Week Five in Review: Europe

March 26, 2012

Peter de Sury

Get the low down on 12.5.

The top performers on 12.5? The women's leader, Annie T, and a man who was on the edge of the top 60.
 

Europe, we’re done. The 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games Open has officially come to a close.

The final Open Workout let us reflect on how far we’ve come in the last year. The thruster and chest-to-bar pull-up Fran Ladder was a replica of the final Open Workout in 2011. Last year, Mikko Salo and Annie Thorisdottir set the top scores in Europe with 160 and 144 reps, respectively.

Mikko Salo’s legend and European record performance on the "Fran Ladder” will live on. No one in Europe was able to pass him, and the top performance fell seven reps short.

Annie Thorisdottir is still improving, setting a PR and region record on the workout with 147 reps.

After five weeks of intense workouts, it is time to look at the overall standings and see who qualified for Regionals and who, in the Masters division, obtained a direct pass to Carson, Calif., for the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games.

MEN

No one is more focused on the final Open Workout than the athletes on the edge of the top 60. At the end of 12.4, Francesco Ajello (Milano, Italy) was 68th in Europe. Determined to make to the 2012 Europe Regional, Ajello turned out the top European performance on 12.5 with 153 reps (21st in the world). He made it through the 18-rep round and got 21 thrusters and 6 chest-to-bar pull-ups before the clock hit seven minutes. His hard work paid off, he’s now in 54th overall.

The first ranked man in Europe, Stefano Migliorini, finished 6 reps behind Ajello with a 147-rep total. Migliorini, a rookie competitor, is in his first year of CrossFit training and he’s now the man to beat at the 2012 Europe Regional.

Top 5 on 12.5
1. Francesco Ajello (153)
2. Stefano Migliorini (147)
3. Mikko Aronpaa (146)
4. Erwin van Beek (145)
5. Christer Idland (142)

Top 5 Overall in Europe
1. Stefano Migliorini (56 pts)
2. Frederik Aegidius (57 pts)
3. Philip Bengtsson (82 pts)
4. Davide Marini (118 pts)
5. Lacee Kovacs (133 pts)

WOMEN

Annie Thorisdottir may not be at the top of the worldwide standings in the Open, but she made sure to finish the Open well where it counts: in her home region. Thorisdottir topped the Europe Leaderboard in the overall standings and took 1st on 12.5, beating her 2011 performance by three reps (147-rep total). 

Thorisdottir’s performance on 12.5 dominated the European competition (7th worldwide). Emma Keen earned 2nd place with 15 reps fewer than Thorisdottir. Martina Barbaro earned 3rd, a full 18 reps shy of the leader.

Top 5 on 12.5
1. Annie Thorisdottir (147)
2. Emma Keen (132)
3. Martina Barbaro (129)
4. Rachel Blumberg (125)
5. Hjordis Oskarsdottir (121)

Top 5 Overall in Europe
1. Annie Thorisdottir (12 pts)
2. Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir (22 pts)
3. Emma Keen (41 pts)
3. Thuridur Erla Helgadottir (41 pts)
5. Hjordis Oskadottir (47 pts)

MASTERS

This is truly the year for European Masters competitors with the largest contingent qualifying for the 2012 CrossFit Games Masters Competition in Los Angeles, Calif.

Masters 45-49 Division
Karl Dyall (4th overall)
Maurizio Maddaloni (5th overall)

Masters 50-54 Division
Neil Foley (19th overall)

Masters 55-59 Division
John Lugg (3rd overall)
Hilmar Hardarson (4th overall)

TEAMS

The fight for 1st in Europe couldn’t have been any tighter. Icelandic teams, CrossFit Reykjavik and CrossFit BC Island, ended the Open in 1st and 2nd place, respectively, with just one point separation. Reykjavik had Annie Thorisdottir while BC Island had the help of Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir (2nd in Europe) and Hjordis Oskarsdottir (5th in Europe), as well as many other remarkable athletes.

It will be interesting to see how the team rankings change at the 2012 Europe Regional. The Icelandic boxes have come out on top in the Open, but most likely their top performers will go Individual. The Danish boxes such as Butcher’s Lab and Butcher’s Garage have many dedicated team competitors.

Top 5 Teams on 12.5
1. CrossFit Reykjavik (734)
2. CrossFit Nordic 1 (704)
3. CrossFit BC Island (691)
4. Team Butcher’s Lab (676)
5. CrossFit Sport (674)

Top 5 Teams Overall
1. CrossFit Reykjavik (9 pts)
2. CrossFit BC Island (10 pts)
3. CrossFit Nordic 1 (22 pts)
4. CrossFit Sport (29 pts)
5. CrossFit Solid (32 pts)