There days down, one to go. Anything can happen.
Event after event, the leaderboard has been turned on it’s head as athletes battled through a day of heavy lifting. It all started with Strongman’s Fear where athletes were given three heavy objects to move across the field in any order they wanted. The caveat? In order to get to each element, they had to walk…on their hands. It is The CrossFit Games, after all.
photo: CrossFit Games
The women’s side saw a new name at the top of the leaderboard in the middle of the day and three way tie going into the third and final event for the day, but it was Tia-Clair Toomey back on top at the close of Day 3. While two time reigning champ Katrin Davidsdottir is over 100 points away, it’s a tight race at the top. Behind Toomey is Kara Webb who secured herself yet another event win in Heavy 17.5, her third event win for the weekend. Sara Sigmundsdottir, Annie Thorisdottir, and Tennil Reed-Beuerlein sit third through fifth with 20 points or less between each position. Tomorrow is going to be wild.
For the men, Mat Fraser has proven to be virtually unstoppable ending his Day 3 with two back-to-back event wins, increasing his lead to 174 points. Trailing behind him is Noah Ohlsen, who moved from the fourth place spot at the beginning of the day, to second place to close out the day. Ohlsen, in his fourth Games appearance is hungry for his first spot on the podium. He has never placed higher than 8th on the big stage.
photo: CrossFit Games
Speaking of hungry, Brent Fikowski will begin the final day of competition in third place. Last year, he narrowly missed the podium in his rookie season after being edged out by fellow countryman Patrick Vellner. Then, there is Ricky Garard, the rookie from Australia who has also made an impressive rookie debut sitting right behind Fikowski in fourth. Only 44 points are separating second through fourth.
However, none of these men are safe, especially with Games veteran Scott Panchik in contention, rounding out the top 5. Panchik has experience, six years of Games experience if you count 2017, and his worst finish is 6th place. He’s never made it on the podium, either. Over the past three days, he’s made a slow, quiet assent up the leaderboard and is definitely going to be an athlete to watch during the final day of competition for the 2017 Reebok CrossFit Games.
Looking across the leaderboards for both the Individual Men and Women, something to take notice of are the diversity in the standings. Between the two fields, there are over six countries represented. The most in Games history.
photo: CrossFit Games
The Teams kicked off Day 3 with Big Bob. The event was a silent killer as teams first had to pull the six man sled, totaling 1135lbs, 150 feet, just to turn around and push it back. It was a quick burn as almost every team completed the event in under two minutes. That was just the first event.
Following Bob was “Couple Couplets” which featured synchronized bar muscle-ups, GHD sit-ups, calories on the Assault Bike, and partner deadlifts. The final event, like the strongman event for the individuals, empowered teams to choose their own order and the exercise best suited for each pair. The pairings were the bookends of worm cleans.
Wasatch CrossFit chose wisely as they earned themselves their second event win of the day, positioning them 60 points ahead of defending Affiliate Cup Champs, CrossFit Mayhem. Over 100 points behind them is CrossFit Fort Vancouver, one of the only teams to compete in the Affiliate Cup since it’s inception nine years ago. Reebok CrossFit One and CrossFit Milford sit fourth and fifth. Will the Wasatch Brutes be able to hold off Rich Froning and Team Mayhem? You’ll have to watch to find out.
Check out our viewing guide for the schedule of events and how to watch here.
By Katie Ferraro
