The 2018 CrossFit Games Day Four Recap
“Take risks. Ask the dumb questions. Fail if you have to, and then get up and do it again.”
The VoyEdge RX Recap
By: Cam
Saturday was my favorite day of the 2018 CrossFit Games. At this point (day four) the ball was still in everyone's courts to make a push. Going into Saturday, there are usually no clear leaders (or at least for the women) and every point is up for grabs. And, as a spectator, it seems like everyone was giving their all on Saturday, and that made for a very entertaining day of watching the world's best athletes.
Plus, on the other hand, I watched all of these events via the CrossFit Games Facebook live feed and felt confident I could do all of these workouts. I've never even considered it, but this year, especially day four's events, seemed totally doable, which made it highly entertaining.
Obviously, I couldn't do it at the blistering pace these athletes tackled everything but beyond the sheer speed and strength of these individuals, the CrossFit Games actually looked fun.
Anyway, let's dive into some of the workouts from the individual events and see what happened.
MADISON TRIPLUS
Click here to watch the live stream of the Madison Triplus from the 2018 CrossFit Games
For time:
Swim 500 meters
Paddle 1,000 meters
Run 2,000 meters
Athletes will begin on the Lake Monona shoreline, enter the water and swim a 500-meter course, concluding back on land. They then will grab a paddleboard and paddle a 1,000-meter course. Finally, the athletes will exit the water and run 2,000 meters to the AEC, where they will cross the finish line.
Time cap: 40 minutes
Photo courtesy of: CrossFit Inc.
Pictured left to right: Tia-Clair Toomey & Kristi Eramo
What happened: Tia-Clair Toomey and Kristi Eramo had a blazing saddles race on the paddleboard. I thought Toomey had an AWESOME technique for it and her and Eramo were nearly neck and neck the whole time, but were head and shoulders beyond everyone in the race. Toomey ended up taking 1st with a time of 37:35.01 while Eramo finished 2nd with a time of 37:40.33 and Chyna Cho took third with a time of 39:29.22 - nearly two minutes after the first two women.
Photo courtesy of: CrossFit Inc.
Pictured left to right: Scott Panchik & Josh Bridges
For the men: Rookie competitor, Dean Linder-Leighton (an Aussie) finished ahead of Brent Fikowski for his 1st ever win with a time of 26:37.51 while Brent finished 15 seconds behind him at 26:52.44. James Newbury places third with just a step behind Fikowski at: 26:52.66
Watch Dave Castro release the women for the swim here.
CHAOS
Click here to watch 'Chaos' live on Facebook
For time:
35 / 30-cal. SkiErg
30 / 25 burpees to bar
45 / 40 single-arm OHS, 50 / 35-lb. DB
40 / 45 single-leg squats
25 box jump-overs, 42 / 36-in. box
110-ft. tumbler pull, 400 / 300 lb.
The athletes will not know the movements or reps at the start of the event. They will be informed of the exercises and reps required as they progress through each station.
Time cap: 12 minutes
What Happened: They didn't release the workout until the very last second and athletes didn't know what movement would be next until their judge told them. It was kind of a crazy way to throw a monkey wrench into the fray, but I like Dave Castro's style here. Between the burpees, single arm overhead squats, pistols and box jump overs, this workout looked really tough, and even brutal at the end with having to drag the tumbler. AKA - the modern day torture device used in the midwest.
Katrin Davidsdottir had a good quote in there: "It's a little bit scary because I do go by my strategies and try to be smart. I went out hard but I tried to go just below my threshold."
Photo courtesy of: CrossFit Inc.
Pictured: Katrin Davidsdottir
Looks like it worked out for her. Katrin finished with a time of: 8:19.35
For the men, Patrick Vellner finished first with a time of 9:19.86 in this epic photo here.
BICOUPLET 2
Click here to watch the Bicouplet live
12-9-6 reps for time of:
Snatches
Bar muscle-ups
M 135 lb. F 85 lb.
Time cap: 6 minutes for BC2
Bicouplet 1 and Bicouplet 2 will be separately scored events. Athletes will have 6 minutes to complete one bicouplet, then a 1-minute transition before starting the next bicouplet.
BICOUPLET 1
21-15-9 reps for time of:
Snatches
Chest-to-bar pull-ups
M 85 lb. F 55 lb.
Time cap: 6 minutes for BC1
What happened: Bicouplet 1 & 2 were voted on by fans on Saturday over Facebook Live. It was up to them to decide which event athletes would complete first, and Bicouplet 2 was chosen, which was, of course, the snatches & bar muscle-up combo.
Willy Georges (France) took the win in Bicouplet 2 with a time of 3:03.67 and it was his first event win, and he is also the first man from France to represent his country as an individual in the CrossFit Games. Pretty fucking cool!
See the IG photo from the event here.
Photo courtesy of: CrossFit Inc.
Pictured: Willy Georges (France)
After the short 1-minute rest, Willy Georges could not be stopped. He finished Bicouplet 1 with a time of 4:05.72 - finishing 2nd just behind the event winner, Rasmus Anderson who set the winning time.
Even cooler: Through a translator, Georges expressed his gratitude for the energy of the crowd and for the simple opportunity of being there along with all the other athletes. Super cool, really humble, and also really good at bar muscle-ups.
Photo courtesy of: CrossFit Inc.
Pictured: Alessandra Pichelli (Canada)
For the women: Camille Leblanc-Bazinet won Bicouplet 2 with a time of 3:02.27 and Kara Saunders won Bicouplet 1 with a time of 3:39.00 after an epic battle during the final heat.
Kara Saunders later went on to say:
“I have a really good team of people who help me out with things like my nutrition and my recovery,” Saunders said after the win. “They were game changers as I went from a rookie athlete to a veteran athlete. (Nutrition and recovery) are things that cannot be neglected if I want to ask such great things of my body.”
P.S. This announcement of 'Chaos' from Dave Castro was awesome...
SCORING
Every event will be worth up to 100 points, and athletes earn points based on their finish (see chart). At the end of the weekend, the athlete with the most points is the winner. Athletes who tie receive the same number of points. If athletes fail to complete an event within the time cap (for timed events), their score will be capped, and they will receive a 1-second penalty for each rep not completed.
Some events will have a minimum work requirement. For those events, athletes who fail to meet the minimum work requirement will not be eligible to move on to the next event. Athletes must continue to work to complete all the repetitions until the time cap expires.
Drop us a comment and let us know what you thought of the 2018 CrossFit Games Day Four