CrossFitters Scramble for Spots on the Leaderboard on Episode 3 of the Spartan Games
**SPOILERS AHEAD**
The third episode of the “Spartan Games: Battle of the Fittest, presented by Harley-Davidson” once again featured just two events. However the two events could not have been any different in testing the fitness of the 24 competing athletes. After five events, athletes started to strategize their next moves with the volatility of the leaderboard looming heading into day three of the competition.
Event 6, Spartan Wrestling: With a history dating back over 15,000 years, the athletes would be competing against each other in one of the oldest forms of combat and sport, wrestling. Seeded by their placings on the leaderboard, each athlete would compete in a double-elimination bracket with the final match being single elimination. The first athlete to score five points in the :90 second match would advance. In the event that they did not reach five points, whoever had the higher score or scored first would advance. Athletes got points for pushing their competitor out of the wrestling circle, takedowns and hands or knees making contact with the ground.
- Once again CrossFit athletes dominated this event on the women’s side. Four of the top finishers were CrossFitters.
- Two-time CrossFit regional athlete Faith Cooke saw little resistance as she won her second event of the competition. Cooke didn’t didn’t give up a single point as she went a perfect 5-0 enroute to the win.
- CrossFit Games veteran Emma Chapman had her best showing of the competition with a runner-up finish. After a loss to fellow Games athlete Corrina Coffin in her second match she would string together five-straight wins including victories over Samantha Briggs and Kristi O’Connell.
- She was also able to avenge her loss to Coffin during her five-match winning streak before yielding to Cooke in the finals.
- O’Connell won her first three matches before falling to Cooke and Chapman, earning her a third place finish.
- Coffin picked up 12 points with a fourth place finish and also extended her lead in the overall leaderboard.
- Three-time Regionals athlete Lauren Weeks finished tied for fifth followed by Briggs in seventh.
- In no surprise, the finals of the men’s wrestling event featured Hunter McIntyre and former NFL player Curt Maggitt.
- McIntyre, who has a background in wrestling, went a perfect 3-0 through the championship bracket before facing off against Maggitt, a man he bested in the tug-of-war on day one of the competition.
- Maggit lost his opening bout and went 5-0 through the consolation bracket to set up the match-up between the two strongest athletes in the field.
- McIntyre picked up the first point of the match and then wore down Maggit before picking up a 3-1 win and vaulting himself to the top of the overall leaderboard.
- CrossFitter Herman Demmink tied for fifth, his fifth top-five finish in six events.
Event 7, Spartan Trail Ultra: The final event of the day was a grueling trail run through the technical paths of the Vermont wilderness. Each athlete had six hours to complete as many laps on a five-mile course. By the end of the race many of the athletes had completed more miles of running then they have ever done before.
- Where they struggled in the much more physical wrestling event earlier in the day, the endurance competition athletes dominated this event.
- The husband and wife duo of Spartan Race champions Ryan Atkins and Lindsay Webster picked up the wins. Atkins completed seven laps (35 miles) in 5:20 while Webster completed six laps (30 miles) in 5:33.
- Weeks kept pace with Webster for much of the race, also completing six laps but finishing those laps just eight minutes behind Webster.
- Coffin placed fifth with five laps completed in just under five hours.
- O’Connell placed seventh with Briggs, Cooke and Chapman finishing tenth through 12th respectively.
- On the men’s side, McIntyre was working on damage control knowing that Atkins would win the event. The 2019 Games athlete did enough work to maintain his overall lead over his Spartan Race rival finishing sixth with five laps completed in 4:33.
- Demmink placed eighth with five laps completed in 5:27.14.
Day Three leaderboard:
- For the third time in as many days, the women’s leaderboard had a new leader at the end of the day’s competition.
- Webster stood in the overall lead, holding a ten point advantage over Coffin.
- Weeks moved back into the top three after her impressive performance in the Spartan Trail Ultra. She’s just 17 points off the lead.
- Cooke continued her ascent up the leaderboard, moving into fourth place after finishing day two in fifth.
- O’Connell moved up one spot to fifth followed by Briggs in sixth.
- Chapman remained in eighth place just one point behind seventh and ten points behind Briggs for sixth.
- McIntyre finally ended the day atop the leaderboard but holds just a two point lead over Atkins.
- Demmink fell out of the top three, dropping to fifth with 72 points. He’s just two points out of fourth and eight out of third.
What’s next: The conclusion of the series will feature three events. The final day of competition will start with a one mile sprint uphill with a weighted vest followed by another DEKA Heavy, functional fitness workout and concludes with the Spartan Cross obstacle race.
- Episode 4 will broadcast on the Spartan YouTube Channel on December 23.
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