Shogun CrossFit, CrossFit Asia and InnerFight hold the top three spots at the close of the first day of competition.
The Asia Regional started on a somber note.
Before commencing the day’s events, the Regional Director Don King, asked for everyone present to observe a minute of silence in respect for those who lost their lives when the South Korean ferry, Sewol, capsized last month.
The small group of loyal fans who arrived early at KBS 88 Sports World paid their respects to the deceased, and soon after the team events began.
As each heat passed, the stands filled. By the time CrossFit Asia walked onto the competition floor their many fans let out the loudest cheers yet, and rightfully so, as they’re the defending champions from last year.
Of course, CrossFit Asia would like to hold their spot at the top of the Leaderboard, but a host of new teams and determined returnees won’t make that easy.
Chief among them is Shogun CrossFit. The 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games veterans are already forcing CrossFit Asia to fight for the top spot, and the one berth to the CrossFit Games.
Team Event 1
Today’s events proved to be more challenging than many of Asia’s team competitors could handle.
When previously they could choose team members to perform events that feature certain challenging movements, this year there was no hiding from their ‘goats’ since all six teammates have to compete in every event. As has been the case in the past, the muscle-ups proved too much for some of the competitors.
While none of the teams finished the event within the designated 16-minute time cap, it was the female athletes who became the deciding factor in where they eventually placed. Those who could squeeze out a few muscle-ups collected the least penalties and rose towards the top of the Leaderboard.
Heat 1 got off to a less than ideal start with only the men completing their share of the gymnastics movement, while most of the women forfeited.
Case in point was CrossFit Hub: while Trever Love strung all 15 reps, unfortunately his female peers were unable to perform the movement. The team decided to take advantage of the event rules and strategized accordingly.
“Unfortunately the girls don’t have their muscle-ups yet, so we made sure we wasted little time in unnecessary tries and moved on to the clean and jerks quickly,” Love said.
Heat 3 promised a tighter race with Naoya Arasaki from CrossFit Asia finishing all but four muscle-ups in his first attempt. He went on to finish his 15 reps at the 1:25 mark and moved on to the clean and jerks, which didn’t seem to bother the athlete, who is competing as a CrossFit Asia team member for the second year running.
However as the event commenced, CrossFit Asia’s initial lead seemed to whittle away, with Patty Banks, their last female, who got stuck on her last set of muscle-ups.
“I got my first muscle-up in the middle of May, so being able to do even one was pretty good. I am very satisfied with my performance,” said Banks.
Meanwhile, both Warehouse Warriors, who qualified eighth in the Open and Shogun CrossFit crept closer to the lead.
Shogun CrossFit seemed to have a plan and stuck to the rep scheme they had in mind.
“We knew muscle-ups would be the decider so we came up with a very specific plan. The work-to-rest ratio needed to be enough for us to take breaks and not tire our arms and that proved successful,” said Michael O'Brien, their team captain.
This strategy proved successful, as the women were able to amass 12 muscle-ups, finishing the event in second place.
Warehouse Warriors, virtual unknowns in the Asia region, managed to edge out both veteran teams to finish the event in first place.
Team Event 1 Results
1. Warehouse Warriors (16:23)
2. Shogun CrossFit (16:24)
3. CrossFit CSTL (16:25)
Team Events 2 & 3
There was little rest for the weary.
After a predictably frustrating morning with the rings, teams were ushered to the competitive floor for a chance at redemption in Events 2 and 3.
All eyes were on CrossFit Asia as the crowd rose to their feet in the final heat. After multiple failed attempts at 185 lb. by previous athletes in Heats 1 and 2, CrossFit Asia’s Arasaki opened boldly at 205 lb. and quickly gave the crowd a reason to sit up and notice.
Following closely was Shogun CrossFit, whose women’s ability to consistently lift above 95 lb. kept the team in contention for the event.
Heavy hitters aside, a particular former Olympic weightlifter won the crowd in a feat of exceptional strength. Despite not being anywhere close to record-breaking numbers, the crowd roared as Ania Krasnopolska from CrossFit Quwwa stood up smiling with 155 lb.
At the end of the buzzer, it was pretty clear that CrossFit Asia had snatched the most weight consistently within the 8-minute time cap.
“Everyone stayed calm and I think we did pretty great to meet our own expectations. We are pretty happy with this result,” said Stephen Green, team captain.
As athletes took to the floor on their hands, weaknesses immediately became apparent, as multiple team members failed to get far on the max distance handstand walk.
While some adopted a strict gymnastics stance with toes together, the general consensus from most was to do whatever got them moving.
Only a handful of athletes managed to cross one full length of the floor.
Trever Love from CrossFit Hub was the first one to walk 100 feet across the floor, further reinforcing his gymnastics capabilities.
CrossFit CSTL put in a stellar performance, largely owing to Sophie Reed, a professional dancer and aerialist, who walked the entire length of the floor unbroken.
Team Event 2 Results
1.CrossFit Asia (930 lb.)
2.CrosFit TLV (895 lb.)
3.Shogun CrossFit (880 lb.)
3. CrossFit Misawa (880 lb.)
Team Event 3 Results
1.CrossFit CSTL (305 feet)
2.Shogun CrossFit (265 feet)
3.CrossFit Hub (215 feet)
7. CrossFit Asia (180 feet)
Overall Standings
1.Shogun CrossFit (7)
2.CrossFit Asia (14)
3.InnerFight (19)
4. CrossFit TLV (21)
5. CrossFit CSTL (26)
6. CrossFit Zest (28)
7. CrossFit 0260 (30)
8. CrossFit Misawa (31)
9. CrossFit Asphodel (32)
10. CrossFit Hub (33)