As we approach the halfway mark that is 13.3, there is still everything to play for and more great battles to come.
Open Workout 13.2 was the subject of much debate in the CrossFit community. The workout instigated several heated conversations, online posts, even CrossFit memes asking one simple question: should you jump up, or should you step up?
With relatively light weights and a shorter time frame, 13.2 was an all out sprint. Did this very different format from 13.1 shake up the Europe Leaderboard? Or did the region's top athletes prove they are just as strong with heavier weights as they are quick and agile with lighter ones?
MEN
Philip Bengtsson of CrossFit Malmö took the top spot for 13.2, beating out last week's top-finisher, Mikko Salo, with a score of 376 reps. Salo posted 368 reps.
Bengtsson placed 16th in 13.1, and his first-place performance in 13.2 has put him in fourth place overall. Salo finished 13.2 in second place, but this has not affected his overall standing. After two weeks, he is still in first place in Europe.
13.2 saw major gains for many athletes. Sam Goulding of CrossFit Nottingham jumped from a 424th-place finish in 13.1 to a fifth-place finish with 362 reps in 13.2. Similarly, Domenic Becker of CrossFit Munich moved from 371st after 13.1 to a seventh-place finish in 13.2.
WOMEN
Unlike the men, the top 10 of the Women's 13.2 Leaderboard has remained very similar to the previous week, with many of the same athletes keeping a tight hold on their top spots. In Manchester, Samantha Briggs is reigning supreme following 13.2. Not only is she in first place overall in Europe, she’s tied for first worldwide with Central East’s, Danielle Sidell.
On the other side of the Atlantic, two-time Games champion, Annie Thorisdottir, performed 13.2 just minutes after it was announced, live to a worldwide audience. Although she beat her competition, Lindsey Valenzuela, Thorisdottir’s score of 361 reps put her in sixth place in Europe for 13.2 and second place overall.
Like the men, there were a few athletes who made massive jumps in position with 13.2. Hanne Nilsen of CrossFit Senteret-Asane, finished 294th in 13.1, but in 13.2, she finished in fifth place. Oksana Pikmulova, an unaffiliated athlete from Russia, took eighth place in 13.2 with 348 reps. She had finished 404th in 13.1.
MASTERS
The newly created 40-44 Division continued to be a hard fought arena, with Iceland’s Evert Viglundsson (CrossFit Reykjavik), using his past Games experience to take the lead with 310 reps.
CrossFit Örebro’s, Benny Ahlstedt, and CrossFit Reading’s, Gareth Doody, put in top performances to move themselves up to fourth and fifth, respectively.
London Throwdown champion, Anne Waage (CrossFit Bergen), is starting to look untouchable at the top. She continues to dominate the 40-44 women’s group with an impressive 335 reps. This also places her seventh in the world.
CrossFit Vaxjo’s, David Hawtin, has moved into the top spot overall in the Men’s 45-49 Division with a first-place finish in 13.2, completing 287 reps. Second-place finisher, Fredrik Andersson’s 269 reps moved him 16 places up the rankings to twelfth place overall.
CrossFit Mallow’s, Maria Blumenthal, and CrossFit Plymouth’s, Maz Glover, continue to battle it out in the Women’s 45-49 Division with Glover forced to do 13.2 twice, as she was using a bar 2 kg too light for her first attempt.
CrossFit Power Factory’s, Michel Vanmeerbeek, remains at the top of the Men’s 50-54 Division. With illness forcing group favourite, Terri McAllister, to pull out of the competition, the top spot in the Women’s 50-54 group is now shared by CrossFit 3D’s, Sharron Lowe, and CrossFit Espoo’s, Helena Pirvola-Nykenen, with CrossFit 3D’s Jane Holgate moving up to third.
Three familiar names dominate the Men’s 55-59 Division: CrossFit Sport’s, Hilmar Hardarson and Neil Foley, from CrossFit Scotland, who all qualified for the 2012 Regional, taking the top spots, whilst CrossFit Lappeenranta's, Anita Eskelinen, remains top in the women’s category.
In the 60+ Division, Bert Wijker, of CrossFit AKA, and Sigurgeur Bjarnassuxx, now share first place overall in the men’s category and, likewise, Maria Berendsen, of CrossFit Culemborg, and Anne Brannigan, of CrossFit Clitheroe, are currently holding joint first overall for the women.
TEAMS
From Iceland, CrossFit Reykjavik continues to dominate, whilst Swedish teams, Team CrossFit Nordic and CrossFit Solid show great consistency coming in second and third
As we approach the halfway mark that is 13.3, there is still everything to play for and more great battles to come.
