Ten minutes. Three textbook movements. A whole world of pain.
If this year’s Open is to see an archetypal CrossFit workout, then 13.2 has to be it. A tasty triplet of five shoulder to overheads, 10 deadlifts and 15 box jumps was served up last Wednesday, or Thursday as is the case for many in the Asia Region.
Ten minutes. Three textbook movements. A whole world of pain.
The weight required on the bar for the workout resulted in strong reactions. Some protested, claiming the bar to be too light, while others delighted in the workout’s accessibility to a range of levels.
First attempts left many an athlete surprised by its ferocity, resulting in them repeating the workout, often this time round with step-ups, in the hope of improving their scores.
No sooner had athletes submitted their scores for 13.2, than they started discussing what week three has in store for them.
Men
Current results serve as proof that it really is anyone’s game at this stage, as Asia sees two new names creep into the top three. Yousef Albaqsami from CrossFit Q8 took fifth place in 13.1 and 10th position this week. The 25-year-old coach currently sits at the top of the male Leaderboard for Asia.
Following closely behind in second place is last year’s Asia Regional winner, Daniel Hershey.
“I ran through this one twice, unfortunately,” Hershey explains. “My first attempt went too fast out of the gate and each subsequent round tapered off. I wasn't too happy with the variance, so I tried it again. Nothing fancy, just tried to keep each round at a minute. I'm not a met-con ninja by any means, but I was able to maintain that pace throughout and it seemed to work for me.”
Hot on Hershey’s heels is 20-year-old Jordan Reiley, who scored 306 reps for 13.2, a single rep less than Hershey. CrossFit Misawa will be pleased with both men’s scores, considering they are on the same team.
Women
Nicole Tainatongo moves up from last week’s second-place position into first after scoring 328 reps on 13.2.
“The girls in Asia really are kickass, and after the first couple of weeks of the Open, it shows that we are all really stepping up our game,” Tainatongo says. “It's really exciting.”
Tainatongo is no doubt referring to the likes of Vanessa Fung, who she competed alongside at last year’s Asia Regional, who currently holds joint second place with Marlene Andersson, who was in the Europe Regional last year.
Candice Howe is in fourth place at the end of week two and will no doubt continue to be one of this year’s top contenders.
“To be honest, I am surprised by how much I 'got on' with 13.2,” Howe says. “It wasn't easy or hard, so much as classic CrossFit work. I usually prefer the higher skill or heavier weighted WODs, but this triplet was a good workout for me.”
Team
With the likes of Hershey and Reiley on their side, it’s no surprise that CrossFit Misawa is currently dominating the team leaderboard for Asia, moving up into first place from second last week, after scoring a total of 1,833 reps.
Following Team Misawa is CrossFit 671, who in spite of a considerably smaller team, still managed to get 1,788 reps on 13.2 – they, too, have a secret weapon: Tainatongo.
CrossFit Asia currently holds the third position in Asia, with coach Jamie Light explaining their attitude to the Open.
“We are just trying to do our best,” he says. “The Open is our chance to qualify for the Asia Regional, but there are so many good teams out there that anything can happen. It all just depends on what comes out of the hopper.”
