Who doesn’t love a 2-for-1 special?
This week Dave Castro served up a double dose of fitness to the community as he ploddingly scribbled two scored workouts for Week 2 on a chalkboard.
Although the finished product looked like a scene from “Good Will Hunting,” the actuality of the task presented, to quote my cantankerous colleague Pat Sherwood, “couldn’t be simpler.”
Move fast. Lift heavy.
A couplet of dumbbell squats and burpees, followed by a max clean in the remaining time.
I think the programming of this was brilliant. You had to earn the heavy barbell. Offering two scored events in one week also allowed for significant movement on the Leaderboard.
It’s no wonder, then, that Tia-Clair Toomey and Mat Fraser, the reigning Fittest on Earth, backed up their claim with the best combined scores for Week 2.
Champions’ scores notwithstanding, below are my grades for Week 2 of the 2018 Open.
Grade: A+
Noah Casey
What are they feeding teenagers nowadays? Sixteen-year-old Noah Casey cleaned a ridiculous 333 lb. in 18.2a this past week.
It was the second-heaviest lift in the Teenage Boys 16-17 Division, and more importantly, it was the best lift of anyone in the top 20 overall.
As a weightlifter Casey, at 175 lb., would by default lift in the 85 kg category if he were to compete.
The top clean and jerk in the 85 kg category at the 2017 Youth National Championships was 315 lb., meaning Casey cleaned nearly 20 lb. more than the National Champion in his category in weightlifting.
Now I realize that the comparison isn’t apples to apples. Casey didn’t have to jerk the weight overhead.
However, I do think 18.2 can count as a bit of an equalizer as none of the weightlifters took a blowtorch to their lungs and legs the way Casey did by completing 18.2 right before his lift.
All things considered, it showcases just how good the next generation already is in specific areas such as weightlifting. Kids these days.
Rachel Garibay
Outside of Tia-Clair Toomey, no individual woman in the world had a better Week 2 than Rachel Garibay.
When you add up the total points between 18.2 and 18.2a, Garibay accumulated just 47 points, second only to the reigning Fittest Woman on Earth.
The two workouts catapulted Garibay up the Leaderboard, and she now sits in 10th overall after three scored workouts.
Although she may not be a household name, this level of performance isn’t completely out of the norm for Garibay.
In previous years, she’s finished the Open in the top 40 worldwide and inside the top 10 at the South Regional as an individual—both solid feats that require a tremendous amount of fitness.
I think we’ll see Rachel Garibay at the Games this year, albeit on a team. She’s committed to being on Team Airrosti alongside veterans Sheila Barden, Travis Williams and Jordan Cook.
After her performance this week, I think she’ll make a fine member of the Airrosti team, which will be looking to fill the void left in the South by Affiliate Cup champions, the Wasatch Brutes, after it disbanded.
Grade: A
Michael Bridges
What sort of life will you have at 60 years old? If you can answer that question honestly, I doubt the answer would involve cleaning a 256-lb. barbell.
That was the lift recorded by 61-year-old Games veteran Michael Bridges in 18.2a, and quite frankly, I did a double take when I saw it.
It was the top lift in his category, which would normally be cause for an A+ grade, but even with the win, he’s outside the top 20 in his division.
So, for motivation’s sake we’ll stick with a solid A, but in the grand scheme of things, his performance is significant.
Roughly 75 percent of adults aged 60 or over are overweight or obese, and nearly 40 percent suffer from a combination of risk factors known as metabolic syndrome (high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, etc.
Unfortunately, it’s a trend that appears to be worsening as the health of the general population in the United States continues to be riddled by chronic disease.
So, when athletes like Bridges and the rest of those in the masters categories turn in performances like this, it’s not just a snapshot of the potential of athletes. It’s also a sign of what could be possible if more people, 60+ or not, chose to make health a priority.
Grade: B+
Tonia Cianci
Besides being the home of former U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson, the Hill Country of Texas now can lay claim to one of the best in the world in 18.2.
Tonia Cianci set the top time this week in 18.2 in the Women 55-59 Division, with a blazing (saddles) fast time of 4:47.
Cianci, 56, out of Hill Country CrossFit in Boerne, Texas, was the only woman in the world north of age 50 to break the 5-minute barrier in the workout.
My lungs and legs are burning just thinking about it.
Cianci has shown steady improvement in the Open over the last four years as she’s gone from 237th in the world in 2014 to 58th in the world last year.
Her performance on 18.2 was outstanding, but Week 2 as a whole was a seesaw performance for her. After putting up the world’s best time in 18.2, she followed up with a 284th-place finish in 18.2a.
No I can’t take away her 18.2 performance, but for this week of the Open, I can give here a solid B+.
Grade: C
Alethea Boon
After Week 1, there was a host of past and current Games athletes outside the bubble for qualifying for Regionals.
It’s typical to see a handful after Week 1, but as the weeks and tests progress, the pressure mounts for some of the established names, and typically, they right the ship.
After Week 1, three-time CrossFit Games qualifier Alethea Boon sat in a surprising 70th place in Australasia. Although she made up some ground in Week 2, she has some considerable work to do if she hopes to make it back to Regionals.
Boon is currently in 58th overall in the Region and is 111 points back of 30th-place Helen Harding. The last time we had six scored workouts in the Open, the 30th-place finisher in the region formerly known as Australia finished with 333 points.
That means with 302 points currently, and with presumably three more workouts to go, Boon has to average about a 10th place or better on every workout going forward.
It’s certainly doable, but she can’t have any slip-ups. I’m a big fan of hers and loved the way she battled back from her Achilles tear, so I hope she makes it back.
She started to climb this week, which earns her a passing grade, but there’s always room for improvement.
Grade: D
Brent Fikowski
By the end of 2017, there was only one man walking the Earth who was fitter than Brent Fikowski.
To start 2018, there are already seven men ahead of him—in his region—including Joe Scali and Mitch Barnard. (sorry Brent, #OpenHumiliation)
Carrying the title of second-fittest man on the planet brings with it a certain set of expectations, one of which is that the Open is merely a formality. Qualifying for Regionals should be guaranteed.
Fikowski sits in eighth in Canada West, three places south of the five guaranteed spots to Regionals. With three weeks left, it would be almost unheard of if he didn’t climb back into the top five.
Historically, the Open hasn’t been where Fikowski’s at his best. He’s yet to finish inside the top 20 worldwide. He does get better as the season progresses, though, as evidenced by his back-to-back Regional wins and success at the Games.
I’d be willing to bet Pat Sherwood’s life savings that we see him in the final heat come Sunday of the West Regional.
But for now, he’s still outside a qualifying spot, and that earns him D grade for Week 2.
