Marlene Andersson and Michael Mogard move into the lead after the second day of competition in Seoul.
With an audience composed of enthusiasts from up to 11 different time zones, family and friends have travelled far and wide to see their loved ones showcase the work they have put in for the past year.
Notably so was the Jacobsson family, who have travelled from South Carolina, USA, in support of Timmy Jacobsson, an unaffiliated contender for the title of the fittest in Asia, who is returning for his second year at the Asia Regional.
“I’m loving it. There’s a real fraternity of support for each other,” said Jacobsson Sr.
Day 2 proved that champions come in all shapes and sizes, with Yuko Sakuyama, the pint-sized powerhouse, winning Event 4, and Taylor Rank, who stands at 185 cm (6’3”), taking first place in Event 5.
Women
Event 4
While regional events traditionally play to the strengths of athletes who hail from further afield, Event 4 was a true showcase of talent that is native to the region.
The spotlight favored the petite builds of Song Hee Jung, Linda Hyunh and Yuko Sakuyama, whose proficiency in bodyweight-based movements rewarded them with a strong lead from the beginning.
While repetitions eluded most of the women at the strict handstand pushups, Linda Hyunh of CrossFit Asia claimed her lead early by doing her first 21 unbroken.
“I did the first round of handstand push-ups unbroken to scare the other girls,” admitted Hyunh.
Candice Ford’s comfort with gymnastics separated her from the crowd in the 50 handstand push-ups, a performance reminiscent of last year’s Event 6. However, with the added caveat of requiring athletes to perform these movements strictly, the playing field was evened between the veterans and the newcomers.
Sitting in second and tied with Ford, the small-framed Sakuyama was excited going into the event.
“I like strict handstand push-ups because I can’t do the kipping movements well,” Sakuyama explained.
Predictably so, Sakuyama took a decisive lead from the beginning – a reminder of her strong performance yesterday. Coming closest to match that speed was Marlene Andersson, whose relative comfort with the movement kept her in close contention with the powerlifter.
“I was watching Marlene, but because of the way the bars were lined up, I couldn’t tell which set she was on. It was confusing,” Sakuyama confessed, attributing her speedy pace to being unable to strategize appropriately.
Towards the middle rounds, Sakuyama’s inexperience began to show as she slowed down significantly on her handstand push-ups. Careful not to redline, Andersson’s strategy kept her safely in second throughout the event, but it wasn't enough to undo the lead from Sakuyama’s blisteringly fast pace.
As Sakuyama dashed across the finishing line at 11:25, the crowd rose to their feet, with the athlete pumping her fist in the air after securing her first win this weekend.
“She’s gone from being Japan’s Sakuyama to Asia’s Sakuyama… and next, the world!” exclaimed Toshiaki Nishizawa, a fellow CrossFit athlete from CrossFit Daikanyama.
Event Results 4
1. Yuko Sakuyama (11:25)
2. Marlene Andersson (14:41)
3. Linda Hyunh (15:51)
Event 5
Athletes in Heat 1 and 2 struggled to get past the elusive fourth legless rope ascent, and while the crowd cheered every attempt, they were not always rewarded with the athletes tapping the 14-foot mark.
The event gained momentum when the ladies of Heat 3 took to the floor.
Sakuyama bolted off the starting line with great purpose. She climbed the rope using a scissor-kick style kip and managed to lead the field till the second round of rope climbs.
Then she failed. And failed again.
The next rep eluded her for the next three tries, which played right into Andersson’s plan. Andersson sped past the rest of the field, executing her legless rope climbs with great finesse and speed, winning the event almost 23 seconds ahead of second place finisher Choi Mi-Jung.
“I was looking forward to this event and I wanted to win it. Yuko is a very consistent athlete, but in this case, I have longer arms. She is a beast and I really wanted to catch-up to her,” said Andersson.
Choi, a South Korean athlete, seemed quite surprised at the prospect of being runner-up to Andersson, but was not taken aback by the shouts and cries from the local crowd upon each ascent.
“I didn’t expect to finish within the time cap; I thought it went off really well. The crowd cheering me helped me a lot,” said Choi.
Event 5 Results
1. Marlene Andersson (6:09)
2. Choi Mi-Jung (6:32)
3. Crystal Sullivan (7.42)
Overall Standings
1. Marlene Andersson (19)
2. Candice Ford (20)
3. Crystal Sullivan (23)
4. Yuko Sakuyama (26)
5. Katherine Althoff (37)
6. Laura Apollonio Bergen (43)
7. Vanessa Fung (44)
8. Choi Mi-Jung (45)
9. Moe Sakio (53)
10. Jennifer Scott (53)
Men
Event 4
In similar vein, the men’s event opened with early dominance from local favorites Sul Min Choi and Young-Jun Kim. Both athletes separated early from the rest in their respective heats, holding onto top places by showing equal comfort with the heavy barbells.
As the two pulled ahead of Leaderboard favorites, they credited it to having friends and family on-site, showing love for the athletes as their grinded through the workout.
“She’s my biggest supporter. Last year, she competed as an athlete, but decided to cheer this year,” Kim said about his girlfriend.
Another stand out athlete was new addition to the Asia Regional and CrossFit Sentinel One’s coach, Eric Carmody. Despite the former football player’s 205 lb. stature, Carmody surprised the crowd by following closely behind Kim.
As signs of fatigue began to show in the other athletes, Carmody unexpectedly peeled away from defending champion, Michael Mogard, by remaining consistent with the strict handstand push-ups.
“Handstand push-ups were my goats at the last (South East) Regional; they slowed me down considerably. My coach, Jeff and I worked hard on making sure that doesn’t happen again. It definitely paid off,” Carmody said.
Other fan favorites, Mikko Aronpää and Michael Mogard kept consistent paces throughout the workout, but failed to regain lost ground after Kim and Carmody took their respective leads in the event. The two would drop on the Leaderboard to 12th and 6th, respectively, on Event 4.
Given Thompson’s aptitude with bodyweight-based movements, he entered the workout as a key athlete to watch, but much to the crowd’s surprise, he decidedly began with breaking up his handstand push-ups early, leaving the agile athlete to play catch-up far behind several athletes.
“I wanted to treat it like a marathon. I knew that if I hit that wall, I was gone. Smooth is fast,” Thompson explained.
After the Seoul favorites took the two top spots, Speedy Thompson proved that smooth truly is fast, by claiming third place, keeping the athlete narrowly within the top 10 despite a 33rd place finish in the hang snatch event on Day 1.
Event 4 Results
1. Young-Jun Kim (10:19)
2. Eric Carmody (11:32)
3. Ben Thompson (12:29)
Event 5
After a particularly dominant showing by local favorites in the earlier event, tides were turned come Event 5.
Ivan Marjanovic of Kuwait set the bar high early in Heat 1 when he crossed the finish line at 3:29, securing the first-time regional competitor a third place finish on Event 5.
“I focused on jumping as high as possible, and getting the hips involved. Being tall definitely helped,” said Marjanovic.
Despite displaying proficiency at the legless rope climbs early on, some men burned out quickly and struggled to keep up towards the end. Keeping in true CrossFit spirit, however, athletes never found themselves lonesome by the ropes, as they dropped to the ground multiple times.
YooSik Kim from Daejeon, South Korea, saw his strong start quickly diminished as his forearm strength began to give way mid-event. With one minute left on the clock to complete his final climb, the he found himself surrounded by a thunderous crowd as he made a final go at the rope. The athlete failed to complete the final climb, but that did not stop the crowd from chanting his name in unison.
After performances which placed him no higher than fifth, and as low as 41st, Taylor Rank astounded the crowd by stopping the clock at 3:25--a finish comparable to top performances around the world--landing Rank a much needed first place.
By the time the final heat took center stage, the crowd was on its feet. Throughout the first five rounds, the men took turns leading the pack, with no particular athlete securing a confident start.
As the men leapt at the ropes and ascended rapidly, Speedy Thompson began to peel away from the group to take the first prominent lead.
“My plan is to go balls to the walls. I want to send a statement – this is my pace, try and catch me, if you can,” Thompson boldly proclaimed prior to the start of the event.
Stealing glances at the top seeds, Thompson began to pace, knowing that he was a full rope climb ahead of both Mogard and Carmody, but failing to see that Shingo Moromasa in the neighboring lane was quickly gaining speed from behind.
After a remarkable win at the handstand walk event yesterday, Moromasa, a quietly confident athlete, admitted that he wanted to keep a tunnel vision, and focus on his personal performance.
“Ben was ahead of me, but I could tell in round seven that he was tired so I sped it up,” said Moromasa.
Stealthily working his way ahead, Moromasa moved his final marker ahead of Thompson for his final climb, arresting the crowd’s attention. Noticing he had suddenly lost his lead, Thompson made a final valiant attempt at chasing the Japanese athlete, but unfortunately came up short.
Leaving much to wonder was Mikko Aronpää. His noticeably slow start to the day with a 12th place finish on Event 4 was followed by a deadly 32nd place finish on Event 5, the heavyweight athlete failed to keep up with his lighter counterparts. With today’s finishes, Aronpää has dropped from 1st overall to 8th.
“Day 2 was not something that I was looking forward to. Tomorrow will be better,” said Aronpää.
At this point, should the three-time Games competitor defy expectations and make a fourth trip back to Carson, it would be nothing short of a miracle. To return to the Games, Aronpää would have to close a 27-point gap with Mogard in just two events.
Event 5 Results
1. Taylor Rank (03:25)
2. Shingo Moromasa (03:27)
3. Ben Thompson (03:29)
Overall Standings
1. Michael Mogard (35)
2. Phil Hesketh (42)
3. Eric Carmody (43)
4. Shingo Moromasa (46)
5. Ben Thompson (46)
6. Zohar Lipkin (57)
7. Utku Tuncer (58)
8. Mikko Aronpää (62)
9. Young-Jun Kim (67)
10. Clay Braden (77)
