Competing at their first CrossFit Games, Natalie McLain and Wes Piatt each had two top-10 finishes, but their experiences weren’t without struggle.

After repeatedly missing the final rope climb in the Games’ Legless event on Friday night, Piatt was upset, especially because he was so close to touching the metal and completing the last ascent.

“When … you can hear everybody screaming for ya and, like, you want to give back and like touch it, it’s just frustrating,” said the Southern California athlete afterward, wiping away tears.

He added: “You just wish … that, like, your hardest was a little bit better.”

Piatt finished 35th overall.

For McLain, her goat came in the second-to-last event of the Games: The Cinco 1. The event opened with 5 deadlifts, and she couldn’t pull 265 lb. off the ground.

“Right away, I regretted getting out there because it was hard and embarrassing and I thought I let everybody down,” the South West athlete said after the event.

McLain finished 30th overall.

But by the end of the final day, both athletes had different thoughts.

“It turns out that … I let myself down and everybody else, they think I was still inspiring,” McLain says. “So that’s cool.”

Piatt says doing his best is what matters most.

“As long as I’m picking up the barbell when I don’t want to pick up the barbell, I’m running when I want to walk, I’m gonna be happy, no matter where I end up—if that’s last place or if that’s on the podium, doesn’t matter.”

Video by Dave Leys.