Regional Report: Latin America Challenged by Heavy Hang Cleans

May 8, 2012

Manuela Echeverri

Orlando Trejo and Tarasa Barnett are sitting in 1st at the end of Day 1.
 

As the sun went down in Cali, Colombia and the overhead lights of the venue had been turned on, the first heat of teams got ready for Workout 2. 

The rowing and pistols presented no difficulty to the teams, but the hang cleans were a different story and they significantly slowed down every team in Heat 1. CrossFit Santiago was the first team to have an athlete done with the cleans, but all the attention was held by Tiffany Easton from The 7 Milers. Eason fought hard for her first clean and by successfully completing the lift she PR’d by 20 pounds. Then she did it five more times.
Many of the female athletes struggled with the weight and none of the teams in the first heat completed the workout.
 
In Heat 2 CrossFit Cayman and CrossFit 7 Mile battled it out throughout the workout. CrossFit 7 Mile’s Schamarrah McCarthy brought the crowd to their feet as she did 11 hang cleans unbroken, making the 135 pounds look like a warm-up set. CrossFit 7 Mile won the workout by 13 seconds, which gives them another 1st place finish and an overall 1st place finish at the end of Day 1. 
 
Event 2 
1st place: CrossFit 7 Mile (19:36)
2nd place: CrossFit Cayman (19:49)
3rd Place: CrossFit Santiago (25:19)
 
Overall 
1st place: CrossFit 7 Mile  (2)
2nd place: CrossFit Cayman  (4)
3rd Place: CrossFit Santiago (6)
 
As the women were getting ready for the second event of the weekend, many weren’t sure they would be able to handle the 135-pound hang cleans. Vivian Sakamoto was the first athlete in Heat 1 to reach the barbell. She split clean the reps one at a time and kept a steady pace. 
 
Sakamoto was able to complete 12 reps, which exceeded her expectations. As the Regional workouts were released, Sakamoto, who had never been able to clean 135 pounds, started working on her technique until she was able to feel comfortable moving that weight. 
 
In Heat 2 Nega Ibarra was cheered by the crowd as she fought through the hang cleans one at a time, failing several times and not being able to stand up from the bottom of the squat position. A clear candidate for heartbreaking story of the day, Ibarra had 9 hang cleans and with 10 seconds left on the clock she was not able to complete rep number 10 that would have taken her to Day 2. 
 
In Heat 3, Tarasa Barnet flew past the other athletes, and when she reached the cleans she looked very confident. That weight was not a problem for Barnett and she was the only female competitor who finished the workout with a time of 16:04. In that third heat, Nelly Fernanda Rodriguez and Ani Weiselmann were also able to complete more than 10 hang cleans. This way at the end of Day 1, only four female individual competitors remain. 
 
Tomorrow the dumbbell snatches might eliminate a couple more female athletes from the competition. So far Barnett not only holds 1st place in the overall standings, but she also seems extremely prepared to hold on to that number one spot. 
 
Event 2 Standings 
1st Place: Tarasa Barnet (16:04)
2nd Place: Ani Weiselmann (17:16)
3rd Place: Nelly Fernanda Rodriguez (17:19)
 
Overall Standings 
1st Place: Tarasa Barnet (3) 
2nd Place: Vivian Sakamoto (6)
3rd Place: Ani Weiselmann (8) 
 
As the men’s heats went by, the 225 pounds proved to be extremely challenging for the competitors. In fact, no men were able to complete the workout in the 17 minutes. In every heat, there were a couple of competitors who were able to get through the 10 required reps to get into Day 2. 
 
Orlando Trejo finished the rowing and pistols in less than 10 minutes, but was only able to get 28 reps before time expired. This secured him a 1st place finish, just as everyone in the region expected him to be. After this grueling workout, only 16 male competitors will be moving on to Day 2. 
 
Event 2 Standings 
1st Place: Orlando Trejo (17:02)
2nd Place: Connor Murphy (17:05)
2nd Place: Giancarlo Vera Ochoa (17:05)
 
Overall Standings   
1st Place: Orlando Trejo (3)
2nd Place: Conor Murphy (6)
3rd Place: Giancarlo Vera Ochoa (11)