70-point buffer on the leaderboard.
Men
After missing the final on Clean Speed Ladder, Froning entered the event with a point to prove.
From the first set of handstand push-ups Froning and Bridges went rep-for-rep in a battle for victory.
Bridges took the event by 2 seconds in a time of 4.46 with Froning a close second and the result was enough to move them both into the top three.
Ben Stoneberg finished third in 5.03.
At the end of Day 3 the leaderboard is as follows:
Women:
1. (700) Camille Leblanc-Bazinet
2. (625) Kara Webb
3. (583) Annie Thorisdottir
4. (582) Michele Letendre
5. (581) Valerie Voboril
Men:
1. (625) Rich Froning
2. (620) Mathew Fraser
3. (613) Josh Bridges
4. (597) Noah Ohlsen
5. (589) Tommy Hackenbruck
Teams:
NorCal CrossFit has taken the biggest lead we’ve seen so far by the end of a day of competition.
They sit 22 points above CrossFit Invictus with CrossFit Marysville another 24 points behind.
Triples Chipper
The day started with the Triples Chipper with few teams performing equally across both the males and females.
CrossFit FDR Redlands won the men’s and CrossFit Green Bay took out the women’s.
Squat Burpee
The teams then moved into the Squat Burpee where they were required to carry the 405lb worm and perform movements synchronized.
It was an event that rewarded sensible pacing and a solid athlete engine. Timberwolf CrossFit worked steadily to take the final heat and the event in 14.02, more than 20 seconds faster than second placed CrossFit Fort Vancouver.
Worm Sprint
Explosive power was put to the test in the worm sprint with each individual athlete sent on a 100-yard sprint before the team sprinted the worm 100-yards.
The event was over in less than three minutes and any teams with slower runners quickly found themselves out of contention.
CrossFit Marysville claimed victory in 1.59.
At the end of Day 3, the standings are as follows:
1. (724) NorCal CrossFit
2. (702) CrossFit Invictus
3. (688) CrossFit Marysville
4. (679) CrossFit 808
5. (665) CrossFit Active
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