Barnett surprised many in the crowd by completing Event 4 ... against herself.
Here is the shakeout in Latin America after Day 2.
The four teams remaining in competition in Latin America took the field for Event 4 knowing no team at Regionals had been able to complete this workout in the past two weeks.
The female athletes from each team started back squatting and early on, it became evident this event would be a race between CrossFit 7 Mile and CrossFit Cayman ... again. The CrossFit Cayman athletes switched more often while the CrossFit 7 Mile team had its athletes perform longer sets of more reps.
Wanda Brenton, 2010 CrossFit Games athlete and CrossFit 7 Mile competitor explained that the team had a very specific rep scheme planned, designed to benefit each athlete's strengths. “I can handle the weight of the squats and presses better than Jenn [Chailler], so my sets would be longer and Jenn would do larger pull-up sets”, she said.
The female athletes from both teams continued to move quickly through the different exercises and the CrossFit 7 Mile athletes started to build a small lead over CrossFit Cayman. By the time the male athletes from both teams were doing the front squats, CrossFit Cayman had shortened CrossFit 7 Mile’s lead. However, this came a little too late and CrossFit 7 Mile was able to get more reps as time expired.
With this win, CrossFit 7 Mile has won all four workouts and has a 5-point lead going into Day 3. Their ticket to the Home Depot Center is almost solidified after they have constantly excelled in each workout
Event 4 Standings
1st Place: CrossFit 7 Mile (29:05)
2nd Place: CrossFit Cayman (29:15)
3rd Place: CrossFit Guayaquil (30:13)
Overall Standings
1st Place: CrossFit 7 Mile (4)
2nd Place: CrossFit Cayman (9)
3rd Place: CrossFit Guayaquil (12)
Hugo Arroyo won men’s Heat 1 for Event 4 after completing the most reps before the 22 minutes expired. The next heat showed a similar situation as athletes struggled to keep moving through the endless reps.
Evan Yoak from Panama won Heat 2. Yoak got to the third set of pull-ups with one minute left on the clock and was able to complete 21 pull-ups as time ran out. Yoak said the hardest element of the workout for him was the shoulder-to-overhead at 135 pounds. Furthermore, he hadn’t practiced this event a single time and wasn’t even sure what the rep scheme was until right before the workout started. Despite of all of this, Yoak finished tied for 2nd overall in this event.
As Heat 3 started, people in the crowd started to wonder if any individual male athlete would be able to complete this workout. Of course, if anyone in the region could accomplish this, it would be Orlando Trejo. The Peruvian once again did not disappoint. Trejo led his heat from the beginning, and with a steady pace and efficient butterfly pull-ups, he won the event with a time of 19:16. Giancarlo Vera came in 2nd in his heat and holds onto his 2nd place overall.
Event 4 Standings
1st Place: Orlando Trejo (19:16)
2nd Place: Giancarlo Vera (22:49)
2nd Place: Evan Yoak (22:49)
Overall Standings
1st Place: Orlando Trejo (5)
2nd Place: Giancarlo Vera (17)
3rd Place: Conor Murphy (24)
With Tarasa Barnett being the last woman left standing in competition, many thought she would only complete one rep on Event 4 to be able to move onto Day 3. Contrary to predictions, Barnett started back squatting and did not stop.
A few fans in the crowd chanted, “Do it for Rory!” referencing Rory McKernan's comment on Africa Regional female winner Rika Diedericks’ decision to only perform one rep on Event 4 to save herself for Day 3.
Barnett had a great pace and she moved through the different stations gracefully and looked determined to complete the workout. Earlier in the day Barnett spoke with her coach, CJ Martin from CrossFit Invictus, who told her to do this workout at an 80 percent pace and to be careful about not ripping her hands.
Martin reminded Barnett she had been training all year for this and Event 4 would only help her preparation for the CrossFit Games. Barnett was only one rep shy of completing her overhead squats before time expired.
Everything remains the same in the standings and Day 3 will be Barnett against herself to be able to qualify for the second year in a row to the CrossFit Games.
Event 4 Standings
1st Place: Tarasa Barnett (23:11)
Overall Standings
1st Place: Tarasa Barnet (5)
