“Living well is the best revenge.”- George Herbert
COMPETITION
Team BPN Edge out The Dottirs and Mal O’Brien in Tie-Break Win at TYR Wodapalooza
Going into the last day of competition at TYR Wodapalooza in Miami, FL, two star-studded teams—Team BPN (Laura, Horvath, Jamie Simmonds, Gabriela Migala) and The Dottirs Ft. MOB (Annie Thorisdottir, Katrin Davidsdottir and Mal O’Brien)—were sitting one and two, with just five points separating them.
And with 400 points still up for the taking on Sunday, it was very much anyone’s game, and what played out didn’t disappoint in delivering a down-to-the-wire race that ultimately ended up in a tie.
Here’s how it played out:
Event 5: Holds and Climbs–Sunday’s first event involved each athlete having to complete 10 consecutive rope climbs, with 48 synchronized reps of various lifts (hang clean, shoulder-to-overhead and thrusters) in between each athlete’s 10 rope climbs.
During the first half of the workout, it was Team BPN and The Dottirs Ft. MOB who took the early lead. Both teams finished their shoulder-to-overhead reps at almost the same time, and then it came down to O’Brien and Migala head-to-head on the rope climbs.
Migala won the race, finishing her 10th rope climb when O’Brien finished her ninth, giving Team BPN a headstart on their final 48 thrusters.
Not to be forgotten, A.K.A Humble Killers—Kari Pearce, Alex Gazan and Arielle Loewen—quietly stayed in the mix and started to make up ground on The Dottirs during the last 48 thruster reps of the event.
In the end, it was Team BPN, who looked comfortable and under control the entire way, who crossed the line a few reps ahead of The Dottirs, while A.K.A Humble Killers came through shortly after that. Their third place finish helped them overtake the third place spot overall, bumping the All American Girls (Brooke Wells, Amanda Barnhart and Kristi Eramo-O’Connell) into fourth.
Event 6: 3,2 1 Lift Off–Event 6 involved one athlete doing a 3-rep max overhead squat, another a 2-rep max front squat, and the third athlete a 1-rep max shoulder to overhead.
No surprise, big numbers were put up throughout the six heats, with Misfits with Lady Bits (Paige Semenza, Caroline Conners and Erin O’Donnell) posting the highest score in the early heats with a total of 754 pounds, which held up for third overall.
But, it was The Girls—Christine Kolenbrander, Alexis Raptis and Fee Saghafi—who posted the heaviest score of the day, a total of the day—761 pounds. Worth noting was Saghafi (one of the smaller, lighter athletes), who posted a 2-rep max front squat of 267 pounds.
As for the top two teams, it was, once again, Team BPN who edged out The Dottirs Ft. MOB by 12 pounds (755 pounds to 743 pounds), thanks to Horvath’s 250-pound 3-rep max overhead squat. The total was good enough for another second place finish for Team BPN, while The Dottirs placed fourth.
Meanwhile, in the yo-yo race for third between the All American Girls and A.K.A Humble Killers, the All American Girls reclaimed the bronze medal spot after their lifts, bumping A.K.A. Humble Killers back into fourth.
Heading into the final workout, Team BPN had just a 20-point lead over The Dottirs Ft. MOB, while the All American Girls were just eight points ahead of A.K.A Humble Killers.
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Also, in case you missed it: How did Team BPN win it all at TYR Wodapalooza? Morning Chalk Up’s Joey Adduci breaks down how they got it done.
Fun in the sun: The world’s fittest man, Justin Medeiros, was not competing at TYR Wodapalooza, but he was most definitely enjoying himself, and apparently breaking some hammocks in the process as well. 🤣
The last off-season “major,” TYR Wodapalooza, is done and dusted, and it gave us one last chance to see where CrossFit Games athletes’ fitness is, heading into the 2023 season (Spoiler: it’s only 31 days away).
With a new format this year–individuals on Thursday and Friday, teams on Saturday and Sunday–here are ten things we learned.
Canadian PB&J Reigns Supreme With 2023 TYR Wodapalooza Title
The2023 TYR Wodapalooza came to a close on Sunday, January 15, with three final events for the elite teams. The final day came down to an intense battle between three heavy hitters, but Canadian PB&J put on a strong showing and locked up the TYR Wodapalooza title.
One big thing: The first team event began without some big names. Smith Bros pulled out of the competition before the start of Holds and Climbs due to Alec Smith suffering an injury. This left a big hole in Lane 6.
Event 4: Holds and Climbs – This event was all about communication and grip strength. The athletes started with 48 synchronized hang cleans. One athlete had dumbbells, one had kettlebells, and one had a barbell. The teams then had to complete 48 synchronized shoulder-to-overhead with the same implements. Finally, they had to complete 48 synchronized thrusters.
To add to the complexity, there was an additional movement between each round of synchronized lifts. One athlete headed to the rope for 12 climbs while his partners stood by holding two of the implements.
There was one team that jumped out to an early lead in the final heat. Team Panchik – Tudor Magda, Spencer Panchik, and Jacob Heppner – took control on the opening set of synchronized hang cleans.
Team Panchik maintained this advantage over the field as Canadian PB&J – Patrick Vellner, Jeffrey Adler, and Brent Fikowski, tried to reel them in.
Canadian PB&J and Team Panchik actually traded the lead several times during the 48 synchronized thrusters. However, it was Team Panchik that ultimately crossed the finish line first for its first event win.
Canadian PB&J crossed the finish line second while keeping a stranglehold on the points lead. Good Dudes took third and remained in contention for a strong finish to the weekend.
One major surprise was the reigning TYR Wodapalooza championship team. The Boyz entered the final day second in the points, but they finished sixth in the event. This dropped them to 27 points below Canadian PB&J and helped Team GOWOD move a little closer to a proverbial silver medal.
Similarly, King BK & Friends also struggled mightily on the final set of thrusters before finishing eighth in the event. Khan Porter needed some assistance getting his dumbbells into the right position, which created questions from the broadcasters about a previous elbow injury. However, he went on to complete the weekend without further issues.
Event 5: 3, 2, 1 Lift Off – The second event of the day was a pure test of strength. The first athlete had to complete a three-rep max overhead squat while the second athlete had to complete a two-rep max front squat. The final athlete had to do a one-rep max shoulder-to-overhead. All three weights were put together for one total score.
The expectation was that Roman Khrennikov, Chandler Smith, Tola Morakinyo, Jeffrey Adler, Nick Mathew, and other veteran athletes would put up some big numbers. They did not disappoint during an intriguing event.
Adler hit 381 on his shoulder-to-overhead, which was a PR, while Khrennikov hit 367 to score some crucial points. Both teams needed to keep in contention for podium spots, and they did exactly that with their big lifts. Canadian PB&J hit 1,088 pounds while Team GOWOD hit 1,075, which were good enough for fourth and seventh, respectively.
Meanwhile, Morakinyo stunned the crowd with 407 pounds on his shoulder-to-overhead. He celebrated by dropping the bar and throwing his hands in the air. This was enough to help King BK & Friends lock up 1,027 total pounds and stay in fourth place entering the final event.
While these three teams made big moves, the defending champions had a rare misstep. The Boyz only put up 765 pounds after Ohlsen was unable to complete either of his overhead squats. This was 40th overall in the event, and it dropped The Boyz below Team GOWOD in the standings.
Interestingly, a team trying to avoid the cut won the event. Invictus Tiny Dancers put up a total of 1,155 pounds while facing immense pressure, which topped the previous best set by Team Mexico (1,115). This locked up 100 points and launched them above the cutline.
The driving force behind this win was Sam Dancer. The only man to clear the deadlift ladder at The Ranch during the 2016 CrossFit Games has a reputation for big lifts. He proved this to be true during an early heat with his 420-pound front squats.
TYR Wodapalooza brings folks from all over the world with a wide variety of backgrounds and life experiences to a central beach party each January for the last 11 years. This time around, we caught up with first-time attendee Anthony Gonzales, who had a hand in bringing a tattoo shop to the festival for the first time.
It was only a year and a half ago when Gonzales’ doctor told him he was pre-diabetic and knew something had to change. He reached out to a friend “and he was like, you should probably try CrossFit, and (I said) no, I’m not that type of person,” he recalls. “He said ‘no, it’s a really cool community. I think you’ll love it’.”
CrossFit MOB in Thorton, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, quickly became the 36-year-old’s second home.
“But one thing for me, I want to feel confident. And one way to feel confident is to make sure I look cool,” Gonzales said. “I couldn’t find anything cool that fit my aesthetic. So I made a t-shirt for myself.” A full-time roofer by day, entrepreneur by night, Gonzales partnered up with a creative friend, Nick Quintero, to create a signature skeleton kettlebell design that was a hit at the gym. By accident, he had started an apparel company, now known as Uno Mas Ropa.
We all remember Emily Rolfe's emergency surgery mid-way through the 2022 Games. But now she's back, tearing up the competition in Miami. What's her secret to recovering so quickly? Along with her grit, tenacity, and determination: she used red light therapy. Specifically, the Move+ which....
The Open is notorious for being the best chance to get your first bar muscle up, and it’s almost here! Remember these two tips to help you get up and over that bar if we see a BMU in 2023.
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Four Steps to Getting Good at Anything In the Gym (or Out)
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Congratulations to Taylor Williamson on passing her exams and becoming an official PA-C.
Congratulations to Stella Wexler from CrossFit DBP in Ocala, FL on the 125 pound/56.7kg deadlift PR.
It’s still up for debate whether Sam Dancer lifted 420 or 435 pounds (190.5/197kg) in his Event 5 front squat at TYR Wodapalooza, but either way, it was incredibly impressive.
CrossFit South Brooklyn in Brooklyn, NY raised over $100,000 in only 3 days for a former coach diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
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