Competitors’ ages span more than 50 years.
Dave Castro once said CrossFit doesn’t have a demographic.
“What I mean by that is we’re for everyone. The stories always surprise me,” the Director of the CrossFit Games said after last year’s CrossFit Games Open.
On Thursday, CrossFit crowned two generations of the Fittest on Earth, demonstrating that both your daughter and your dad are best served by foregoing the couch.
After six events, athletes in both divisions faced Amanda: 9-7-5 of muscle-ups and squat snatches at 135 lb. for the men and 95 lb. for the women in some of the divisions, and 115 lb. for the men and 65 lb. for the women in others. Women in the 60+ Division did dips instead of muscle-ups. The benchmark CrossFit workout debuted at the 2010 Games. It was the first Games event performed beneath the lights of the tennis stadium at the then-Home Depot Center.
In his third year of competing at the Games, 59-year-old David Hippensteel was happy to see high-skill gymnastics movements, such as muscle-ups, appear in his masters division.
“I want the difficult stuff,” he said, adding, “It’s my last year in this age group.”
Next year, he hopes to see muscle-ups in the 60+ group.
“I’ll be very disappointed if they don’t (program muscle-ups),” said Hippensteel, of Screaming Eagle CrossFit in Tennessee.
His daughter, 25-year-old Heather, is at the Games competing on CrossFit Invictus’ team.
“I love CrossFit,” Hippensteel said. “I think it’s great for society.”
He added: “I’m hoping to be an inspiration to others.”
Meanwhile, among the teens, 17-year-old Isabella Vallejo from CrossFit Logic in Australia continually smiled throughout Amanda, despite only recording a single muscle-up in the event.
“I was smiling and happy because (of) what Kara (Webb) said.”
Among the tips Webb, an individual competitor, gave Vallejo are to remember how hard she worked to be at the Games and to simply enjoy the moment.
“I’m stoked. Coming into the Games, my goal was just to make it to the final and get at least one first place, and I achieved that,” said Vallejo, who also finished first overall in the 16-17 division.
Nicholas Paladino of CrossFit Steam in New Jersey performed solidly over the course of three days to win the 16-17 division. His lowest finish was a tie for seventh in Event 1.
Moments after walking off the tennis-stadium floor Thursday afternoon, the 16-year-old said he wants to come back next year to “defend my title.”
His long-term goals?
“Be better than Rich ever was,” he said, referring to four-time Games champ Rich Froning Jr.
In her rookie appearance at the Games, 60-year-old Janet Rogers said she was happy with her sixth-place overall finish.
“I’m proud of myself for pulling into the top 10,” said the CrossFit NYC athlete who began Thursday in 12th place.
Rogers has been doing CrossFit since 2008 and plans to continue competing.
“I’ll be back,” she said with a big smile.
Teenage Champions
Teenage Boys 14-15: Angelo DiCicco
Teenage Girls 14-15: Sydney Sullivan
Teenage Boys 16-17: Nicholas Paladino
Teenage Girls 16-17: Isabella Vallejo
Masters Champions
Masters Men 40-44: Shawn Ramirez
Masters Women 40-44: Janet Black
Masters Men 45-49: Matthew Swift
Masters Women 45-49: Kylie Massi
Masters Men 50-54: Joe Ames
Masters Women 50-54: Cindy Kelley
Masters Men 55-59: Will Powell
Masters Women 55-59: Susan Clarke
Masters Men 60+: Steve Pollini
Masters Women 60+: Rosalie Glenn
For complete results, visit the Leaderboard at games.crossfit.com.
