Asia battles the snatch ladder.
A cool breeze brought some light relief to Kyunghee University this morning here in Seoul. Athletes spoke of feeling “sore and broken” but were in good spirits in spite of this. Military-based CrossFitters took turns to be interviewed in the warm up room, while others spoke of their concern for the heavy starting weight for the snatch in Event 5. Athletes such as Marcus Smith from CrossFit DXB (currently ranked 7th in Asia) were working on mobility drills behind the scenes as early as an hour prior to their workout in preparation for the snatch ladder.
Teams
Event 5
- 1. Shogun CrossFit (745.00)
- 2. Reebok CrossFit Asia (650.00)
For the female team members this workout proved to be their biggest challenge to date. Ashley Jensen of Shogun CrossFit, who has wowed the crowd with her impressive strength over the weekend, looked strong on the first two lifts but the third weight of 125 pounds simply proved too much for the athlete. As for the men the first three weights of 155, 165 and 175 pounds looked promising as the athletes worked their way through them, but by the fifth snatch (195 pounds) Reebok CrossFit Asia was down to one man. The fifth and sixth weight ended the workout for Shogun and CrossFit Asia respectively, and emotions were running high from the barriers for the female half of Shogun’s team.
Terry Fregly of Team Shogun exclaimed his happiness for them to have reached the final day of the competition, and how the team has prepared for this weekend. “We’ve been working out really hard and we worked on skills that might come out in the Regional … We tried to work out more than once a day, even if some of us weren’t really used to it. We’re just gonna keep doing what we’re doing – have fun, work hard and live it up in the arena!”
Women
Event 5
- 1. Christen Wagner (145.00)
- 2. Candice Howe (140.00)
- 3. Nicole Tainatongo (115.00)
The feel good factor was evident prior to Women’s Event 5, as the female athletes posed for photographs. Vanessa Fung got the first weight up with a smile on her face, pleasing her fans in the audience, as did Feng Yi Chew, but the workout itself quickly became a two-woman race between Christen Wagner and Candice Howe, with Howe missing out to Wagner by five pounds. Howe, who clearly hurt her right shin as the bar came down on her final lift, insisted on staying on the ground to cheer Wagner on, ice pack in hand.
Men
Event 5
- 1. Michael Mogard (225.44)
- 2. Daniel Hershey (225.00)
- 3. Joseph Rank (215.00)
Men’s Event 5 had the crowd watching intently and the screams from fans of the likes of KH Lee, Young-Jun Kim and Sul Min Choi (all in the top 10) were heard throughout the University grounds as they waved their posters and banners. Another athlete with a strong following is Vijay Raj, whose big heart and impressive feats over the weekend have earned him a large fan base.
Bilaal Broadway put on a good show, breezing through the first five weights by power snatching the bar up, followed by a full snatch on the sixth lift. One spectator exclaimed, “This is his workout, this is what he does best!”
Young-Jun Kim was smiling and even dancing to the music between sets. The athlete, who weighs in at 165 pounds, managed to snatch a full twenty pounds over his bodyweight, inducing cries from his loyal spectators.
Daniel Hershey and Michael Mogard gave the audience and fellow athletes something to shout about, as they both moved through the weights with relative ease. They showed no signs of struggle until the sixth weight of 205 pounds, but battled on for another twenty pounds, as the rest of the male athletes watched and lifted their energy with their calls of encouragement. Mogard took 1st place despite him and Hershey both stopping after their seventh lift, thanks to the additional double-unders he acquired between attempts. “Any time I’m at the top of the scoreboard I’m happy,” says Mogard.
