Three years ago, Director of the CrossFit Games Dave Castro gave fans a choice: Heavy DT or Double DT for Event 5 of the 2015 Reebok CrossFit Games.
This week, democracy returned. Adding to the list of firsts in the 2018 Open, Workout 18.5 came down to a vote: 11.6, 13.5 or 14.2—all previous Open workouts. Of the 325,768 people who cast their votes on Facebook, 50 percent voted for 11.6, a 7-minute AMRAP of ascending reps of thrusters and chest-to-bar pull-ups.
“I want you guys to remember when you do this workout that you voted for it,” two-time CrossFit Games champion Annie Thorisdottir said moments after finishing the workout.
Hours earlier, Katrin Davidsdottir—also a two-time Games champ—had implored her Instagram followers not to vote for 11.6, and she wasn’t the only one who’d hoped for something else. After the results were delivered to Castro in a sealed gray envelope à la the People’s Choice Awards, Castro took one look, shook his head and mouthed, “Damn.” (He later revealed he’d been hoping for 13.5.)
But the people wanted 11.6, and 11.6 they received.
Thorisdottir and Davidsdottir were joined by two-time bronze medalist Sara Sigmundsdottir for the final live Open showdown of 2018. Hosted by CrossFit Reykjavík—Thorisdottir’s home affiliate—at midnight local time, the live announcement was the first in Open history to take place in Iceland, homeland to all three celebrated Dottirs.
“It means the absolute world to me,” Davidsdottir said of competing in Iceland. “It was so special when they asked us to be part of the last one … and in our home country.”
After 18.5 kicked off, Davidsdottir held a fractional lead for the first several rounds, her transitions slightly faster than her competitors’. But the three were never separated by more than a few reps until the round of 15, which the trio hit near the 2-minute mark. That’s when Thorisdottir tapped into her reserves. Though she later said she sometimes struggles to pace, it certainly didn’t look that way as she managed to keep a 1-to-5-rep lead for the rest of the workout, leaving Davidsdottir and Sigmundsdottir to jockey for second.
Though Sigmundsdottir had remained within striking distance of Davidsdottir, she retreated to a slower, more deliberate pace after suffering a couple of no reps on the thrusters in the round of 18. Davidsdottir overtook her in the round of 21, knocking out 10 pull-ups before Sigmundsdottir got on the rig.
But as every CrossFit athlete knows, every second counts—and Davidsdottir didn’t let Thorisdottir have it easy. Davidsdottir trailed her by just two reps until time ran out, leaving Thorisdottir the victor with 178 reps to Davidsdottir’s 176. Sigmundsdottir took third with 171 reps.
Thorisdottir’s score marks the new world record. In 2011, Fortune Santos posted the highest score at 168 (that year, Thorisdottir finished 144 reps). Repeated as 12.5 a year later, the workout gave athletes another shot at the couplet, and Camille Leblanc-Bazinet logged 173 reps. Thorisdottir posted 147 that year, making her new record a 31-rep PR.
“It felt like Fran two times,” Thorisdottir said in an interview immediately after 18.5—likely the first she’s ever given while still collapsed on the ground.
After the Icelanders cleared the floor, fans witnessed 2018’s final rendition of Ro vs. Boz, featuring Heber Cannon and Marston Sawyers—two of the three directors of "The Redeemed and the Dominant: Fittest On Earth," now available in the CrossFit Journal and for download in the iTunes store. The two stood in for the injured Adrian Bozman. Cannon won the workout with 119 reps, while Rory McKernan took the belt for the season series—though he promised he wouldn’t wear it until he wins it over Bozman himself.
In the Cool Down Show, the athletes discussed their next steps. Thorisdottir said the Open gets her fired up for the competition season, and all three said they plan to increase training volume in preparation for the next stage of the 2018 CrossFit Games season: Regionals.
“The athletes are not prepared for what’s gonna be presented to them at the Regionals,” Castro said. “I’m telling you now, these Regionals are gonna be special.”
Tickets to the Regional competitions are now available. Click here to learn more or purchase tickets.
