Video By: CrossFit HQ
The CrossFit community said it was going to be more competitive this year with the new Regional format for the CrossFit Games season.
They were right.
Out of the quarter-of-a-million who registered for the 2015 CrossFit Open, only 20 in each Region will advance to the next level of competition: one of the nine Super Regionals, this May. This compared, to the total of 48 in each Region who advanced to Regionals last year.
Every year throughout the Games’ season, upsets are to be expected, and ‘underdog stories’ always find their way into the mix.
This year’s results were no different, as the ‘champ’, Rich Froning, took second-place in the Open: a first for him since 2012, as 2014’s “Second Fittest Man in the World” Mat Fraser took first in the world for the men’s side. However, Fraser said he knows winning the Open is only one small piece to a bigger puzzle.
“Looking at the Leaderboard, it’s not like I walked away with it. We went back and forth each week. He got me on a couple reps or couple pounds here, I got him by a couple reps. That wasn’t even just with Rich, that was with other guys too; just a constant reminder that there is always guys right there,” Fraser said.
As for the women, while last year’s champ, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, looked like she would take first place throughout the first four weeks of the Open, her performance on 15.5 (92nd place worldwide, with a time of 7:21) set her back to a 5th-place overall finish. Rising to the top: 2011 & 2012 “Fittest Woman in the World” Annie Thorisdottir solidified the first place spot.
“It’s definitely a great start to the season. This was a very pleasant surprise. Obviously the main goal is to try to win the Games-but I am excited about (the final results),” Thorisdottir said.
As for the remainder of each of the 17 Regions, several veterans, along some fresh faces, were seen across the boards.
Top individuals in each region included:
Africa
Men-Jason Smith
Women- Jamie Greene
Asia
Men-Fiodor Serkov
Women-Marianna Tzourtek
Australia
Men-Dean Linder-Leighton
Women-Kara Webb (back in action after withdrawing from the 2014 CrossFit Games due to a back injury that was aggravated in the Midline march)
Canada East
Men-Alex Vigneault
Women-Carol-Ann Reason Thibault
Canada West
Men-Mitch Barnard
Women-Emily Abbott
Central East
Men-Rich Froning
Women-Julie Foucher
Europe
Men-Steven Fawcett
Women-Annie Thorisdottir
Latin America
Men-Orlando Trejo
Women-Antonelli Nicole
Mid-Atlantic
Men-Ben Smith
Women-Christy Adkins
North Central
Men-Jacob Heppner
Women-Stacie Tovar
North East
Men-Mat Fraser
Women-Chelsey Hughes
Northern California
Men-Jason Khalipa
Women-Kirsten Pedri
North West
Men-Ben Stoneberg
Women-Carleen Matthews
South Central
Men-Jordan Cook
Women-Margaux Alvarez
South East
Men-Travis Mayer
Women-Emily Bridgers
With 2013’s ‘Champ’ Samantha Briggs now representing the ‘Dirty South’, taking 8th in the Region.
Southern California
Men-Rasmus Wisbech Andersen (former European competitor, and 2014 CrossFit Games CrossFit Invictus Team Member)
Women-Lauren Fisher
South West-
Men-Christian Lucero
Women-Camille Leblanc-Bazinet
In an interview following the closing of the Open, Rory McKernon from CrossFit HQ interviewed four-time Games’ athlete Dan Bailey on his 4th place SoCal Regional finish and 12th place worldwide finish—a new standing after finishing 1st place in the SoCal Regional and 4th placeworldwide in 2014.
Bailey talked about the increased level of competition this year.
“Last year, after I finished, I said, ‘I don’t know if I am going to compete next year, because I don’t know if I have what it takes…I don’t know if can win. And as an athlete…once you start to let go of that top spot, it takes a lot out of you in terms of your competitiveness…so (even this year), I have had a lot of talks with people, and they say, ‘I don’t think you should stop’… look at areas you improve…and do I still think I can do it (win the Games)? Yes. The smallest amount of happiness would be to go to the Games and take 5th overall this year—the highest I’ve been is 6th, but I really have my eyes on a podium spot.”
Bailey echoes the thoughts and hopes of many athletes who made the cut to advance to the next stage this year: Super Regionals.
Come May 15th, the new Regional schedule is as follow
WEEKEND 1: MAY 15-17, 2015
South Regional | Dallas, Texas
Atlantic Regional | Atlanta, Georgia
WEEKEND 2: MAY 22-24, 2015
California Regional | Del Mar, California
East Regional | Hartford, Connecticut
Pacific Regional | Wollongong, Australia
WEEKEND 3: MAY 29-31, 2015
West Regional | Tacoma, Washington
Central Regional | Minneapolis, Minnesota
Meridian Regional | Copenhagen, Denmark
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