Week Three in Review: Europe

March 12, 2012

CrossFit

Annie Thorisdottir and Philip Bengtsson sealed 1st on Workout 12.3.

 

After two short single modality workouts, we got a long triplet (AMRAP style). Box jumps, shoulder to overhead, and toes-to-bar delivered a whole new set of challenges. 

Winded and exhausted within the first few minutes, many competitors found that their double-digit goal was out of reach. Yet the top few continued to gut it out and turned out scores that continue to inspire the “everyman” CrossFitter.

For instance, consider these stats:

To get within the top five in Europe on 12.3, female competitors needed to get into the push presses of their 12th round and male competitors needed to get to their 6th toes-to-bar on their 11th round.

In 1st in Europe on 12.3, Annie Thorisdottir finished a remarkable 14 rounds and 15 box jumps (519 reps) and Philip Bengtsson completed 13 rounds, 15 box jump and two push presses (485 reps).

MEN

This week’s leaders come from Sweden, Wales and Denmark. Bengtsson of CrossFit Malmo had a decisive win, beating 2nd place finisher Leigh Bevan of CrossFit SA1 by 14 reps and 3rd place finisher Frederik Aegidius of CrossFit Butcher’s Garage by 17 reps. Bengtsson’s performance is not solely a top score in Europe; it also earned an 8th place finish worldwide.

With a wider net cast than ever before, we’ve brought in many new athletes. Only three of the top 10 on were 2011 Europe Regional qualifiers, and several of these athletes are from formerly less competitive countries.

WOMEN

After three weeks, the European women’s Leaderboard appears to be settling out. Thorisdottir, Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir and Emma Keen remain in the top three positions on both 12.3 and the overall standings in Europe. 

Notably, Martina Barbaro made a jump up the Leaderboard, moving to 4th place overall after a nearly 13-round performance on 12.3 (467 reps, tied for 3rd in Europe on 12.3).

The Fittest Woman on Earth, Thorisdottir, remains in a class of her own. She is 4th in the world and 1st in Europe. Now that Sam Briggs has withdrawn from the 2012 CrossFit Games Season to recover from a longstanding knee injury, the competition for the remaining two berths to the Games has become more open than anticipated.

TEAMS

The top two teams on 12.2 have held their ground on 12.3. CrossFit Reykjavik (2,429 reps) and CrossFit BC Island (2,288 reps) lead in the workout and overall standings for the second week in a row. Reykjavik and CrossFit BC Island both have top individual competitors contributing to their scores. 

Thorisdottir boosted CrossFit Reykjavik’s total and 2nd place European competitor Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir boosted CrossFit BC Island’s. Notably, former CrossFit Games competitor Sveinbjorn Sveinbjornson is back in action, competing with CrossFit BC Island.

Team Butcher’s Lab sealed the 3rd place position on 12.3 with 2,241 reps, and have moved up to 7th place overall.