Regional Report: A Day Full of Surprises in Africa

May 5, 2012

Dave Large & Riaan Hofmeyr

Games competitor Danie du Preez gets his second 1st place finish in Event 4.

A day full of surprises for Day 2 of the Africa Regional brought its share of heartbreak and surprises, with top teams and athletes falling away.  

The biggest surprise for the day was CrossFit Platinum. After a dismal performance in Day 1, this Johannesburg based team went into Day 2 at the bottom of the Leaderboard. After a devastating performance in both team events, Platinum emerged as new stars on the continent, finishing one point ahead of their closest rival Cape CrossFit.  
 
The demands of Event 3 also took their toll on the female competitors, with two of the three remaining athletes not making it past the compulsory first stage.
 
Men
 
Event 3
 
1. Christian Oman (4:31)
2. David Levey (4:36)
3. Nico van der Walt (4:58)
 
Day 2 started off with only 13 men remaining in the individual competition and Neil Scholtz leading the pack by five points. Event 3 brought a dramatic change to the Leaderboard and one elimination as Garth High failed to qualify. Scholtz’s 11th place finish diminished his chances of winning the competition, while Oman’s win staked his claim for 1st place.
 
Event 4
 
1. Danie du Preez (22:30)
2. David Levey (22:43)
3. Jason Smith (22:50)
 
Event 4 kicked off with Oman leading the pack, but 5 minutes into the workout, he found himself losing power. “I had a game plan for the workout, but I got caught by surprise,” he says. “My body just didn’t respond and I gassed out.”  
 
While Oman was down on power, Danie du Preez was the first to finish the 50 back squats, with Levey close behind. Although both reached the final pull-up stage at the same time, du Preez got through all 40 pull-ups before the time cap. Oman finished the heat third, but his score wasn’t high enough to top Jason Smith’s time of 22:50 from the previous heat. 
 
This placement revived Smith’s hopes of a good finish for the weekend. “I feel confident and tomorrow’s events will play to my strengths,” he says. “If I can finish in the top three I would have achieved my goal,” said the Johannesburg-based athlete, who goes into Day 3 in 5th place.
 
Overall
 
1. David Levey (13 points)
2. Christian Oman (16 points)
3. Danie du Preez (22 points)
 
In what was a reflection of the unpredictability of CrossFit and the stronger competition in the Africa Region, Day 2 saw several changes to the men’s Leaderboard. Despite not winning an event, Levey’s consistent performance has him placed as leader of the pack, three points above Oman. Oman is still determined to win the competition in his home city. “I’m going to eat well tonight and come back strong tomorrow.”
 
Women
 
Event 3
 
1. Rika Diedericks (10.10.0)
2. Wilna Appel (DNF)
3. Estevan Strauss (DNF)
 
In a heartbreaking result, Wilna Appel and young Estevan Strauss’ hopes of reaching the CrossFit Games were dashed, as they were unable to complete 10 of the one-arm dumbbell snatches required to progress on to Event 4. Diedericks however, reached the 10-minute time cap 10 reps short of completing the workout.
 
Event 4
 
1. Rika Diedericks (27:59)
 
With very little to lose, Diedericks opted to merely do one rep and take a time penalty on Event 4. “I want to keep as much energy as I can for the muscle-ups tomorrow because that’s by far my weakest point,” Diedericks says. 
 
The weekend is far from over for the Cape CrossFit athlete. She added that the elimination of Appel was a bittersweet disappointment. “I was looking forward to competing against her,” she says. “We went to the same high school and had the same training foundation.”
 
Overall
 
1. Rika Diedericks (5)
 
Team 
 
Event 3
 
1. CrossFit Platinum (7:13)
2. Team Cape CrossFit (12:34)
3. CrossFit PBM (12:49)
4. B4C Fitness (13:00)
 
Cape CrossFit and CrossFit Platinum were the only teams to progress after Event 3, after the women in PBM and B4C Fitness were unable to complete the required 10 dumbbell snatches. Platinum’s performance in this event was comparable to those in other Regionals.
 
Event 4
 
1. CrossFit Platinum (30:25)
2. Team Cape CrossFit (33:20)
 
Event 4 saw CrossFit Platinum establish the lead gained in Event 3. As it kicked off, it seemed the result could go either way as Susan Klaasen (CrossFit Platinum) and Natalia Da Mota (Cape CrossFit) completed their back squats at the same time. 
 
Klaasen was quickest to the pull-up bar, and along with teammate Lisa Reichmann, steadily grew a lead over Cape CrossFit. The Platinum women completed their portion of the workouts to give their men four minutes before the time cap.
 
For CrossFit Platinum’s coach Julian Reichman, the second win of the day was a result of careful planning and focussed training. “You’ve got to be smart when you train, and our strategy was to be strong and steady and play to everybody’s strengths,” Reichman says.
 
Overall
 
1. CrossFit Platinum (9 points)
2. Team Cape CrossFit (10 points)
 
There is only one point separating Platinum and Cape CrossFit. It’s anyone’s game on Day 3.