All eyes were on the Aussies at the 2015 Pacific Regional that combined the Asia and Australia regions for a throwdown in Wollongong, Australia.

On the men’s side, several former Games athletes were looking for a return trip to Carson, California, but it was a rookie who stole the show at the last minute.

Ben Garard battled back from 29th at the end of Day 1 to take the final qualifying spot to the Games. Heading into Event 7—the muscle-up/clean ladder—Garard knew he had no choice but to win the event. He did just that, beating the next-best time by 4 seconds.

In the women’s competition, it was all about Kara Webb. Fans yearned to see her come back strong after an injury forced her to withdraw from the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games when she was poised to win it all. Webb gave the crowd what they wanted by taking first in four of the seven regional events and claiming the top of the podium.

The Pacific will send five rookies—Alethea Boon, Tia-Clair Toomey, Kevin Manuel, Sammy Wood and Garard—and five vets—Webb, Denae Brown, Khan Porter, Rob Forte and Chad Mackay—to the individual competition at this year’s CrossFit Games.

Video by Michael McCoy.

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