As the four athletes walked into the warm-up area, Chris Öman exulted.
“Exactly what we wanted!” he nearly shouted.
Öman aggressively gave hand slaps and hugs to each member of the Cape CrossFit Wolfpack team. All the while, he wore a huge grin on his face.
The squad had just finished Event 2 at the Meridian Regional in Madrid, Spain. The 4-round event called for a 200-meter run done in pairs, 25 synchronized chest-to-bar pull-ups and 10 Worm clean and push presses as a team. Cape CrossFit Wolfpack was 5 reps short of finishing the event before the 17-minute time cap. It was good enough for first place overall. To boot, it was the team’s second event win of the competition. It ended Day 1 atop the Leaderboard. Right behind it was CrossFit PBM Unite, also from South Africa.
The teams are two of 14 total South African representatives competing at this year’s Regional at La Caja Mágica. Among last year’s Meridian Regional competitors, only one woman, two men and four teams hailed from South Africa.
“It’s taken a while to mature the sport in Africa,” explained Öman, a Swede who has been living in South Africa for nine years.
Öman is head coach at Cape CrossFit in Cape Town.
What helped progress CrossFit as a sport, he added, was Jason Smith’s success last year. After eight years of regional competition, Smith, of Johannesburg, qualified for the CrossFit Games and finished 10th in Madison, Wisconsin.
His success “raised confidence” among South Africans seeking to compete in CrossFit, Öman said.
“Everyone rallied around Jason.”
After all, said fellow competitor Celestie Engelbrecht, if Smith could finally qualify for the Games after eight years of trying, anyone can.
Engelbrecht was the last South African to qualify for the Games—in 2014—before Smith.
Her goal for the weekend: Get back to the Games.
“Put all excuses aside and hopefully get that fourth spot,” Engelbrecht said with a smile.
CrossFit as a sport had “kind of died down” in South Africa after the Africa Regional was absorbed by the Meridian Regional in 2015, she said. But this year’s newly sculpted Meridian Regional has changed the competitive landscape.
“If the regions stay the same, more South Africans will qualify (for Regionals),” she said shortly after finishing Triple 3, Day 1’s first event, in 20th place overall.
The redrawn Meridian Regional includes the Europe South and Middle East Africa regions, moving the Europe Central and Europe North regions to this year’s reintroduced Europe Regional.
“It opens the door for a lot more people,” said Richard Smith, Jason Smith’s younger brother, who himself is a seven-time regional competitor.
Eventually, the number of Games-qualifying spots will have to increase from four to five to match competitors’ ever-evolving athleticism, predicted the older Smith.
Although he agreed the new Europe and Meridian Regionals have made it easier for some athletes to qualify for Regionals, he noted the remaining difficulty in qualifying for the Games.
“I don’t think the competition ever gets easier. It always gets harder.”
The regional split also highlights CrossFit’s international growth, noted Sam Briggs, a spectator at the Meridian Regional. Briggs, who is recovering from a fracture to her right elbow joint and a rupture to the medial ligament, has qualified for this year’s Games as a Master in the 35-39 Division.
“We’ve caught up, if not surpassed, America in just numbers,” she said of Europe. “Especially on the female side; we’re ahead on a competitive level.”
Briggs added: “In a couple of years, maybe (there will be) three Regionals from this area.”
Mads Jacobsen, a color commentator at the Meridian Regional, echoed her comments.
“Globally, we’re growing,” he said. “Yes, CrossFit is still growing and it’s not gonna stop.”
That’s only further demonstrated by the first two Russian athletes qualifying for the Games at the Europe Regional two weeks ago in first and fourth places.
“That door hasn’t just been opened,” said Jacobsen, who founded CrossFit Nordic in 2009 and is a former member of CrossFit Inc. Seminar Staff. “It’s been kicked in.”
Men
1. Elliot Simmonds (180)
2. Willy Georges (168)
3. Mohamed Elomda (156)
4. Phil Hesketh (148)
Women
1. Jamie Greene (188)
2. Manila Pennacchio (176)
3. Lauren Fisher (160)
4. Karin Baalbaki (130)
Teams
1. Cape CrossFit Wolfpack (200)
2. CrossFit PBM Unite (168)
3. CF Riviera Team (162)
4. Team Crash (156)
For complete details, visit the Leaderboard.
