Tiago Lopes: No Longer Shy

April 4, 2012

Thomas Patton

​A Dark Horse Makes a Name for Himself
Another dark horse breaks into the top of the Latin America Leaderboard in the CrossFit Games Open. Tiago Lopes from Sao Paulo, Brazil is in 5th place in the region.

He’s been CrossFitting for two years, but has only just started making a name for himself among the CrossFit community in Latin America. Unknown just six weeks ago, he now is a threat to the men of the region.

Lopes is a personal trainer, training people in modalities such as pilates, gymnastics, sprinting and circuit training. When he discovered CrossFit, “I changed the way I think about exercise and have been working with CrossFit ever since,” he says. “I aspire to help as many people as I can to change their lives and achieve greater results and a better quality of life with CrossFit.”

Taking on the Open, and Life
He says CrossFit has helped him look at life´s challenges differently. “I no longer shy away from tough situations, physically, mentally and emotionally. I am no longer afraid of the unexpected. I feel prepared for any difficulty that life throws my way,” he says.

Lopes has been juggling his CrossFit training with a 9-month-old baby, a new business, a torn ligament in his knee – which he says CrossFit has helped heal – and competing in the Open. He says Open Workout 12.1 was in his wheelhouse. “I love burpees, and I was pleased with my performance,” he says. “I was a bit disappointed with my results in Workouts 12.2 and 12.3. I had higher expectations.”

He finished 12.1 with 120 reps, which was only good enough for 29th in the region. In Workout 12.2, he managed to get one snatch at 165 pounds, and although that only landed him in 51st place in the region for that workout, he found himself in 16th place. With a new motivation, he finished in 9th place for Workout 12.3, which bumped him up to 12th place in the region. “I love wall balls, double-unders and muscle-ups,” he says of 12.4. “I was able to get a satisfying score.”

He completed 258 reps for a 6th place, for both the workout and in the region overall. All he had to do now was to come back with a strong performance on 12.5 to make a name for himself. “I was very happy when I saw the fifth WOD. Pull-ups and thrusters are a combination that I’ve been working on improving since last year,” he says.

He finished with a score of 110 reps, 18th in the region for that workout. That was good enough to squeeze him into 5th place. Lopes is clearly one of those gifted CrossFitters who is above average in every modality and domain, and although he did not turn in the best scores for any one workout, his consistency and well roundness is what makes him a competitive athlete.

Heading to Regionals
Lopes is very happy with his overall performance and he feels very ready to go tackle the Latin America Regional. He aspires to finish in the top five. “I’m 34, but I feel healthier and have more energy than when I was in my mid-20s,” he says. “CrossFit has helped me be fitter than ever before.”

What he loves the most about CrossFit “is the atmosphere and the camaraderie. CrossFit isn’t just a gym. It’s a community.”