With the last Open workout in the books, nearly 75,000 athletes are making the switch from Open competitor to Regional and Games spectator.
The 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games Open has come to a close, but not before a new and exciting concept was introduced to the participating athletes.
While most athletes accepted the prospect of chest-to-bar pull-ups and thrusters for the last workout of the Open, most expected that the workout would have a fixed amount of time or a fixed amount of work to be completed.
In an unprecedented move, CrossFit introduced the idea of a time bonus. The workout starts as a four-minute AMRAP of 15 thrusters and 15 chest-to-bar pull-ups. If the athlete completes 90 reps or more within the four minutes, the workout becomes an eight-minute AMRAP. If 90 or more reps are completed within the eight-minute mark, the workout becomes a twelve-minute AMRAP, and so forth.
The majority of the athletes who submitted a score for 13.5 didn’t get past the first four minutes, with only 4 percent of athletes getting through it twice. Only 33 athletes were able to take on a third round, or rather, an elite .04 percent in the world.
With the last Open workout in the books, nearly 75,000 athletes are making the switch from Open competitor to Regional and Games spectator.
Unlike last year, when the top 60 athletes from each region got an invitation to their respective Regionals, this year, only the top 48 men and 48 women advance.
Men
Daniel Tyminksi (CrossFit Lindy) a Games veteran and 14th-place finisher at the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games, finished the Open in first place in the region and eighth worldwide.
Games veterans Austin Malleolo (Reebok CrossFit One), who finished the 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games in eighth place, and Spencer Hendel (Reebok CrossFit Medfield), who finished the Games in 13th place, have both qualified for Regionals. It will be interesting to see how the former training partners will perform now that they are no longer training together.
Malleolo and Tyminski went into the final event of the 2012 North East Regional with a mere four points separating them. Malleolo edged out Tyminski in the last event for a first-place finish at the Regionals.
Mike McKenna (CrossFit 914), who finished the 2012 Open in first place, took second place in the region. Jason Leydon (CrossFit Milford) finished third and is hoping to take his team back to the Games this summer, after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the 2012 Regional.
Mike Abgarian (CrossFit King of Island Park), a newcomer to the North East Region, posted 231 reps for 13.5, the best score in the region, and was able to finish the Open in 10th place.
Other familiar names qualifying for the Regionals include Games veteran James Hobart (CrossFit New England), Christian Harris, Brendan Marolda, Ian Berger and Tim Carroll.
Women
At the end of the Open, the three top spots are still unchanged, with Kaleena Ladeairous (CrossFit Port Chester), Jenny Davis (Stone Coast CrossFit) and Jessa Lemoine (CrossFit Back Bay) all advancing to the Regionals.
Ladearious, who finished the 2012 North East Regionals in eighth place, plans on making it to the podium this year. She has been working with Leydon to improve her performance.
“Kaleena is an amazing athlete with an incredible drive inside her, and she has shown the ability to adapt to any challenge,” Leydon says. “There are so many great athletes in the North East and each year the pool gets bigger and bigger with people to keep your eyes on. We knew what her weaknesses were last year and we have been putting focus on those areas over the past year. So this year, her goal is to make the podium and get to the CrossFit Games.”
While Games veteran and 2012 North East Regional third-place finisher, Lemoine, will be competing on a team this year, Mel Ockerby will once again take a turn as an individual. She posted 166 reps for 13.5, the best performance of the region, earning her a seventh-place finish in the Open in the North East Region.
Also making a run as an individual is Heather Bergeron (CrossFit New England). Bergeron last competed on the CFNE team at the 2011 Regional, then again at the Games in 2012, and is now ready to come back after pregnancy and, as she calls it “baby stuff.”
Visibly absent from the top 20 is 2012 CrossFit Games 32nd-place finisher Alicia Gomes, who edged out Lemoine and Camille Leblanc-Bazinet for a eighth place finish in the Pendleton Obstacle Course. Gomes will be competing with the CrossFit Route 1 Team at Regionals.
Also making it to the Regionals for the second time is 19-year old Megin Oczkowski (Shoreline CrossFit). Other familiar names include Karianne Dickson, two-time Games competitor, Jessica Pamanian, and crowd favorite, Jennifer Hunter-Marshall.
Team
Among the top 30 teams moving on to the Regionals, there are many familiar names, and a few new ones.
CrossFit Milford finished first in the region and seventh worldwide, with Shoreline CrossFit following closely behind at second place in the region and eighth worldwide. CrossFit Dynamix rounds off the top three with a 17th-place finish worldwide.
2011 Affiliate Cup winners, CFNE, are taking both their teams to Regionals. CrossFit Back Bay also has two teams advancing.
CrossFit Lindy and CrossFit 5th Avenue both qualify teams for the first time.
Masters
The top 20 Masters competitors worldwide in each division get an invitation to the Games.
For the Masters Men 40-44 Division, John Lynch (Shoreline CrossFit) finished first in the North East and third worldwide. Others who qualified in this division are Brad Posnanski, who finished in 15th place worldwide and third-place finisher in the North East, Paul Teehan (CrossFit Florian). Dan Loewenberg (CrossFit Milford) squeezed in at the 20th place worldwide.
The Masters Women 45-49 Division has a strong North East presence, with Lisa Mikkelsen (CrossFit Never Doubt), Amy Mandelbaum (BKA Athletics), Barbara Sessa (CrossFit C2E) and Cindy Briggs (Brick Yard CrossFit) all advancing to the Games. Mikkelsen is also 23rd on the Individual Women’s Leaderboard in the region.
The first place in the North East for the Masters Men 50-54 Division, Bubba Hagood (CrossFit New England) qualifies in ninth place worldwide. His teammate and second-place finisher, Brian Curley (CrossFit New England) also qualifies for the Games with a 14th-place finish worldwide.
In the Masters Women 50-54 Division, the No. 1 spot in the North East belongs to Elaine Polito (CrossFit Bridgewater). She qualifies worldwide in sixth place. The second-place finisher in the North East, Sue Velott (CrossFit Mount Laurel) also qualified close behind in seventh place.
The women of the North East finished strong in the Masters Women 55-59 Division. Annie Michel (CrossFit Beacon) took eighth place worldwide. Marie Garceau (CrossFit North Haven) also qualified with a 12th-place finish worldwide. Also qualifying was Page Lockhart (CrossFit Bridgewater) who placed 11th worldwide, and Paula Moore (CrossFit Revenge) who just made it with a 20th-place finish. In the same division for the men, Alan Carter (Green Mountain CrossFit) took 14th worldwide.
Unfortunately, crowd favorite, Jacinto Bonilla (CrossFit Virtuosity), finished 40th in the world in the Masters 60+ Division, and will not be making a third trip to the Games. However, the North East will be strongly represented in this division by Jerry Fireman (CrossFit New England) who placed seventeenth worldwide.
Rounding out the Masters athletes is Marlene Garceau (CrossFit North Haven) who finished second overall worldwide, in the 60+ Division. Carol Gabriel (CrossFit Wachusett) and Cindy Condos (Champlain Valley CrossFit) also qualified in this division with worldwide places of 14th and 16th, respectively.
This has been the largest event in CrossFit, with more 138,000 competitors participating in the various tests to find the Fittest on Earth.
As we move forward into the Regionals and Games, please check Games.CrossFit.com often for updates.
