Mal O’Brien Dominates Granite Games Day 2 With Back-to-Back Wins
After a strong Day 1 that included an event win at the Granite Games in Eagan, MN, 18-year-old Mal O’Brien showed up even stronger on Day 2, starting and ending the day with two easy-looking event wins.
- “I feel great. That’s all,” O’Brien said in a post-event interview after her second win of the day, adding that she’s excited about tomorrow’s 70-calorie Echo Bike.
- When asked if this is where she thought she’s be sitting after four events, O’Brien smirked and said: “It’s where I hoped I’d be sitting.”
The rest of the field: CrossFit Games veterans Dani Speegle and Amanda Barnhart sit comfortably in second and third behind O’Brien, while two would-be Games rookies—Kloie Wilson and 20-year-old Alex Gazan—round out the top five.
- When asked about her game plan for the weekend, Gazan, who has been training under Underdogs Athletics coach Justin Cotler in Las Vegas, NV this season said: “Just stick to my game plan and whatever shakes out shakes out.” Considering she said she’s most excited about the legless rope climb event on Sunday, things could very well shake out her way.
Worth Noting: With second and third place finishes on Event 3 and 4 on Saturday, Games veteran Emily Rolfe made a huge jump up the leaderboard, moving from 11th to sixth and putting herself within striking distance of the top five.
Looking to Sunday: O’Brien, Speegle and Barnhart all look like relative shoe-ins to snag Games invites, but the final two spots are very much up for grabs between Rolfe and three would-be rookies, Wilson, Gazan and Kelly Stone in seventh.
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