"Qualifying for the Games from Asia this year will be a different kind of challenge because there is only one spot and a few guys with the potential of winning it."
Four-time Europe Regional veteran and three-time CrossFit Games competitor since 2011, Mikko Aronpää is unquestionably a force to be reckoned with at this year’s Asia Regional in Seoul.
Having established a reputation in Europe, Aronpää was offered a CrossFit head coach position in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, at the end of 2013. Tasked with bringing the sport of CrossFit to the community, it was an opportunity he did not want to miss.
“Achieving top three in Europe has never been easy,” Aronpää said. “Qualifying for the Games from Asia this year will be a different kind of challenge because there is only one spot and a few guys with the potential of winning it. It will be interesting.”
Aronpää’s first milestone has already been achieved, with the official affiliate launch of CrossFit Sand Warriors in early March 2014, the first box of its kind in Ajman, a small township.
“I am really excited about this,” he said. “CrossFit and fitness training in general is rapidly growing here in the UAE and I am happy to be a part of it.”
Launching the affiliate was an impressive feat in itself, considering that Aronpää was taking part in the 2014 Open concurrently. In each workout, Aronpää adopted a calm approach, having learnt from past experiences where he used to blitz through them, often losing wind at crucial moments.
After hovering close to the Leaderboard’s top five throughout the first four weeks of the Open, Aronpää went all out with 14.5, confidently aiming to complete the workout with a sub-10 minute result.
He finished in first position with a time of 9:37, a result far ahead of anyone else on the Leaderboard. The result was good enough to move him into second overall, behind Tanner Shuck, a familiar regional competitor in nearby Dubai.
Aronpää’s focus in recent weeks has been completely directed toward the upcoming regional in Seoul, Korea.
“I take full advantage of (CrossFit) HQ releasing the workouts in advance. I truly believe that good preparation helps you in setting up for competition,” he said. “Of course on the day itself, it is always different, but in my opinion you can get a huge advantage when you strategize, pace and see how the body responds in each workout. I have already tried each event multiple times.”
Aronpää’s updates on various social media outlets are testimony to this, not only revealing he has been enjoying the sights and sounds of the UAE in general, but also providing some insights into his strong work ethic. It does not hurt that he has also been putting up some unbelievable numbers.
With Ajman only 30 minutes away from neighboring Dubai, Aronpää has also been training intensively with a number of Asia’s top athletes—Shuck, Ben Thompson, Phil Hesketh and John Britton—all of whom he believes will pose as formidable challenges in his quest to reach the end goal.
“I am happy with how the training has been going for the regional, in spite of the fact that this year’s workouts are focused a little more on gymnastics rather than heavier weights. I am not overly excited, because gymnastics is not something I excel at in CrossFit,” he said.
“However, this is CrossFit, and you need to be prepared for anything,” he added. “There are good events and bad events but I will certainly do everything in my power to succeed. In the end, if I feel that I put in 100 percent effort and left nothing on the table, it does not matter if there is victory or not.”
As for the competition itself, Aronpää is excited about his first experience in the Asia Region. He has already planned to head out to Seoul early to soak up the experience. In spite of his modesty, he is undoubtedly focused on claiming the title from 2013 Asia champion, Michael Mogard.
“Mike will beat me in some events but I will beat him in others, too,” Aronpää said. “The target for me is to win the Asia Regional and I am excited about heading back to Carson.”
