CrossFit Platinum finished Event 3 in 7:13 -- a performance comparable to top times in other regions.
Day 2 in Africa begins with four teams, 13 men and three women at Camps Bay High School in Cape Town, South Africa. How will it end?
Men
Event 3
1. Christian Oman (04.31.0)
2. David Levey (4.36.0)
3. Nico van der Walt (4.58.0)
With the field narrowed down to 13 athletes at the end of Day 1, all eyes were on Neil Scholtz who hoped to retain the lead he established the previous day.
Despite being regarded as a very good lifter, Scholtz couldn’t match the challenge offered by Christian Oman. Oman dominated the final men’s heat from start to finish to win the event. “My body was tired, but my mind said stuff it,’’ said an elated Oman afterwards. “I took it down a notch on the third round, so I was strong for the final round,” he said when asked about his strategy.
He did add he was good for another four sets.
Another crowd favorite, David Levey, finished in 2nd place, just five seconds behind Oman. The biggest surprise of the event was Nico van der Walt who started the day in 12th place. Van der Walt dominated his heat to secure a 3rd place finish for the event.
Woman
Event 3
1. Rika Diedericks (10.10.0)
2. Wilna Appel (DNF)
3. Estevan Strauss (DNF)
Perhaps the most heartbreaking event for the weekend was the third women’s event. Only three women qualified to start the day, but the demanding one-arm dumbbell snatch left Rika Diedericks as the last woman standing. With her significant strength advantage, Diedericks finished the workout in just more than 10 minutes.
Appel, who weighs 52 kg, used a split snatch to tackle the 32 kg dumbbell, but reached the time cap three reps short of qualifying – a disappointing end to a brilliant competition for her. “I’m obviously disappointed. I was stronger with my right arm than my left arm, which was really giving me problems,” she said. “Even though I didn’t finish the 10 reps, I still did better than I expected.”
New kid on the block Estevan Strauss only managed three reps. She’s proved her metal and will be an athlete to look out for next year.
Team Event 3
1. CrossFit Platinum (7.13)
2. Team Cape CrossFit (12.34)
3. CrossFit PBM (12.49.0)
4. B4C Fitness (13.00)
The unpredictability of CrossFit became clear with a surprise finish in Event 3 that left the top two teams from Day 1 eliminated. B4C started the day as leaders, with PBM facing an almost unassailable three points below. When PBM’s Frederick Engelbrecht finished the one-arm dumbbell snatch just a second ahead of CrossFit Platinum’s Andre de Bois, a strong competition was expected. However, when De Bois’ teammate Beatrix Snyman began, Platinum broke away. Snyman was unstoppable on the snatches. While the other women struggled to get through the demanding dumbbell task, Platinum finished the event in a time of 7:13 – a performance comparable to the top times in other regions.
Cape CrossFit’s Ellie Hagopian was the only other female athlete to finish the minimum requirement of 10 one-arm dumbbell snatches, qualifying Cape CrossFit to progress on to Event 4. PBM’s Annemarie van der Walt and B4C’s Natalie Irvin failed to snatch a single rep, leaving both these teams eliminated for the rest of the weekend.
