The 2017 CrossFit Games Open is officially over the hump! With three weeks down and two to go, the Leaderboard is starting to look familiar.
On the women’s side, nine of the top 10 women were at the Games as individuals in 2016. The lone exception is the 2016 Open winner and Affiliate Cup athlete, Jamie Greene.
The combination of pull-ups and snatches in 17.3 proved to be a daunting couplet blending high-rep gymnastics and technique with heavy strength. In my opinion, it was one of the best Open workouts to date, and really cranked up the programming a notch.
Only 1.8 percent of men and 1.2 percent of women made it through the fourth barbell, and less than 1 percent made it to the final weight. The increasingly heavy snatch weights separated wheat from the chaff very quickly, and made for a stark reminder of how much the community has progressed in the Olympic lifts.
Here are my grades for Week 3.
Grade: A+
Kara Webb: In this year’s edition of “Kara Webb Is Stronger Than You,” Webb's weapons of choice were snatches and chest-to-bar pull-ups. Webb was the only athlete—male or female—to break the 16-minute barrier in 17.3.
A few things about Webb’s performance stood out to me. First, she finished the entire workout before most people finished (or got capped during) the fourth barbell.
Second, Webb performed 3 rounds with the 135-lb. barbell in 2 minutes, 58 seconds. Her workout partner, three-time Games qualifier Brandon Swan, finished 3 rounds with a 135-lb. barbell in 2 minutes, 59 seconds. Her performance transcended genders, and was the only one worthy of the highest grade this week.
Grade: A
Marya Drabicki: Across four divisions and thousands of teenage athletes, Drabicki was the only one who was able to finish the entirety of 17.3 under the 24-minute time cap. The 14-year-old Nevada native completed 153 chin-over-bar pull-ups and 63 snatches in 23:22.
From a general capacity standpoint, that sort of output from a teenage girl is mind boggling. I’m 100 percent sure you could task my colleague Pat Sherwood with the same exact movements and loading, and he’d be stopping the clock north of 25 minutes.
The workout win gave Drabicki a nice boost in the overall rankings, moving her up into a tie for 10th place with two weeks left. The addition of the Teenage Online Qualifier this year adds another series of opportunities for athletes to move up or down, but the Open standings are factored in as a score, which will reward Drabicki for her efforts if she can stay inside the top 10.
George Sterner: George Sterner is ready for the individual competition. Last year’s runner-up in the Teenage Boys 16-17 Division has made it clear that he is ready to play with the big boys after turning 18 this year.
Sterner finished 17.3 in fifth place worldwide, ahead of 38 of the 40 individual Games qualifiers from the men’s competition in 2016. That stat is made even more impressive by the fact that the workout centered around an increasingly heavy Olympic lift—something that clearly favors fully grown men over a still growing 18-year-old.
Not only is Sterner currently 18th worldwide in the Open, but he’s tied for third in the North Central. If he’s able to hold onto a top-five spot, that means a year after making the teenage podium, he could be lining up in the final heat of the Central Regional.
Emily Bridgers: This grade should really signify a “Most Improved,” award for Emily Bridgers. Bridgers is one of the smaller athletes in the field, and finishing a workout like 17.3 is both a huge accomplishment, and a momentum builder for the rest of the season.
Bridgers’ PR snatch was 185 lb., which was the last weight in the women’s workout. It’s not uncommon to see some athletes match a PR in the middle of an Open workout, but it’s that much more impressive when Bridgers, at 5-foot-1 and 134 lb., manages to hit her PR three times after more than 100 chest-to-bar pull-ups.
Bridgers also managed to beat out some extremely strong and proficient athletes such as Brooke Wells, Tia-Clair Toomey, Alessandra Pichelli, and Olympic silver medalist in weightlifting Oxana Slivenko. Top-end strength with the barbell hasn’t been Bridgers’ forte in the past at the Games, but her 17.3 result is a nice improvement.
Grade: B
Michele Letendre: In 2017, Michele Letendre is a prime example that elite fitness doesn’t just vanish once you’ve stepped away from serious competition. Letendre has shifted focus toward weightlifting and other ventures.
She is still doing the Open, she is still in a qualifying spot for Regionals in Canada East (12th) and she still managed to finish 17.3 under the 24-minute time cap. It’s a testament to the caliber of athlete that Letendre built herself into over her six-year tenure at the CrossFit Games.
While I’ll certainly miss seeing Letendre compete out on the Games floor, it’s still cool to see her participate in the Open alongside her community. Her performance is impressive, but since she’s in “retirement,” it only gets a B.
Jeff Evans: If you look at Jeff Evans’ 17.3 performance in isolation, it deserves a much higher grade. Evans took second worldwide in the workout, behind only the 2015 Fittest Man on Earth and four-time podium finisher, Ben Smith. His overall placement is what brings this week’s grade down.
Evans is known in the sport for his elite level strength. He’s one of only a few Games-level athletes to crack 315 lb. in the snatch and 400 lb. in the clean and jerk. In recent years, he’s dedicated himself to working on his weakness to shore up deficiencies away from the barbell, something evidenced by his proficiency with the multitude of pull-ups in 17.3.
He narrowly missed qualifying for the Games in 2016 and he needs to continue to have finishes like 17.3 if he wants another shot. He’s currently in 33rd place in the South East, and needs to move up if he wants an invite to Regionals. I’m a big Evans fan and I’m hoping he makes it through.
Grade: C
Joe Scali: Joe Scali has found himself on the wrong end of some friendly wagers and punishments amongst the most popular group of frenemies in CrossFit. The #trashtalk Thursday crew grew both in numbers and popularity this year, thanks in part to Scali returning from injury.
Unfortunately for him, 17.3 marks the second-straight week that he’s been the loser amongst the group and has had to do the #OpenHumiliation punishment as a result. Last week he had to get a non-permanent tattoo that read I (heart) Fikowski.
This week, per Sean Sweeney’s choosing, he had to chug 40 ounces of Old English Malt liquor and do 10 burpees in his underwear. Scali better win one soon and pass the punishment off to someone else. Otherwise I’ll be asking #whoisjoescali.
