CrossFit Games Day One Recap
The CrossFit Games officially kicked off just a little after 8:00 AM yesterday morning. Dave Castro led athletes out on a rolling start for the Crit, a 10-lap bike race around the coliseum grounds.
With nearly five hours of competition time, it’s was a long day. We’re here to help you make sense of it all and here are a few top stories from the day:
- It’s not how you start the race, it’s how you finish it. While Games rookie Laura Horvath led the way for a nearly half the race, a total of seven different ladies held the leading spot. But it was Kristin Holte, who never had the top spot until the last hundred meters, who would take the 100 points and her second career bike event win. FUN FACT: Katrin Davidsdottir never dropped below third place the entire race.
- The crash that could have been. Coming around the final turn on the last lap, Mathew Fraser skipped and skidded, almost to the ground, correcting his bike at the last minute and finishing fourth. This was the same exact spot that Michele Fumagalli fell and broke her wrist a half hour earlier.
- Fumagalli falls and heads home early. On the final turn before the finish line, Michele Fumagalli lost control of her bike and toppled over, breaking her wrist in the process. After quickly collecting herself, she picked up her bike and ran it across the finish line, but her broken wrist would be the end of her rookie appearance at the CrossFit Games.
- Can anyone go unbroken? Maybe, but not yesterday. Cody Anderson came the closest with 28 unbroken reps before he failed. Tia-Clair Toomey held on for the longest on the women’s side with 20 unbroken muscle-ups.
- These are not your 2007 Games athletes folks. In 2007, the average male athlete lifted 799.7 pounds; females lifted 411 pounds on average. In 2017, male athletes increased their average to 1145.38 pounds and female to 776.92 pounds. FUN FACT: Every single female athlete beat the 2007 winner. Meredith Root, who came in 39th with 660 pounds, lifted 130 pounds more. Conversely, only seven male athletes beat Connor Banks’ 2007 total of 1225 pounds.
- Margaux Alvarez bests nine male athletes in marathon row. A just 42 seconds over 3 hours, Margaux Alvarez started out in first and never gave it up. In the 2013 half marathon row, she averaged a 2:06:60 500m pace; in the full marathon, a 2:08:40 500m pace. That’s less than 2 seconds slower over twice the distance.
- Who will get the Spirit of the Games Award? The Spirit of the Games Award, one of the highest honors of the CrossFit Games, is given to the athlete who exhibits extraordinary character, inspires and motivates others to live life with grace, kindness, and resilience. This year, for the first time, the CrossFit community will select the Spirit of the Games Award winner. CrossFit will choose a few athletes to nominate for the award, then fans can tune into a live Facebook broadcast to cast their vote. Vote on Sunday, Aug. 5, on the CrossFit Games Facebook Page.
— Men: 1). Mat Fraser (298), 2). Lukas Högberg (296), 3). Cole Sager (268) , 4). Lukas Esslinger (258), 5). Adrian Mundwiler (256), 6). Patrick Vellner (248), 7). Brent Fikowski (242), 8). Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson (238), 9). Willy Georges (228), 10). Frederik Aegidius (212).
— Women: 1). Laura Horvath (338), 2). Tia-Clair Toomey (326), 3). Annie Thorisdottir (276), 4). Kara Saunders (248), 5). Kristi Eramo (230), 6). Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir (226), 7). Madeline Sturt (224) , 8). Kristin Holte (222), 9). Ehea Schuerch (222), 10). Sara Sigmundsdottir (210).
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