Movin' on Up

Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson should sleep easier tonight.

Though the previous Meridian champion ended Day 1 of the Europe Regional well outside the top 10, two top-five finishes in today’s events catapulted him to sixth with 262 points, just 4 points outside the fifth and final Games-qualifying spot, held by Andrey Ganin.

A lesser athlete might have been rattled by such a start, but Guðmundsson displayed nothing but composure when he took the floor in the third heat for Event 3's ascending reps of single-leg squats sandwiched by ring muscle-ups and an obstacle-course handstand walk.

He trailed leader Mitchell Adams for most of the event, briefly overtaking him on the final handstand walk, which Guðmundsson did unbroken. Though Adams’ unspeakably fast pistols earned him the win—and the event record, at 8:33.67—Guðmundsson’s second-place finish combined with a fifth-place finish in Event 4 put him just below the red line.

Three-time Games athlete Lukas Högberg sits in third with 312 points, hoping to return to the Games after missing qualification by one spot last year. Adrian Mundwiler, who made his Games debut in 2016—his first year of CrossFit—withdrew because of injury at the 2017 Regional. He now has the top spot, 22 points ahead of second-place Roman Khrennikov.

As for the women, Kristin Holte is back on top. The 2017 Meridian champion ended Day 1 in third, but an Event 3 win and a third-place Event 4 finish were enough to put her in first with an 8-point lead over Laura Horvath, in second.

While many faltered on Event 3’s handstand-walk obstacle—a 4-step staircase and 7-foot ramp—Holte and Annie Thorisdottir looked like they’d practiced. It all came down to the final walk.

Thorisdottir had a slight lead but stumbled backward as she ascended the stairs. The misstep might not have been catastrophic on its own, but after she cleared the first obstacle, Thorisdottir wandered out of her lane—a no rep that sent her back to the start of the walk and gave Holte enough time to take the win at 10:47.77.

“It’s definitely a little nerve-racking, because you’re not sure how it’s gonna feel and how it’s gonna tax your body,” Holte said of the new obstacle.

With just two events remaining, the line for Games qualification is straddled by two lesser-known names: Fifth-place Camilla Salomonsson Hellman is a four-year individual Regional veteran who has never been to the Games; Gabriela Migała, in sixth, is a 19-year-old rookie who made a name for herself with an event win and record in her first Regional competition. Meanwhile, four-time CrossFit Games veteran Thuridur Erla Helgadottir sits in 10th, 62 points outside of qualification.

Migala — *Migała handstand walks her way to an event record.*

EAST

“Focus only on the things you can control. It’s a great day for a great day.”

That’s what Tim Paulson posted on his Instagram this morning, hours before he leapt from 11th, where he ended after Day 1, to second at the end of Day 2. Pauslon made his CrossFit Games debut last year after four years of falling short. Today’s efforts gave him a 44-point cushion between himself and Daniel Viger in fifth.

Paulson took top four in both events, but he made his money in Event 3. At 6 foot 1 and 215 lb., he knew the event probably wouldn’t be won on the pistols. So he made sure he was really, really good on the handstand walks, taking a moment to rest before each walk while others rushed in too fast. Though he competed in the third heat, his time of 8:51.06 held through the final heat, good enough for 100 points.

Alexandre Caron also thought today was a good day to move, leaping from 10th after Day 1 to fourth after Day 2 with a second-place finish on Event 4, his best performance so far.

Event 4 was a couplet of snatches and burpees: 4 total rounds, with a heavier snatch weight for the last 2 rounds. While onlookers were distracted by the race between Vellner and Chase Smith—Smith used the faster but less efficient muscle snatch to earn the win and the event record at 5:17.19—Caron snuck up with breakneck burpees, keeping low to the ground and rebounding from his chest.

Caron passed Vellner for second in the event, pushing Smith below the red line even though he won Event 4.

“I just gotta step it up, to be honest with you,” Smith said of his plan for tomorrow. “It’s time to go.”

Katrin and Carol-Ann — *Davidsdottir and Reason-Thibault chased each other down the floor on Event 3.*

Last year, the East’s top women were Carol-Ann Reason-Thibault, Katrin Davidsdottir and Kari Pearce. So far, we’re looking at an encore—except this time, Davidsdottir’s taking the lead.

Davidsdottir has won three out of four events so far. In the only event she hasn’t won—Event 3—she took third. And even though she had a few stumbles on the handstand walk, she wasn’t disappointed.

“That was probably the most fun I’ve had during a Regional event,” she said after. “It was me and Carol-Ann just going at it. I love to compete and that was awesome.”

Davidsdottir also earned an event record with her Event 4 time of 5:35.47. She did large sets—even on the heavy barbell—and kept a consistent burpee pace, popping from the ground the moment her chest hit the deck.

“I did exactly what I did in training, and it was awesome,” she said.

SOUTH

Sean Sweeney has held the lead since Event 1, but Rogelio—known to most as Roy—Gamboa is catching up. Gamboa finished Day 1 in seventh; now, after a fourth-place Event 3 finish and an Event 4 win, he’s second, just 20 points out from Sweeney.

At 5 foot 8 and 200 lb., it’d be easy to dismiss Gamboa in handstand-walk and burpee events. But not only did he not fatigue, he actually got faster as Event 4 progressed, winning a close race with Brandon Luckett by keeping low to the ground as he leapt over the barbell.

His performance shouldn’t be too surprising. Though he took 2017 off to focus on his firefighting career, he won the South Regional in 2015 and 2016. He’s not too worried about the last day of competition, either.

“Nothing but good vibes,” he said at the end of the day, noting that a burrito might be in store for the evening.

Luckett won Event 3 with a technician’s handstand-walk proficiency—and the intelligence to gauge how long to rest—and followed it with a second-place Event 4 finish, moving from 10th at the end of Day 1 to third going into Sunday.

Logan Collins, the defending South champion, also moved out of hot water and into the final qualifying position with 20 points between him and Mitch Spjut, in sixth.

If you thought 2014’s Fittest Woman was out, think again. Though Camille Leblanc-Bazinet finished Day 1 in 10th, not only did she survive today’s shoulder-heavy events—she underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason—she took third in both.

“I’m just so grateful to be able to walk on my hands,” she said after winning her heat in a race against Tennil Beuerlein. “I’m more grateful than ever.”

Though Beuerlein had nearly flawless handstand walks, she was a bit wobbly on her single-leg squats, tipping onto her toes while Leblanc-Bazinet stayed flat-footed and quickly cycled the reps (the overall event win and record went to Heat 3’s Marisa De Los Santos and her gravity-defying pistols).

Meanwhile, Margaux Alvarez fell from first to third after a frustrating Event 3. Capped out on the obstacle course, she took 15th—her only finish so far outside the top 10—and Brista Mayfield finished the day on top.

With just two events remaining, Alexis Johnson and Beuerlein—each a two-time Games athlete—sit outside of Games contention in sixth and seventh places.