After a miserable, question-your-entire-existence-type of test like Open Workout 16.1, it’s only fitting to hand out some grades. I’m talking about the top athletes in the sport, so these grades are relative to my very high expectations.
Grade: A+
Automatically awarded to anyone whose last name starts with “Bridge.” Emily Bridge-rs and Josh Bridge-s set the world’s best scores on 16.1. Coincidence? I think not.
Meridian women: Four women from Europe (Sam Briggs, Annie Thorisdottir, Julie Abildgaard, and Mikaela Norman) and one woman from Africa (you go Jamie Greene!) claimed spots in the top 10 worldwide. Had Katrin Davidsdottir remained in Iceland instead of moving to Massachusetts, six of the top 10 would have gone to Meridian women.
ZA Anderson: The 10th-ranked man at the 2013 Games, ZA Anderson, has battled nerve damage in his back for the last two seasons (left long thoracic nerve palsy). The hours of rehab seem to be paying off given his impressive 318 reps on 16.1. It’s good to see you on the leaderboard, ZA!
Grade: A
Jeff Evans: The man who overhead squatted 375 lb. three times at the 2014 Games is known for his strength, but he isn’t known to excel on long, grueling workouts. That has changed. After missing qualification for regionals in 2015, Evans has returned capable of a 305-rep performance on 16.1. Hurdle cleared.
Angelo Dicicco: Despite facing a new cohort of older boys in the 16-17 Division, the Teenage Games champion held his own with a 9th-place finish on 16.1. That puts him within the same event finish range as last year (1st - 13th).
Grade: B
Ben Smith: I didn’t expect to see the champ’s name on page three of the Leaderboard. With 312 reps, Smith finished in 116th worldwide--12 ranks below his younger brother, Alec. Perhaps the back injury that kept him out of the CrossFit Invitational isn’t 100 percent better.
Grade: C-
Cole Sager: The 7th-ranked man at the 2015 Games stumbled out the gates with 276 reps, putting him in 42nd in the North West and 1,187th worldwide.
Tia-Clair Toomey: Finishing 31st in Australia in the first Open workout is not the performance I’d expect from the second Fittest Woman on Earth. Thankfully she has four weeks to turn it around.
Grade: D
My Gluteal Muscles: Ouch.
Grade: WD
Ben Garard: He’s taking a year off to focus on running his affiliate, Bent On CrossFit, and coaching his younger brother, Ricky. So far so good, with Ricky claiming 7th in Australia on 16.1.
Amanda Goodman: The three-time Games competitor improved from 35th at the 2013 Games to 10th in 2015. Yet she didn’t sign up for the Open this year. Her absence means that the number of Games-qualifying spots up for grabs at the South Regional has grown from two to three. (Maddy Myers and Margaux Alvarez changed regions.)
