CrossFit Games

Strength in Depth: Day Two Recap

January 25, 2020 by
Courtesy of @strengthindepthuk
Enjoying Morning Chalk Up? Access additional exclusive interviews, analyses, and stories with an Rx membership.

All eyes were on the leaderboard across the elite divisions through day two of the CrossFit Strength in Depth Sanctional on Saturday. By the end of the evening, familiar names sat atop the board and the battle for the 2020 Games invitations heated up, setting in motion what should be a dramatic final day of competition at the sold-out NOCCO Arena on Sunday.

Team Division: CrossFit Mayhem Freedom started the day in fourth place, 42 points out of the lead, and ended the evening with an eight-point lead over upstart Team WHEY’D. Four-straight event wins, including a sweep of all three on Saturday, put the rest of the field on notice that they are still the two-time defending Fittest Team on Earth.

  • Mayhem Freedom won the one rep max hang snatch in event five with a combined weight of 410 kilograms (903 lbs).
  • Team WHEY’D, recorded a second and a pair of third-place finishes on day two, and are within striking distance of upsetting Mayhem and receiving the Games invitation.
  • TRAINLIKEFIGHT.COM sits in third, just 24 points off the Mayhem lead.

Women’s Division: Much like the team leaderboard, the women’s side saw a drastic change, as the leader heading into the day could not hold. Laura Horvath put in a stellar performance throughout the day to overtake Haley Adams, the day one leader. Horvath, the 2018 games runner-up, swept all three events on Saturday to give herself a 13-point lead over Gabriela Migala. Adams dropped to third place, 27 points out of first.

  • Horvath braved the chilly weather conditions in London’s famous Royal Docks to win the highly anticipated regatta row with a time of 3:38 to kick-off her successful day.
  • The first four spots in the leaderboard are held by athletes that have secured invitations to the Games, including three national champions (Horvath – Hungary, Migala – Poland, and Camilla Salomonsson Hellman – Sweden).
  • Kelsey Kiel has thrust herself into the coveted Games invitation position with an outstanding day two, ending with 257 total points. She recorded two top-four finishes including a second place in event five. She currently sits in fifth place.
  • Nicole Chovan (239 points – sixth), Stephanie Chung (197.5 points – seventh) and Carys Webster (193 points – eighth) are all chasing Kiel for the Games invitation.
Credit @wit.fitness

Men’s Division: Mathew Fraser will remember his 30th birthday as one where he once again showed how he has dominated the sport for the last four years. After losing points to leader Lukas Hӧgberg in the regatta row with a seventh-place finish, Fraser dominated inside the NOCCO Arena, winning event four and five, ending Saturday with a 67 point lead over Hӧgberg. Fraser heads into the final day of competition looking for his third career Sanctional title in as many attempts.

  • Hӧgberg is now locked in a battle with Giorgos Karavis for the Games invitations. After a second place in the regatta row to start the day, he ended with a 20th place in the final event.
  • Meanwhile, Karavis couldn’t take advantage of Hӧgberg’s struggle as he managed a 23rd place, a fifth-place and finally an 11th place showing.
  • The hometown favorite, David Shorunke had the biggest jump of the day and has put himself in contention for the Games invite. After winning the regatta row he placed third in event four and fourth in event five putting him 21 points behind Hӧgberg.
  • Andre Houdet and defending Strength in Depth champion Bronislaw Olenkowicz are also in contention for the invite. Both sit fifth and sixth respectively.
  • Olenkowicz had three top-three finishes including back-to-back runner-up finishes to Fraser in event four and five. After a last-place finish in event one, he has slowly climbed out of the hole.

On tap for the final day: Two events are scheduled for Sunday for all divisions. A common Sanctional movement, the legless rope climb, is on deck for the teams in event 6, and then they will tackle an event that features assault bike and rowing for 30 calories, 30 worm burpees and finally 30 worm thrusters. The individuals will see traditional rope climbs, handstand walks and a heavy yoke carry in event six. The competition ends with a 21-15-9 triplet of ski cals, bar-facing burpees and heavy overhead squats.

The Overall Top 10 After Day 2

  1. Laura Horvath (370) | Mathew Fraser (412) | Mayhem Freedom (438)
  2. Gabriela Migala (357) | Lukas Hӧgberg (345) | Team WHEY’D (430)
  3. Haley Adams (343) | Giorgos Karavis (329) | TRAINLIKEFIGHT.COM (414)
  4. Camilla Salomonsson Hellman (324) | David Shorunke (324) | Vondelgym Motion (378)
  5. Kelsey Kiel (257) | Andre Houdet (318) | CrossFit Roseland (238)
  6. Nicole Chovan (239) | Bronislaw Olenkowicz (302) | AOD Fitness (236)
  7. Steph Chung (197.5) | Zack George (287) | Team Aarhus CrossFit (220)
  8. Carys Webster (193) | Will Moorad (276) | Team Nordvest Black (212)
  9. Mirka Henriksson (183) | Nicolay Billaudel (266) | Stratton Oakmont (180)
  10.  Christina Agerbeck (176.5) | Marcus Erixon (246) | CrossFit Chester Elite (166)

Check back with the Morning Chalk Up for daily updates, recaps and analysis. You can follow our coverage on the Strength in Depth Sactional page.

Get the Newsletter

For a daily digest of all things CrossFit. Community, Competitions, Athletes, Tips, Recipes, Deals and more.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.