Video By: CrossFit HQ

 

The CrossFit community said it was going to be more competitive this year with the new Regional format for the CrossFit Games season.

 

They were right.

 

Out of the quarter-of-a-million who registered for the 2015 CrossFit Open, only 20 in each Region will advance to the next level of competition: one of the nine Super Regionals, this May. This compared, to the total of 48 in each Region who advanced to Regionals last year.

 

Every year throughout the Games’ season, upsets are to be expected, and ‘underdog stories’ always find their way into the mix.

 

This year’s results were no different, as the ‘champ’, Rich Froning, took second-place in the Open: a first for him since 2012, as 2014’s  “Second Fittest Man in the World” Mat Fraser took first in the world for the men’s side. However, Fraser said he knows winning the Open is only one small piece to a bigger puzzle.

 

“Looking at the Leaderboard, it’s not like I walked away with it. We went back and forth each week. He got me on a couple reps or couple pounds here, I got him by a couple reps. That wasn’t even just with Rich, that was with other guys too; just a constant reminder that there is always guys right there,” Fraser said.

 

As for the women, while last year’s champ, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, looked like she would take first place throughout the first four weeks of the Open, her performance on 15.5 (92^nd place worldwide, with a time of 7:21) set her back to a 5^th-place overall finish. Rising to the top: 2011 & 2012 “Fittest Woman in the World” Annie Thorisdottir solidified the first place spot.

 

“It’s definitely a great start to the season. This was a very pleasant surprise. Obviously the main goal is to try to win the Games-but I am excited about (the final results),” Thorisdottir said.

 

As for the remainder of each of the 17 Regions, several veterans, along some fresh faces, were seen across the boards.

 

Top individuals in each region included:

 

Africa

Men-Jason Smith

Women- Jamie Greene

 

Asia

Men-Fiodor Serkov

Women-Marianna Tzourtek

 

Australia

Men-Dean Linder-Leighton

Women-Kara Webb (back in action after withdrawing from the 2014 CrossFit Games due to a back injury that was aggravated in the Midline march)

 

Canada East

Men-Alex Vigneault

Women-Carol-Ann Reason Thibault

 

Canada West

Men-Mitch Barnard

Women-Emily Abbott

 

Central East

Men-Rich Froning

Women-Julie Foucher

 

Europe

Men-Steven Fawcett

Women-Annie Thorisdottir

 

Latin America

Men-Orlando Trejo

Women-Antonelli Nicole

 

Mid-Atlantic

Men-Ben Smith

Women-Christy Adkins

 

North Central

Men-Jacob Heppner

Women-Stacie Tovar

 

North East

Men-Mat Fraser

Women-Chelsey Hughes

 

Northern California

Men-Jason Khalipa

Women-Kirsten Pedri

 

North West

Men-Ben Stoneberg

Women-Carleen Matthews

 

South Central

Men-Jordan Cook

Women-Margaux Alvarez

 

South East

Men-Travis Mayer

Women-Emily Bridgers

 

With 2013’s ‘Champ’ Samantha Briggs now representing the ‘Dirty South’, taking 8^th in the Region.

 

Southern California

Men-Rasmus Wisbech Andersen (former European competitor, and 2014 CrossFit Games CrossFit Invictus Team Member)

Women-Lauren Fisher

 

South West-

Men-Christian Lucero

Women-Camille Leblanc-Bazinet

 

In an interview following the closing of the Open, Rory McKernon from CrossFit HQ interviewed four-time Games’ athlete Dan Bailey on his 4^th place SoCal Regional finish and 12^th place worldwide finish—a new standing after finishing 1^st place in the SoCal Regional and 4^th placeworldwide in 2014.

 

Bailey talked about the increased level of competition this year.

 

“Last year, after I finished, I said, ‘I don’t know if I am going to compete next year, because I don’t know if I have what it takes…I don’t know if can win.  And as an athlete…once you start to let go of that top spot, it takes a lot out of you in terms of your competitiveness…so (even this year), I have had a lot of talks with people, and they say, ‘I don’t think you should stop’… look at areas you improve…and do I still think I can do it (win the Games)? Yes. The smallest amount of happiness would be to go to the Games and take 5^th  overall this year—the highest I’ve been is 6^th, but I really have my eyes on a podium spot.”

 

Bailey echoes the thoughts and hopes of many athletes who made the cut to advance to the next stage this year: Super Regionals.

 

Come May 15^th, the new Regional schedule is as follow

 

WEEKEND 1: MAY 15-17, 2015
South Regional | Dallas, Texas 
Atlantic Regional | Atlanta, Georgia 

WEEKEND 2: MAY 22-24, 2015
California Regional | Del Mar, California 
East Regional | Hartford, Connecticut 
Pacific Regional | Wollongong, Australia 

WEEKEND 3: MAY 29-31, 2015

West Regional | Tacoma, Washington 

Central Regional | Minneapolis, Minnesota 
Meridian Regional | Copenhagen, Denmark 

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