"I was looking forward to this event. I was confident ..."
~Beatrix Snyman
It was early afternoon and the crowd was eager for some high-speed action at the 2013 Africa Regional. After the long events of the morning, spectators and athletes alike were looking forward to the short Event 5.
Women
The first two heats of this fast-paced event flew past in a blur of bars and boxes and off-stage tears. The final heat should have come with pause and rewind options, as Beatrix Snyman blitzed through the workout leaving the current leading female athletes, Rika Diedericks, Carla Nunes da Costa and Mona Pretorius chasing her.
“I was looking forward to this event,” Snyman said afterward. “I was confident and I enjoyed the fast pace.”
The action on the platforms looked less like powerlifting and more like speedlifting as Snyman dumped the bar for the box.
It was Snyman on box jumps, springing up effortlessly, followed by Pretorius who seemed to float up. Nunes da Costa and Diedericks were close behind.
Athletes were back on the bar in the same order they’d left it. Dumping the bar didn’t buy Diedericks any time, as Snyman was back on the box ahead, still in the lead. Soon, all four women were jumping on the 24-inch box, while the others were still working through the lifts.
Snyman went from box to bar to box in a few anxious heartbeats and took the win with 3:33, before Diedericks or Nunes da Costa could make it to the box for a final time.
The spectators from her box, CrossFit Platinum, cheered loudly for Snyman.
“The supporters were awesome,” Synman said. “They really helped a lot.”
Olympic lifter Pretorius comes in second, followed by Diedericks, with Nunes da Costa in fourth on the event.
“I feel very good,” Pretorius said. “That was my best time on this workout.”
Event 5
1. Beatrix Snyman (3:33)
2. Mona Pretorius (4:07)
3. Rika Diedericks (4:22)
Overall
1. Rika Diedericks (9)
2. Carla Nunes da Costa (15)
3. Mona Pretorius (19)
Men
Compared to the women’s heats, the men’s moved in slow motion. Lifts were deliberate with most opting to dump the bar between lifts.
“Let’s make some noise” the announcer urged the crowd. Then the DJ turned up the music.
Levy pulsed out the lifts at a metronomic pace, guiding the bar up and down to finish the first set of lifts and make it to the box ahead of his competitors. Gian Smit and Hannes du Toit were hot on his heels. Jason Smith, second after Event 4, labored under the strain of deadlifting with a previous back injury.
It was back to the bar for Levy, still looking focused and calm despite pressure from Jaco Van der Vyer and also Neil Scholtz, now moving in on the leaders.
Van der Vyer and Levy set the rhythm of for the rest of the heat, but on the final round it was Van der Vyer who quick stepped ahead on the box jumps to take first in the heat with Levy in second and Neil Scholtz in third.
“I just stuck to my game plan which was to do seven reps at a time all the way through and then get through the last nine in one go” explains Van der Vyer
But it was Alan Foulis, a relative unknown who won the event with a time of 6:12.
Event 5
1. Alan Foulis (6:12)
2. Jaco Van der Vyver (6:14)
3. Paul Christoforou (6:18)
Overall
1. David Levey (11)
2. Neil Scholtz (32)
3. Jaco Van der Vyver (45)
Team
CrossFit Platinum hit the deadlift/box jump couplet fast, finishing in just under nine minutes. They started their set of 15 deadlifts while Team PBM was still setting up the bar for their set of 21 deadlifts.
CrossFit PBM made consistent progress, but at a far slower pace than the their opponents. In the end, CrossFit Platinum’s early lead ensured their win.
Event 5
1. CrossFit Platinum (8:50)
2. CrossFit PBM (11:29)
Overall
1. CrossFit Platinum (8)
2. CrossFit PBM (11)
