Conrad Winnertz Takes Advantage of Moving Day at REBEL Renegade Games
The REBEL Renegade Games continued on Saturday with two more events in Johannesburg, South Africa. Performing well on moving day was critical for the competitors hoping to punch a ticket to the NOBULL CrossFit Games, and Mayhem athlete Conrad Winnertz took full advantage by working his way up to third overall.
Event Three: A pure test of strength, Semifinals Linda tasked the athletes with completing a descending number of reps (10-1) of three lifts. They started with deadlifts at 295 pounds before continuing with dumbbell bench presses at 90 pounds and squat cleans at 145 pounds.
- Assem Effat, who apparently has the nickname of the Egyptian Hulk, was the man to watch early in the second heat. He showed his strength as he went unbroken on the dumbbell bench presses and continued moving methodically.
- It appeared that Effat would take the heat win. However, the broadcast failed to track Ruan Conradie, who just quietly went about his business. He passed Effat in the closing rounds, and he completed his final squat clean with mere seconds remaining.
- Conradie was the only man in the first two heats to complete the event at 16:47.00, which ultimately secured third overall in the event.
- The final heat was all about two men – Justin Holliday and Kealan Henry. As two of the bigger athletes in the field, they were able to work their way through the first few rounds of the event with ease.
- Henry took control of the event on the set of three reps. He easily completed his final lifts without wasting any time, and he was able to win the event with a time of 15:15.00. Holliday also finished under the time cap at 16:29.00.
- While Henry and Holliday drew all the attention, Winnertz just quietly put in work. He locked up a sixth-place finish and added another 80 points to his total.
Event 4/5: The fastest event of the weekend, the two-parter started with an 800-meter run and a max-effort snatch. The athletes had six minutes to complete this first section. Following a two-minute rest period, they then had another six minutes to complete eight snatches (185 pounds) and another 800-meter run.
- Darren Zurnamer, who finished second in Event 2, took the second heat win in Event 4 with a 122-kilogram (268.9 pounds) snatch. He narrowly beat out Dutoit Botha, who lifted 118 kilos (260 pounds).
- Botha then went out and won the second heat in Event 5, followed by Matthew Schiff. Zurnamer crossed the finish line fourth overall while continuing a consistent day.
- Ruan Potgieter, who put the field on notice with an Event 2 win on the opening day, matched Zurnamer with a 122-kilogram snatch. He completed it just ahead of the time cap.
- Elsayed Hasona snuck under the radar during the heavy-lifting portion of the event. He completed a 126-kilo (277.78 pounds) snatch to take the event win over Zurnamer and Potgieter.
Worth noting: Botha desperately needed points as he sat 16th after the first three events. A 29th-place finish disrupted his opening day. However, Botha made some moves on a crucial day. He finished 12th in Event 3 and fifth in Event 4. Another solid performance in Event 5 helped him close out the day fifth in the standings.
The bottom line: The final day of the REBEL Renegade Games is all that stands between the top athletes competing in Johannesburg and a trip to the NOBULL CrossFit Games. There are only two events, but they both present significant hurdles.
The first event of the day is a chipper with a time cap of 15 minutes. The male athletes must complete 20 overhead squats (185 pounds), a 500-meter row, three handstand walk pirouettes, two seated legless rope climbs, 20 strict chest-to-wall handstand push-ups, two seated legless rope climbs, three handstand walk pirouettes, 500-meter row, and 20 overhead squats (185 pounds).
The final event is all about the ability to push through the pain and go full send. The athletes will cap off the weekend with a three-round workout featuring a six-minute time cap. They must complete 15 calories on the Echo Bike, 20 toes-to-bar, and a 60-foot sandbag bear-hug carry (200 pounds).
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