2014 Reebok CrossFit Invitational

2014 Reebok CrossFit Invitational

News

USA Secures Redemption At 2014 CrossFit Invitational

Team USA Secures Redemption At 2014 CrossFit Invitational  By: Lauryn Lax  A feeling of American pride rushed over the airwaves Sunday evening at 7 p.m. PST as Team USA took the gold in the third annual CrossFit Invitational.    This year, unlike other years, the championship was fought on American soil for the first time, hosted at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. Four teams, representing the USA, Australia, Europe and Canada took the stage going head-to-head in a total of five events.    From the get-go, it looked like it would be a rocky evening, as Team Canada prevailed and took the lead on Event 1 (’45 for 45’, a relay of pullups and 45 thrusters) and Event 3 (1-rep max clean), while Team USA only took first on Event 2 (the 1-rep max snatch).   Team USA only used their underdog status as extra motivation though.    Going into Event 4 (the second-to-last event), all eyes were on team captain, ‘the champ’, Rich Froning, and his teammates, Jason Khalipa, Julie Foucher, and Emily Bridgers.   Team USA sat in second place (six-points) to Team Canada (11-points), with Team Australia (5-points) and Team Europe (2-points) lagging behind.   Would the four-time “Fittest Man in the World” and his veteran crew rise or fall?   Team USA’s Coach Becca Voigt had trained them for this exact situation.   “(Coach Voigt) did a great job-having a plan going into workouts during sessions. And we did a lot of team building activities. Actually, we ‘lost’ a few events in our team building activities (to learn how to deal with it), but it was a great time. I think with this group it’s not so much about taking a leadership role as it is calming Jason down when he gets fired up,” Froning said.   With Khalipa and the rest of the gang cool, calm and collected, Team USA maintained their second place status, with a 2nd place finish in Event 4 (synchronized muscle-ups, rowing, heavy deadlift holds at 405 lb. for the men and 275 lb. for the women, and snatches) and, come Event 5, Team USA finally rose to the top of the leaderboard.    From the start, Team Canada fell apart, struggling to finish the entire event, which consisted of a 120-foot handstand walk, followed by a partner tire flip of a 950-lb. tire the same distance, and lastly, legless rope climbs and 120-feet team lunges with the worm.   Team USA ended up running onto their finishing mat with a time in 6:12.84, solidifying their first place win and giving them a 2 to 3 lead in all three years of competition.  When all was said and done, Team USA member, Jason Khalipa reflected on the team experience, stating the feeling of winning the Team Event was better than winning the CrossFit Games.  “When you win the CrossFit Games, it’s an amazing experience, but whether you win or lose is based on your own ability, and you celebrate it with yourself. When you have a team like this, especially the way we won it tonight and came from behind…we can all celebrate together, and I am just honored to be a part of it,” Jason Khalipa said.    Both Khalipa and Froning confirmed they plan to ‘go team’ with their affiliates for the CrossFit Open in 2015.     “We are taking it day by day right now. If Nor Cal can put a team together, then I may join it…Or, if not, maybe I will get in a commentary role (at the Games),” Froning said.    “I am like Jason, go as a team with CrossFit Mayhem. Hopefully you will see us at the Games,” Froning said.    As for teammates Julie Foucher and Emily Bridgers, they are keeping their sights set on 2015 individual competition still, with Foucher claiming this upcoming year will be her last year as an individual in order to focus on medical school.   “Maybe one day after this year, you’ll see me in the Master’s,” Foucher said. 

Nov 10, 2014

USA Secures Redemption At 2014 CrossFit Invitational

Final Two Events Announced For 2014 Reebok CrossFit Invitational

The final two events for the Reebok CrossFit Invitational have officially been announced. According to the Reebok CrossFit Games: The 2014 Reebok CrossFit Invitational, presented by HGST, is about to begin. In just two days, the four all-star teams from the USA, Australia, Europe and Canada will be fighting for the title at the SAP Center, and yet the teams haven’t known all of the events—or event details—until now. Moments ago, Dave Castro explained exactly how the CrossFit Invitational will play out on Sunday.   We already knew it would begin with “45 for 45,” the relay of 45 pull-ups and 45 thrusters (95 / 65 lb.), and we thought we knew the 1-rep-max snatchand 1-rep-max clean and jerk. But Castro made clear the heavy lifting won’t play out exactly as we imagined. Each team will send one woman forward to snatch. All four women will get three attempts to set their 1-rep max. The two women with the heaviest snatches will stay on the floor, and get another three attempts to improve their 1-rep max. After the women are done, the men will do the same. The snatch event will be followed by the clean and jerk, which will follow the same format. The team score on each of the lifting events is equal to the sum of the man’s heaviest lift and the woman’s heaviest lift. The two-hour competition will have another two events. The second-to-last event is a partner relay. The women will start first and complete all the work before the men enter to do the same, but at heavier weights. Event 4 begins with 12 synchronized muscle-ups. The partners must be synchronized at the top and the bottom of each rep. Failure to do so is a no-rep. The partners must drop off of the rings after each no-rep.  After the 12 muscle-ups, one woman will complete a 30-calorie row while her partner holds a 275-lb. barbell at her waist. If she drops the weight, her partner must stop rowing until the weight is back at her waist. After the row, they'll complete 10 135-lb. snatches, alternating after each rep. They'll then return to the rower and barbell. The woman who rowed the previous time must now hold the 275-lb. barbell. They'll finish by completing another 10 alternating 135-lb. snatches before stepping on the finish mat. When the women step on the finish mat, the men will be released onto the competition floor. The men will do the same work, but with 405-lb.deadlift holds and 185-lb. snatches. Time ends when all four teammates are on the finish mat. Soon after, they'll start the final event.  All four teammates will kick up into a handstand and walk the 120-foot competition floor in a single-file line. If any teammate falls, all four teammates must come down from their handstands.  Once they reach the end of the floor, they will be greeted by a 950-lb. tire. In pairs, they will flip the tire across the competition floor, alternating after each flip. When the team reaches the rig, they will complete eight legless rope climbs. Each teammate must complete two consecutive climbs. After the rope climbs, they'll pick up the worm and walking lunge across the floor. Halfway across the floor, they'll switch shoulders. Once they reach the drop-off point, they will drop the worm and run to the finish mat.  Event 1: For time: 45 pull-ups, 45 thrusters (female 1, 65 lb.) 45 pull-ups, 45 thrusters (male 1, 95 lb.) 45 pull-ups, 45 thrusters (female 2, 65 lb.) 45 pull-ups, 45 thrusters (male 2, 95 lb.) Event 2: 1-rep-max snatch Event 3: 1-rep-max clean and jerk Event 4: For time: Female pair completes:12 synchronized muscle-ups 30-calorie row, partner holds deadlift, 275 lb. 10 alternating snatches, 135 lb. 30-calorie row, other partner in deadlift hold,  275 lb. 10 alternating snatches, 135 lb. Then, Male pair completes: 12 synchronized muscle-ups 30-calorie row, partner holds deadlift, 405 lb. 10 snatches, 185 lb. 30-calorie row, other partner in deadlift, 405 lb. 10 snatches, 185 lb.  Event 5: Handstand walk, 120 feet 950-lb. tire flip, 120 feet Legless rope climbs, 8 reps Worm lunges, 120 feet Article posted by The Reebok CrossFit Games. See here. 

Nov 8, 2014

Final Two Events Announced For 2014 Reebok CrossFit Invitational

Team USA Aims Recapture World Title After Disappointment in 2013

2014 Reebok CrossFit Invitational  By: Lauryn Lax  Get ready to wear your country’s colors this weekend for the third consecutive CrossFit Invitational competition. On Sunday, November 9th, Team USA, Team Canada, Team Europe and Team Australia (each consisting of two women and two men), will go head to head, completing a series of select back-to-back workouts during the one-day event.    The action goes down at the SAP Center, in San Jose, Calif. from 4-6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, you can catch all the livestream action on www.games.crossfit.com, WatchESPN.com and CrossFit’s YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/crossfit). ESPN2 will also carry all the coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. PST.    This will be the first time in the Invitational’s history for the event to happen in the Land of the Free. Last year, the competition was held in Berlin, Germany, where Team World (made up of Europeans, Canadians and Australians) defeated Team USA, 24-19. In 2012, Team Europe lost to Team USA in the UK with a final score of 6-20 (Team USA).  This year also marks the first year that four, not two, teams will represent their respective countries.    All four teams boast Games veterans, including:   Team USA Julie Foucher Emily Bridgers Rich Froning Jason Khalipa Coach Becca Voigt   Both Froning (2014 CrossFit Games champ) and Khalipa (3rd Fittest Man, 2014) announced their retirement from individual competition this past year, following the Games, and are excited to represent the red, white and blue as part of the team. Foucher, a Cleveland Medical School student, finished 3rd overall at the 2014 CrossFit Games, AND returns to be part of Team USA after her first appearance in 2012. And, first-time 2014 CrossFit Games competitor, Emily Bridgers, who finished 6th overall as an individual at the Stub Hub Center this year, rounds out the team. The team is led by seven-time Games’ competitor, Voigt, who has experience as part of the 2012 Invitational team.    Team Europe Sam Briggs Annie Thorisdottir Lukas Hogberg Bjorgvin Gudmundsson Coach Mads Jacobsen   Briggs is back and better than ever. After missing out on a trip to the 2014 Games, on the tail of her 2013 Championship win, Briggs has been hungry to make her way back to Carson this year. In the mean time, she and Thorisdottir (2012 Fittest Woman in the World) make up one of the strongest female duos on the Invitational teams. The powerhouse ladies are joined by four-time CrossFit Games competitor and Swede, Hogberg (23rd 2014 CrossFit Games), and 21-year-old Gudmundsson from Iceland (26th overall at 2014 Games). Team Europe is led by Jacobsen, the coach who led Team World to a victory in 2013.    Team Australia Kara Webb Denae Brown Rob Forte Khan Porter Coach Chad Mackay   Webb has been around the block before, as part of Team World last October. The three-time Games competitor was forced to withdraw from this summer’s competition due to an injury in the Midline March event and now, back up to speed, is ready to bring some fight to the first-time Team Australia. Webb is joined by Brown, who took 17th overall at the 2014 Games after coming back from pregnancy and having a baby, and Aussie guys, Forte (four-time Games competitor) and Porter (27th at 2014 Games). Coach Chad Mackay, a three-time Games competitor, brings his own experience of competing on Team World last year, and supporting his gym, CrossFit Active compete at the Games in both 2013 and 2014.  Team Canada Camille Leblanc-Bazinet Michelle Letendre Lucas Parker Paul Tremblay Coach Reed Mackenzie   Leblanc-Bazinet, has been unstoppable since her personal disappointing 16th place finish at the Games in 2013, redeeming herself at the 2014 Games (1st place). The five-time Games veteran will make her second showing at the CrossFit Invitational after competing with Team World last year. Letendre was not far behind her this year, finishing 4th overall at the Games, a marked improvement from her inaugural 25th place finish four years ago in 2011. Every year since, she continued to climb the ladder, and most certainly has earned her spot to be part of the Invitational this weekend. The former ‘rivals’ at the StubHub Center partner with four-year Games veteran Parker, most known for his mountainous red beard and raw strength, and Tremblay, an individual rookie at the 2014 Games (31st overall) who bounced back from a debilitating knee injury that sidelined him from competing at the Games in 2013, and has been going strong ever since. Mackenzie has led four teams to compete at the Games and will lead the first-ever Team Canada at this week’s invitational.    The stacked rosters leave everyone guessing, ‘Who’s it going to be?’ The ‘gold’ is anyone’s for the taking. Could a home-feel advantage prove the crucial link in solidifying a win for Team USA? Will jet lag throw some of the teams off? Are the other countries hungry to drive a stake in American soil?   Comments and insights are welcomed!  

Nov 5, 2014

Team USA Aims Recapture World Title After Disappointment in 2013
Event Info
The competition will be held at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, on Sunday, Nov. 9. This fall, the CrossFit Invitational will feature four all-star teams in a new format. Four-person teams will consist of top athletes from the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia. Each team will be streamlined to just two men, two women and one coach.