"He loves training, and isn't afraid of hard work. He never misses a session and he is a talented athlete who works hard for his results," Fikowski's coach says.
Brent Fikowski, of Gold Coast, Australia, scored an amazing 360 reps on Open Workout 13.2.
His score is the third-best in Australia, and 28th-best worldwide.
“I was so excited when I heard what 13.2 was,” Fikowski says. “I love box jumps.”
“My coach and I had a play with it on Thursday. I did four rounds and it worked out to an average of 45 seconds a round. Then it was a matter of trying to hold on to that pace for the whole 10 minutes.”
The strategy worked well, as the 22-year-old from CrossFit Broadbeach, completed just eight reps less than two-time CrossFit Games champion, Rich Froning.
With only one year of experience in CrossFit, Fikowski is still raw. But he has always had a passion for competitive sports.
“I can’t remember a time in my life when I haven’t been involved in competitive sports,” Fikowski says.
“I’ve been involved in basketball, badminton, athletics, taekwondo, tee-ball, soccer, water polo and the list goes on.”
Fikowski swam competitively from age 6 to 18, and played collegiate indoor volleyball for the Lethbridge College Kodiaks, in Canada.
It was in college where Fikowski was introduced to CrossFit by his volleyball coach, Ian Bennett.
Fikowski incorporated CrossFit movements into his workouts in his volleyball training. He then moved from Canada to Australia to finish his degree in accounting, which is where he met his CrossFit coach, Drew Griffith.
Griffith, owner and head coach of CrossFit Broadbeach, noticed Fikowski’s talent after putting him through all the 2012 Open Workouts.
“He would have qualified for the Australia Regional in 46th place,” Griffith says.
“I knew that he had talent, and with a little guidance and working on his weaknesses, I could get him to be an all-round CrossFitter.”
According to Griffith, it’s Fikowski’s work ethic and attitude toward training that sets him apart.
“He loves training, and isn’t afraid of hard work. He never misses a session and he is a talented athlete who works hard for his results,” Griffith says.
He adds: “He finishes whatever I set before him and has a determination about him. The qualities he has come from a good upbringing. I’ve met his parents and they are champion people.”
With two good performances in the first two weeks of the Open, Fikowski sits in 209th worldwide, and 14th in Australia. He is on track to qualify for this year’s Regional, a goal he says he’s focused on achieving.
“I placed in the top five in my first individual CrossFit competition,” Fikowski says. “That surprised me, so I set my eyes on qualifying for Regionals in 2013.”
And what is he hoping for this week?
“I want to see double-unders, 17 minutes of double-unders. That is what I want for 13.3.”
