Regional Report: Event 4 Allowed Few to Finish

May 12, 2012

Kate Rose

Key for many was to be controlled and steady.


With a thrilling morning under the belt, spectators at the Canada East Regional were curious to see how Event 4 would unfold. The day was a humbling one. After the challenge of the heavy dumbbell snatches, athletes faced an ominous heavy squat, overhead and pull-up workout.  

For the teams, transitions were key; many teams predicted this and worked on them in the weeks leading up to Regionals. Success often depended on the women, and each heat changed dramatically once the men and women changed positions. There was a general consensus coming off the floor: The pull-ups sucked.

Winner of the second heat, the mustached CrossFit Laval, loved the workout. It was hard, but the team had fun. Team Lusine out of Montreal noted they had a difficult time staying focused with the challenging transitions, but managed to hold on and place 2nd in their heat, and 6th overall.

No team finished the workout, but Lusine CrossFit came the closest, with the men getting as far as the overhead squats at 65 pounds, with 22 reps. CrossFit Select challenged throughout the second heat, and managed to get to the overhead squats as well, but fell three reps shy of the leaders.

The team even had several thrilling races, with Lusine CrossFit taking the top spot, followed by CrossFit Select and Equipe CrossFit Laval in the third position.

The team athletes noted how tough the workout was, and the theme continued into the men’s competition. By the start of the third heat of the men’s event, only three athletes had finished the workout; Mizar Fuentes-Ortega, Chad Furey and Dan Bosco. Bosco finished in a blazing 19:03, Fuentes-Ortega in 21:28, and Furey, three seconds under the cap at 21:57. In each case, the audience counted out the final reps for the athletes. Furey gives credit to the crowd for his finish. “I didn’t think I would finish, but the crowd really helped; it gave me the big push at the end.”

In the third heat, there were three men who finished the event, Matt Lefave, Mattheiu Dubreucq and Jonathan Reid. Lefave and Debreucq exchanged the lead several times during the heat, with Debreucq excelling at the pull-ups, and Lefave demonstrating his strength and lifting skills. Lefave finished in 19:58, and Debreucq in 20:31. Reid seemed to fall right in between the two, pushing through the event at an even pace, and finishing at 20:52.

The final heat for the men had five athletes complete the workout in its entirety. Albert-Dominic Larouche finished the “painful, but fun” workout in 19:45, with 30 unbroken shoulder-to-overheads at 65 pounds. He was followed by Chris Cristini, who also managed the unimaginable feat stringing together the last 30 reps. Cristini finished in 20:25. Jonathan Laniel, finished 3rd, with a time of 20:57.

Mike Leblanc also finished the workout, coming in 5th in the heat with 40 seconds remaining in the cut off. Notable distinction in this heat goes to Tommy Snarr, who managed to hit the bar for the shoulders to overhead with around 30 seconds remaining. Snarr popped his head through the last rep a second before the buzzer sounded.

While the heats provided some incredible races, the final standings contain a bit of a mix up. Bosco won the event with a 19:03, Larouche came 2nd, and Lefave came in 3rd. Heats 2, 3 and 4 are each represented in the event’s final standings.

After her frustrating finish in Event 3, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet said she was going to refocus on the next workout It paid off. Her pull-ups were her strength and gave her some space from the pack. Leblanc-Bazinet won the event, finishing in 17:16, and stringing all the last 30 shoulder-to-overheads together.

Michele Letendre followed closely behind, and finished in a time of 18:08. These two were the only female athletes to complete Event 4 in the cut off time. In 3rd was Rebecca Clingersmith.

The workout was clearly tough, with 28 men and 18 female athletes unable to complete it in the allotted time. There were also a few athletes succumbing to injury during the event. Key for many was to be controlled and steady.

At the end of the day, the team standings changed very little. Usine CrossFit Ottawa leads the way with 13 points. CrossFit Select is not giving them any breathing room, sitting in second with 14 points. Lusine Crossfit since in 3rd with 24 points. Crossfit Brossard sits in 4th with 25 points.

For the men’s race, Albert-Dominic Larouche maintains the lead with 11 points, followed by Jeff Larsh with 30 points. Simon Pacquette, with 38 points, sits in the 3rd place spot, with Jonathan Laniel following closely behind with 39 points.

On the women’s side, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet reclaimed the top spot from Michele Letendre, who briefly led after Event 3. Rebecca Clingersmith sits in 3rd in the overall standings.