"It's great fun, the Open was a fantastic bonus, but really, getting in and training each week with a great bunch of people is what it's all about."
Photos courtesy of Karl Moyse.
David Young signed up for the 2014 Open simply to “be a part of it all.”
The 53-year-old, who has spent the majority of his adult life scaffolding and working on building sites, started CrossFit just 18 months ago.
Going into this year’s CrossFit Games season, and his first-ever Open, Young didn’t know what to expect. It’s fair to say a top-100 finish in the Masters 50-54 Division was the last thing he would have envisaged.
“I had no expectations for the Open,” Young said. “It was just another workout in my book and I was happy to take part in my first competition.”
“I just love training,” he added. “It keeps me young and active. Throwing down beside the younger guys certainly keeps me on my toes.”
The Open
While Young had no expectations heading into the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games Open, his coach, Brad Simmons from CrossFit Armed in Perth, Australia, had a different outlook.
“Given the right workouts, we were confident he could present well, but weren’t too focused on it,” Simmons said.
“Dave has great work capacity,” Simmons continued. “The younger guys are all aiming to beat his scores, which is amazing when you consider he has 20 to 30 years on most of them.”
However, by the end of 14.1, it appeared Young’s hopes of competing in the qualifier were dashed. With double-unders being one of his biggest weaknesses, Young was only able to compete 147 reps in the workout, leaving him in 1,218th position in his division.
“I was pretty disappointed with that workout. It was frustrating and took forever,” Young said.
“When you come against something you haven’t mastered yet, it’s a real kick in the guts. But all you can do is keep chipping away at it and chalk up the best score you can,” he said.
After Week 1, Young started to climb rapidly up the Leaderboard, placing 60th in his division in 14.2, fifth in 14.4 and then ending the Open with a 26th placing in 14.5.
“I finished on a high point. The last two workouts were right up my street and suddenly I was a lot more interested in where I placed and started comparing my scores with some of the top masters talent,” Young said.
“It became a lot more serious all of a sudden.”
The Qualifier
Young’s performance in the final week of the Open saw him finish in 184th in his division, and qualify for the next stage of competition: the Masters Qualifier. However, he didn’t realize he had made it past the Open until his coaching staff informed him.
From there, the next hurdle was convincing his wife to let him compete in it.
“Every year we take an Easter vacation, just a few days away to recharge,” he said.
“She doesn’t do CrossFit so I don’t think she was too impressed when I mentioned we would have to pass on it this year as the workouts fell over the Easter weekend,” he added. “But having made the cut, I was keen to see where I would finish and hoped for some good workouts.”
With a muscle clean of 90 kg in Event 1, Young failed to break into the top 100 worldwide. However, his performance in Event 2 was much more impressive.
Young completed Amanda in 7:50, placing 17th worldwide.
Double-unders again proved challenging for Young in Event 3 and he finished outside the top 100. But a 63rd-place finish in the final event saw him complete the Masters Qualifier on a positive note.
In the end, Young finished the Masters Qualifier in 95th place. Not enough to see him qualify for the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games, but definitely an impressive result in his first year competing.
Looking Forward
After getting his first taste of the Open, Young is already looking forward to 2015 and how he can improve on this year’s result.
“I will be keeping a close eye on the Games (events) come the finals and testing myself to see how I compare,” he said.
“I have plenty to focus on and one thing is for sure: I won’t be booking any holidays for Easter 2015 just yet!”
Simmons is also beginning preparations for next year.
“In reflecting on what the Open has shown us, we felt the competitors programming offered a strong balance of what is needed for top-level athletes,” he said. “For Dave especially, he will now be forced to tackle his weaknesses head on and I know it’s a challenge he will relish.”
“He has a great baseline of strength and conditioning,” Simmons added. “If he can improve his technical efficiency, mobility and get his Olympic lifting better, he has every chance of making the Games next year.”
But for Young, competing at the CrossFit Games isn’t his main goal. While he would love to compete against the best in his age group one day, it’s not why he turns up to his box every day.
“It’s great fun, the Open was a fantastic bonus, but really, getting in and training each week with a great bunch of people is what it’s all about,” he says.
“CrossFit gives you a better insight into yourself and the Open is a great extension of that.”
