Asia Team Report: Day 2

May 24, 2014

Akshay Mathur and Dexter Keasberry

Shogun CrossFit furthered their lead on the second day of the regional.

 

Spectators from various parts of the world poured into the KBS 88 Sports World arena to watch their home teams take each other on, on this cool and breezy Saturday morning.

Prominent amongst them were spectators from Hong Kong, supporting Team CrossFit Asphodel, the Middle East cheering squad backing CrossFit Utmost, RCF Lifespark 37 and CrossFit Quwwa, as well as the large military contingent from Japan cheering CrossFit Asia and CrossFit Misawa.

Local fans had a lot to celebrate too, since almost half of the teams in all heats call Korea their home.

Seven points separate the top two teams in Asia and the race to the top has already begun, with Shogun CrossFit taking the lead on Day 1.

Day 2 promised plenty more action, starting off with a tough couplet of rope climbs and thrusters aimed at showcasing both bodyweight and weightlifting abilities.

Team Events 4 & 5

The team’s female competitors took on the rope climb and thruster couplet first for Event 4, and were immediately followed by their team’s male competitors for Event 5.

The couplet did not just test strength and endurance; it also tested communication skills and the team’s ability to strategize through the workout. Once an athlete picked up the barbell, it couldn’t touch the ground again until all the reps were completed. Adding to the challenge, each athlete had to complete at least one rep of each movement in each round. That forced the athletes to find a way to transfer the barbell to their teammates, and the teams that were the most efficient were handsomely rewarded in the standings.

In the first heat, many of the women struggled with the 95-lb. thrusters. After climbing the rope without issue, they would slow dramatically at the barbell. The women of Team CFGN and Team CrossFit Maru put in stand out performances in that heat, but still couldn’t complete the 120 95-lb. thrusters and 24 rope climbs within the 10-minute time cap.

The weight started to look lighter in the second heat. The women of CrossFit Utmost who went on to win the event, showcased exemplary teamwork and skill, often stringing five to six thrusters in one go and two rope climbs per person.

“Communication between us was key, we kept counting each others’ reps and kept talking to each other. We also sandwiched the bar between athletes to prevent it from slipping,” said Reyhana Sallie, from CrossFit Utmost, the Event 4 winning team.

At the time-cap, the women of CrossFit Utmost had 12 thrusters and 6 rope climbs left to go.

Right after the women of CrossFit Utmost were done, the men of Warehouse Warriors took over the competition floor and put on a show in the final round of 30 135-lb. thrusters and six rope climbs. They had been shadowing the heat leaders throughout the event, and in the last round as the time counted closer to the time cap they sped up. When the clock hit 10 minutes, the Warehouse Warriors had just two rope climbs left.

“Communication was key in this workout; we were an all male team in this event, so we had to try extra hard to keep talking to each other,” said Colin Philips of Warehouse Warriors.

In the third heat, the women of Shogun CrossFit took the lead with CrossFit TLV and CrossFit Misawa close behind. As the event progressed, the three teams traded the lead until CrossFit TLV slipped on a rope climb in the second round.

CrossFit Shogun got ahead, and managed a few quick thrusters before the time cap. At the cap, Shogun had 17 thrusters and six rope climbs left, which was good enough to take second on Event 4 behind CrossFit Utmost.

The last heat for the men began with most teams completing sets of ten thrusters before handing the bar over to their peers. Shogun CrossFit looked to take an early lead, but CrossFit Misawa, who showed exceptional proficiency in their rope climbing skills, prevented them from running away with Event 5.

Misawa’s Mike DeRocco was especially noteworthy as he rushed up the rope using pure arm strength, giving his team a significant lead. Misawa were the first team to finish this workout within the designated time cap.

“We focused on quality of reps and took time to rest and recover. Our coach came up with a rep scheme that targeted each persons strength and weakness and this really helped us win the event,” said Joseph Hoh from CrossFit Misawa.

Event 4 Results
1. CrossFit Utmost (10:18)
2. Shogun CrossFit (10:23)
3. InnerFight (10:28)

Event 5 Results
1. CrossFit Misawa (8:51)
2. InnerFight (9:25)
3. CrossFit 0260 (9:27)

Team Event 6


The strict handstand push-ups were many teams’ downfall.

But not hometown affiliate CrossFit Teddygym. The newcomers to the Asia Regional managed to send their men speeding through their final set of strict handstand push-ups, while their fellow competitors struggled to raise themselves off the floor.

The crowds screamed in support when Maria Albaladejo not only got one strict handstand push-up—a first for the female team competitors—but finished all nine, and even returned to the wall after the hang power cleans and burpees within the 21-minute time cap.

“I have only been CrossFitting for a year and a half and have never done any sort of exercise before this. We barely made it to regionals, so our goal was to take everything and learn from the experience. I think we have accomplished our goal,” Albaladejo said.

As it turns out, local boxes have a healthy level of competition between them, so when Albaladejo saw another girl from CrossFit Fighting Spirit in the next lane starting her strict handstand pushups, she pushed herself further, simply stating that, “I was trying to keep pace with her.”

By now the screams from the crowds were near deafening levels, packing the entire stadium to show their support to their teams.

Throughout the event, CrossFit Asia and Shogun CrossFit took turns in leading the race towards the end. Each team placed their strongest members right at the start to gain valuable time in getting the reps in. In the end, it was Shogun CrossFit that took the decisive win for the event, positioning their strongest woman Jennifer Albee, last.

“I saw the girls in the other lanes; I didn’t realize the time at all, I just kept going as fast as I could,” Albee said.

“The strategy was the same for the entire weekend. But the girls definitely made up for it. We did way better than expected! It was the adrenaline, and the crowds waving and cheering us on,” said Michael O’Brien a member from Shogun CrossFit.

At the end of Day 2, Shogun CrossFit have maintained their position on top of the Leaderboard.

Event 6 Results
1. Shogun CrossFit (22:43)
2. InnerFight (22:50)
2. CrossFit Asia (22:50)
4. CrossFit Misawa (22:55)

Overall Standings
1. Shogun CrossFit (16)
2. InnerFight (26)
3. CrossFit Asia (27)
4. CrossFit CSTL (42)
5. CrossFit Misawa (43)
6. CrossFit Utmost (47)
7. CrossFit TLV (54)
8. CrossFit 0260 (57)
9. CrossFit Hub (66)
10. CrossFit Zest (69)