“The past always looks better than it was. It's only pleasant because it isn't here.”- Finley Peter Dunne
GOOD
CrossFit Coppertop Crew Lifts Car Off Accident Victim in Daring Rescue
It was a normal Friday morning at CrossFit Coppertop in Amherst, OH on September 16. The sleepy 5 AM crew filtered into the gym, grabbed foam rollers and were working out some kinks on their bodies. Some of them used the rollers as pillows for a few more moments of rest before the clang and bang of the impending workout.
“I had nine people in that morning,” said Sam Lambert, who co-owns Coppertop with his wife Carolyn. “One of the women was running late, so we hadn’t started the warm-up yet,” he continued. “It wasn’t such a full class that I had to worry about sticking to a strict timeline and the 5 AM group is a very tight-knit group, they don’t mind waiting for one of their crew.”
Lambert said they were just about to get moving, when the power went out.
“Folks were tying their shoes and getting up off their butts, and everything went black,” Lambert said. “At 5 AM, if the lights go out, it’s just pitch black.”
What Lambert and his athletes didn’t know yet was that a car had just careened into a telephone pole knocking out power for the whole block, just down the street on Route 58.
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SPEED READS
In case you missed it: Lauren Kalil, the host of The Bottom Line, spoke to Brian Friend and Chase Ingraham about whether or not the judging standards are up to snuff for the sport.
“Iranian women and ALL women, deserve to live how they’d like without seeking permission. Express themselves without fear. Laugh, cry, learn, play, dance, and educate without the need of a man’s or government’s validation.”
Street cred: Sports Illustrated has a piece on the best CrossFit equipment you need to have in your at-home gym.
WZA update: As of last night at publication, here are the top 10 athletes in the online qualifier as of last night. Wodapalooza extended the submission deadline until 11:59 PM ET and some names and numbers may have shifted. Here is the full leaderboard:
Fabian Beneito Selles – 88 | Katelin Van Zyl – 60
John Wood – 103 | Olivia Sulek – 92
Travon Benton – 151 | Sydney Wells – 126
Luke Parker – 196 | Gracie Strachan – 127
Fernando Llaneza – 199 | Valentina Magalotti – 130
Benjamin Gutierrez – 211 | Brittany Weiss – 132
Cam Crockett – 216 | Ella Kanona Wunger – 132
Kaique Cerveny – 216 | Lexi Neely – 133
Casper Gammelmark – 218 | Lexi Neely – 139
Damian Martinez Satorres – 225 | Hanna Karlsson – 142
CROSSFIT GAMES
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
Brent Fikowski and Patrick Vellner: 2022 CrossFit Games Athlete Studies
The focus today is on the two most recognizable Canadians in recent history. Both Patrick Vellner and Brent Fikowski broke onto the scene back in 2016 when they finished third and fourth respectively. They have both been inside the top four at every Games (other than the irrelevant to these sorts of conversations 2019 and 2020 iterations) since then, and until this season.
Last year (2021) Vellner and Fikowski occupied two of the three podium spots. Most everyone predicted something similar this year.
Of course, that is not how 2022 played out. Vellner finished 6th, not a terrible regression, but certainly not what we have come to expect from him. And Fikowksi took 16th, by far his worst appearance in any relevant Games season.
The question we’re after today is very simple: why?
Steph Chung on Shooting Commercial with LeBron James: “It was cool to see his personality come out”
In July of this year, former CrossFit Games athlete Steph Chung headed to a warehouse in Akron, OH to shoot a commercial with NBA superstar LeBron James. Chung, who came 35th at the 2018 CrossFit Games, said the experience was just as surreal as one might think, however James – who is seen as a larger than life figure – turned out to be super down to earth.
“I’ve never been part of a commercial shoot of that size before,” said Chung, who was shooting a spot for LADDER supplements (who she signed with in May) with the NBA megastar, “and I learned a lot by observing and interacting with LeBron on set.”
Chung had recently been signed by the brand, and got the call to head to the warehouse for the day. James, who is about to head into another season with the Los Angeles Lakers, is one of the most recognizable and famous athletes in the world, worth an estimated $1 billion according to Forbes. The 37-year-old stands 6-foot-9 and has multiple million dollar endorsement deals, however Chung said he was totally relaxed and approachable during their shoot together.
“He was very nice and introduced himself right away, and he was really funny when we were improvising some of the scenes,” she added. “I was obviously very flattered at the opportunity (to shoot the video with him) and it was just a really unique and cool opportunity that came up.”
CrossFit has started to flirt with the outskirts of the mainstream sporting realm and news media landscape. Mat Fraser, who was on the biggest podcast in the world, the Joe Rogan Experience, was also recently interviewed for a piece in USA Today. Big name brands are also starting to court CrossFit athletes including Monster and TYR, along with CrossFit early adopters Nike and Reebok.
The video – which ends with Chung and James high-fiving after a workout and some playful banter – showcases the growing appeal of working out as part of a fitness lifestyle. LADDER, which was founded by James, also has a number of other high profile athletes signed to it including Los Angeles Dodgers player Trea Turner and Cameroonian pro wrestler Khan.
“He’s very cool, he’s a really nice person,” said Chung about the whole experience, “and I felt like I learned a lot about acting from him and I thought it was really cool to see him have a lot of personality on set. He’s obviously a really great athlete but it’s cool to see people who are great athletes also have cool personalities. And the director and the producer were asking us to kind of play off each other and for a lack of a better word, improvise in some scenes and it was cool to see his personality come out.”
Chung added she thinks the video shows that CrossFit athletes can hang with the best of the best of them during a workout.
“I hope that this partnership shows that professional CrossFit athletes are starting to gain recognition and consideration for partnerships in the same way as athletes in mainstream professional sports, such as basketball and football.”
THINGS TO...
...TRY
This Squat Prep
Warm ups are important to make sure we are able to perform our best, especially before some heavy squats. Follow this prep routine from Squat University to make sure you are squatting low and lifting heavy.
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Three-time CrossFit Games athlete Pamela Lagnon knows a thing or two about handstand push ups. That’s why you’ll definitely want to watch this video for her tips to cleaning up your HSPU form and making them faster!
Need new gym shoes? Of course you do! The Nano X2 is marked way down to only $89.97 for a limited time. What's better than new shoes? New shoes and a bargain!
Are you ready to see the types of people you find on the ski erg? Do you think you’ll resonate with any of these people? If so, we might need to work on a few things…
🤯 Luiza Marques from Brazil takes deficit handstand pushups to a whole new level, starting on the floor and stepping up to the box with her hands.
This Saturday, October 1st, BeachSide CrossFit in Ventura, CA is hosting their 8th annual Beach Hero WOD “Big Nate” at Marina Park Beach in honor of USAF Pararescue Nate Schmidt. The WOD will start at 8:30AM; anyone is welcome to join.
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