The events for the 2013 CrossFit
Invitational, presented by Reebok have been announced.
Team USA
Team World
Tempelhof Airport
The events for the 2013 CrossFit Invitational, presented by Reebok were announced at 8 p.m. CEST at a press conference at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin.
At least most of them.
In true CrossFit fashion, some aspects of the 75-minute competition still remain secret.
Event 1 will be mixed-pairs Jackie for total time—the same workout performed to open the team competition at the 2013 Regionals. The twist for the Invitational is that three Team USA pairs will compete at the same time as three Team World pairs, and all will be ranked against each other. The winning pair will take 6 points, second will take 5, and so on, with the sixth-place pair earning one point. After the event, the points spread will range from 1 point to 9 points if one side sweeps the top three positions.
Event 2 will have three females competing as a unit, and Event 3 will feature the three males. They will perform the same workout for total time with different loads, and each event is worth 3 points:
15 dumbbell burpee box jumps (in unison)
30 pair deadlifts (approximately 585/405 lb.; two athletes on a single bar, with the third rotating in)
30 overhead squats (225/135 lb.; each athlete can do 10 reps max per set, and each must do at least one rep per set)
15 muscle-ups each (not in unison)
Event 4 is a mixed-pair test of power: max combined clean weight. Before the workout, the coach of each team will have to select one pair to compete for 4 points, one to compete for 3 points, and one to compete for 2 points.
Event 5 has not yet been announced, but Dave Castro said it will contain “very unique elements that will involve a lot of teamwork.” It will feature all six athletes working together and will be worth 7 points.
CrossFit Games champion Sam Briggs is already thinking about strategy, particularly on the partner deadlifts. She’s about three inches taller than Kara Webb and five inches taller than Camille Leblanc-Bazinet.
“That’s a different aspect. It changes how you do it,” she said.
Briggs, who was immediately pulled in to a strategy meeting led by coach Mads Jacobsen, said she didn’t think it would be a good plan to stack a team for Jackie but rather “try to get the most points available with a balanced attack.”
Jason Khalipa, Games champ from 2008 and second-place finisher in 2013, had a similar strategy.
“I think you gotta put yourself in the position to get the most points possible. If that means stacking a team, you just gotta do it,” he said.
Khalipa felt he might be best paired with Val Voboril for the event, which was fine with her. The Sourthern California teacher knew Khalipa set the Jackie record at Regionals (5:04) and joked that she’d just coast and let Khalipa clean up. The final decision will go to coach Matt Chan, who competed for Team USA last year.
In addition to Briggs, Webb and Leblanc-Bazinet, the world squad is rounded out by Chad Mackay, Frederik Aegidius and Albert-Dominic Larouche. Team USA comprises, Khalipa, Voboril, Rich Froning, Ben Smith, Talayna Fortunato and Lindsey Valenzuela—or “Venezuela” if you ask Briggs.
The competition will take place at 7 p.m. CEST (10 a.m. PT) on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Tempelhof Airport in Berlin. The competition will be broadcast live on Eurosport, and fans will also be able to watch the event live at Games.CrossFit.com.
