CrossFit Games

Danielle Brandon Joins Toomey and O’Brien in Podium Position on Moving Day

August 6, 2022 by
Photo Credit: Crispy Dudes
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For the first time since Thursday, the top three women leading the way at the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games aren’t Tia-Clair Toomey and a couple of teenagers, as Danielle Brandon has moved into a podium position, bumping 17-year-old Emma Lawson out of the top three for the first time all weekend.

The details: Since placing 27th on the first event of the week (because she received a penalty for completing the wrong number of laps on the bike), Brandon has been inching her way closer to the top three and was finally able to get there after the last event on Saturday evening.

  • Worth Nothing: On the final event Saturday—Sandbag Ladder—Brandon actually tied with 11 other women on the event with a 200-pound sandbag-to-shoulder lift, and went on to win the tie break, gaining valuable points and clinching 15th on the event, enough to gain a one-point lead over Lawson heading into the final day.

Memorable Saturday performance: Known for her strength, Dani Speegle all but monopolized the Sandbag Clean event on Saturday night under the lights—finishing the ladder with a 250-pounds clean—arguably dominating more than any other athlete has on any other event this weekend. 

  • When asked how she made it look so easy after her event win, Speegle shrugged and said, “Lift heavy, eat crumble cookie…eat a lot, man.”

The Big Picture: With three scored events left to go, five-time champion Toomey now has a comfortable 92-point lead over O’Brien, and O’Brien has an 74-point lead over Brandon, but the race for the third podium position is still wide open. Lawson is only one point away from a podium position, while Haley Adams in fifth is 44 points out of third.

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