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Fittest on Earth: A Decade of Fitness (2017)
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in 2007, a handful of friends Got together on a small northern california ranch To determine who among them was the most fit. The event was known as the crossfit games. A decade of fitness later, the sport has outgrown the ranch And expanded its reach worldwide, Further validating the title of fittest on earth. In sport, the margin between winning and losing Can be traced back to fractions of a second. A slip on the blocks or a flick of the wrist Could be the difference between victory and defeat. The sport of fitness is no different. this is it, to close out The 2015 reebok crossfit games. I can still get him. He's right there. smith with a no-rep! And here comes mat fraser! I swear, if I have to get introduced As the second fittest man, I want that now. second last year to rich froning, And fraser will have to wait at least another year Before he stands on top of the podium. Today, superman does not wear a red cape, He wears a crossfit games jersey and a gold medal! Ben smith is the fittest man on earth! it wasn't a fluke last year. I trained, if not harder than anybody else out there, Every single day, all year. I feel like I have a shot to win anytime I go to the game, So that's why I've always thought that in the past. You know, this year is absolutely no different. I'm feeling better than I've ever felt. your 2015 reebok crossfit games champion Is katrin davidsdottir! back-to-back wins is a huge statement. It proves what I've done is no fluke. I'm fitter than I've ever been. I'm stronger than I've ever been. Where I am right now is enough to win the crossfit games. I think about it every single day. here's sara sigmundsdottir Who could be seeing the title of fittest woman on earth Slipping through her fingers. I was like, I'm gonna think about that moment Every day now when I want to give up. I don't ever want to feel like that again. The crossfit games are fun to watch, And they are frickin' cool. The misconception is that the crossfit games are a crossfit. It's not the case. And you're gonna see people just like you in a local community. You're gonna see your soccer mom, High-powered ceos working out next to janitors, People from all walks of life, all trying to pursue A better version of who they can be. What we're trying to accomplish through crossfit.Com programming And our affiliates is getting people good at life. so crossfit's really a lifestyle. It's a philosophy, it's a belief. It's a way of taking care of your body And preparing yourself for anything That the world throws at you. we're fighting chronic disease, getting people better. It's life goals, it's, "I wanna be a better person. I want to have more discipline, I want to lose a little bit of weight," Or just be better, period. regular folks that have a job, have a family, Have other things going on. We're not trying to be the fittest person in the world. We just want to be in great shape And have a high quality of life and avoid All the metabolic diseases hitting the world. You can go to the gym, hit one workout, Hit it super hard, stretch a little bit, Go home, eat clean-- you're great. and the crossfit games is very different, And then it's a test to determine the number-one man, Number-one woman in the entire world Who is the fittest. A crossfit athlete does one workout, rests, Does another, rests, does another. so when a crossfit games athlete walks into the gym, They're doing the same thing that those people are doing, But they're doing so much more. You look at some of the top athletes, They've gone beyond controlling every single lifestyle factor-- Sleep, what passes their lips and goes into their bellies. Some of them are talking to sports psychologists Just trying to get that one extra edge to visualize performance In order to maximize their abilities On the competition floor. I think that you can move the needle outside the walls of the gym. I don't know what's gonna do it. I don't know if it's gonna be from self-reflection and diary. I don't know if it's gonna be from recording your macros. I don't know if it's gonna be from, make sure you don't have any processed foods. But we're gonna do all of it and hope that some of it works. Our athletes now are professional athletes. - Ow! Ow! Ow! -they're committing their lives to this. They suffer really hard. Very few people in any sport in the world outwork them. Being a crossfit games athlete is basically a mental illness. all I want to do every single day is wake up and train And become better. I don't think about much else right now. You know, I think about working out, preparing myself, How I'm eating, and then I go to bed at nine o'clock, And then I wake up and I do it again. you can't have anything else. That's just how it is. You can't work, you can't go to school. I do train all year, and I think I train Almost just as hard in the off-season as I do in-season. I don't really think there's an "off-season." I love the pain and I love the suffering. the more and more I keep training, The more and more I realize There's so many more things that I need to get better at. it's kind of like a continuous process Of learning, failing, growing, And then going and repeating that over and over. champions don't have balance, And the reason that they are exceptional at what they do Is because they focus all their time and energy on it. Could my nutrition be better? Can my sleep be better? You always want to maximize everything. I want to be a tiger, so I don't think I, like... We used to talk about this with my grandma. I think we're like a deer. That's like our animal. Like inside, we're a deer, but I wanna be a tiger. I don't know, deer are so like, I don't know, like, light and hopping, And it's got light inside of it. It's what we want. We want to... We want to have light inside of us. But tigers are like so fierce And like, you know, they want to be out in the field, And they, you know... "put me in, coach." That's the tiger. Since winning the games in 2015, my life has changed. There is so much more attention, and... They'll look at my arm, and it looks like... I get to go to reebok and build shoes And my own tank top. Inside of my shoes, it's kind of cool. Like inside of one sole, I have my signature, And then the other one, it has, "be the best me." And the same thing on my shirt. So it has like "dottir" going across the shirt And then "be the best me." it means a lot to me. Everyone's talking about competing against others. You're put against others, you're put in a line And told who can go the fastest, and they think that, you know, To be the fastest that you can be or to be the best athlete, You have to go faster than other athletes. No, you have to go as fast as you can go, And that has nothing to do with anyone else. It's only to do with what's inside of myself. I want to be the best me. I always have thought, why can't somebody compete In multiple sports, why can't somebody be good at everything? Why is everybody just focused on one specific thing? Kind of like a superhero, you know what I mean, like they can do everything. It's just that cool like super-athlete, Just wanting to be able to be athletic And crossfit popped up, and it was like, yeah, you got to be good at everything, Not great at any one thing, and I was like, that's pretty awesome, that's pretty cool. I thought it was-- I just was attracted to it right off the bat. Just kind of where I pointed my energy in the last seven years. We are at first landing state park, Hanging out, playing some spike ball, getting some sunburn. when was the last time you were tan? What? What does that even mean? No, I wasn't-- I'm never tan. I've never been tan. I remember the first time he really kind of started getting into fitness was He was doing push-ups outside And he wanted to take his mind off of his arms hurting, So he gives me this plastic golf club And says, "alec, hit me in the legs as hard as you can," While he's doing push-ups. And just, I'm whacking him in the legs and he's like still doing his push-ups, Trying to take his mind off of his arms hurting. I really legitimately don't remember that. Did he actually tell a story like that? Did he dream of that? Because I have never heard of that in my entire life. Besides being extremely gifted and having a huge work ethic And having years of crossfit underneath your belt, You have to completely commit to changing your life To that is your sole existence and goal. And even then, you're probably not going to make it. you don't know how good you have to be Just to suck at the crossfit games. once upon a time, the crossfit games Was more backyard barbecue than it was sporting event. So the crossfit games started in 2007. It basically started as a backyard barbecue On dave castro's family's ranch. This is the woodstock of fitness right here. it went from a small event on my family's ranch With, you know, 50, 60 competitors, a hundred spectators. And some competitors even drank beers in between events. Now, in the modern area, we actually have a qualification process. We have the worldwide open. this year we had Over 300,000 people competing In the first stages. out of those 320,000 people, In eight regionals, We had 40 men and 40 women Make it from there, And those 40 men and 40 women that went to those eight regional competitions Are absolute, total ninjas who, if you took any of them back to 2007, Probably would've won the game, so that's how good they are. To give you an idea how much fitter these athletes are now, In 2009, we tested the snatch at the crossfit games, And the winning lift for the women was 145 pounds. This year at the regional level, Athletes had to snatch 135 pounds 10 times At the beginning of a workout just to be able to remain in contention. And if you get to the crossfit games, It means that you're in the top one percent of the world's Best athletes, bar none. so it evolved from this little get-together and gathering Into this legitimate sport. there is nothing else like what we put these athletes through At the crossfit games. what the crossfit games is, Is truly who's the world's fittest athlete. Not the best crossfitter, the world's fittest athlete. It's man-made event, crafted inside some very devious minds To exceed the challenges you would ever run into In the world, period. And so what you face at the games, It's almost like something you'd see in a silly movie. You're like, "that's over the top," And they do it. The games is what this sport is supposed to be-- Unknown, unknowable, varying, everything goes. Right from other sports like strongman or paddleboard or throw a softball, And you don't know if we're going to the mountains, to the beach. we've always, every year, introduced an object That people have never touched before the competition And don't get to touch until on the competition floor And "three-two-one-go" has been called. Nothing is off the table, I mean, from... Taking this athletes to a military base in the past, Taking them to the ocean. You wake up in the morning, the rig's different. And now, everything's fair game, man. You better be ready if you show up to the games. I'm always so excited for like-- Monday is like the day When you feel like it starts. Monday night's the athlete dinner, And dave always comes in and he tells us something. Welcome to the 2016 reebok crossfit games. Give yourselves a hand for making it this far. This year I gave them a little speech To put a little fear, to take a different angle. This year is going to be the most challenging, Physically and mentally, That you guys will ever encounter at the crossfit games. This ten-year anniversary is going to push you guys To limits you will never know you could go. We are going to ask a lot of you guys. You guys are going to have to step up to the plate. Kind of just telling everyone, like, "hey, this is about to hurt, a lot." There's going to be times where you're gonna get really scared, Where you're gonna not wanna be doing some stuff we're doing. You're gonna question what we're doing, You're gonna question why you're here. He was scaring everybody so much. I was like, wow, he's gonna make us jump out of a helicopter. What is he gonna make us do this year? If at any point you are scared or questioning those moments, Please, feel free to come up to me or any of our staff And say, "I don't want to do this anymore," And we'll gladly pull you out, make you comfortable, Take you to the bus, and you'll be done with the competition. yes. This is about crushing the people next to you, And this is about trying to win the crossfit games. If you're not coming for that reason, you should quit now. And then he leaves! And we're all just sitting there like, "wait, what?" Everyone's making their guesses of what we're going to do. And who gives a shit, you know? We're gonna do whatever he wants. if you want to be nice and warm and fuzzy and comfortable, Just come on over here and we'll take care of that for you And remove you from the crossfit games. That was pretty great. I definitely, maybe, overloaded that message. Maybe even said it too-- It was a little too strong, but that's okay. Tuesday night, we had an athlete briefing at the hotel. We think we're about to get some of the workouts To find out what we're doing on Wednesday. I need all you individual athletes, So you can leave and go to sleep, so we can meet tomorrow morning In the lobby at 3:30 a.M. If you are not there at that time, The bus is leaving without you, and listen, Your crossfit games are over. I still feel we know nothing about the individuals. I have no idea what's happening. I just know that I'm waking up after seven hours. "report to your assigned judge at 3:30 a.M. Bring valid photo identification." In case we die. Bring these pants, bring this, this, this. He said don't bring food? No food? Is it true we can't bring food? Does it say swimsuit? Are we going to the swim tomorrow? Where are we going? Why do we have to bring this? When are we coming back? And so the rumors just started flying around. He's gonna leave us somewhere on the mountain. I'm gonna get next to josh, do whatever he does. I have no idea, I'm lost. See you in the morning. Hey. Oh! It's 3:17. we need to be walking out the door in 60 seconds. brush your teeth. if you're late, you're out of the crossfit games. And I'm known for being fashionably a few minutes late. I was not gonna be late that morning. Are you guys excited? Are you guys nervous? I'm both, I'm excited and nervous. Prep your bags for a flight, so no liquids, carry-on only. You're not going to have the opportunity to check anything on. That's what's happening next. Take the next few minutes to make your bags flight-ready. Thank you, guys. whoo! - We got a flight? - What the , man! Oh, my god, this is exciting! as soon as they said the airport, I was like, uh-oh, we can go anywhere. once again everyone was like, "what do you think we're doing?" everyone's giving their guesses. And we're all going together, so it's not like Some people are getting the good destination And some of us are getting the short end of the stick. If we're going to vegas, I'm not scared. Free drinks, right? As long as you're playing. Dave is like, "I really like you guys. You're gonna go see a cool show." Samantha briggs! Katrin davidsdottir. we get our boarding passes and we're going to... San jose, california. The ranch. Hey, katrin, where does it say we're going? She's like... "san jose!" I was like, "everyone got one, katrin. It's not a secret." We knew that we were going to aromas at that point, But we didn't know what we were going to do. you know when you see kindergartners Walking down the side of the street and there's the rope with 40 handles on it And every kid has to hang on to the handle, That's pretty much what we were like going through the airport. eighty athletes, all sleep-deprived, Going through the airport, trying to get on one flight. It must've just looked crazy. Second part of the charade. Aw, he's adorable. He's like a little angel. You know, this was something so off-the-wall That I didn't want anyone to have any idea that it was happening. People always try to guess what we're going to do. People always try to predict where we're going or how we're going to run something, And to catch everyone off-guard, that we're taking them to the ranch, That was a success. Hopefully, we're here. welcome to san jose. came from the airport, went straight to a bus, And I fell asleep, woke up, and I was at the ranch, And I was like, "wow, this is so cool." whoo, baby! go! the olympics were born in greece. Crossfit games were born in aromas. Taking it home was as special as things could get. it gave people that hadn't been to the games, In earlier years, a chance to see this iconic mecca, Birthplace of our sport, So that's really cool for those athletes. that was really special to be able to, At the 10-year anniversary, celebrate and compete At the original home of the games. I hadn't been back since 2009 to the ranch. It looked the same, everything was the same. No coaches, no crowd, no pump-up music. It was just throwing down in a warehouse with some of your buddies. we've seen the videos, we've seen all the cool events, Like the hell sprints-- that's the heart of the crossfit games. the first two events are a repeat Of the 2009 crossfit games' first two events: 7k run, followed immediately by the deadlift ladder. I was like, "oh, great. I remember that year." 'cause until that point, That was the toughest crossfit games That I had ever been to, And I only competed in four events. The run is slightly different. I made it more difficult. And the deadlift ladder is much heavier. Last place on the run, Ten minutes later, you're deadlifting. First place on the run, you have a long rest. Let's talk about some of the dangers of the ranch. Typical, tried to scare everyone. Like there were no sharks, but he's like, "hey, there's mountain lions and hogs out there." Recently they've been active, killed three of my dogs. Huge blood streak. There's a lot of snakes out there. Poison oak and jagged rocks. There's poison oak right next to the trail everywhere. What is poison ivy? Wear your kevlar pants and work boots. I like to run. Deadlifts, whatever, I mean... I kind of figured it would come at some point. I don't think There's anything else going through my mind. It's gonna be awesome. I'm excited. it's special to be able to share this With so many people, and not just here, but globally. A lot of people watch this from all over the world And a lot of people participating from all over the world. So, to think back on where it started ten years ago, To where it is now, it's insane. I like seeing the athletes suffer. There's general themes That crossfit athletes don't like to do. Everybody wants to deadlift, slap each other on the ass, And congratulate themselves on their pr. Nobody wants to go to the track and run 400s or 800s Until they vomit or black out. Nobody wants to do the run-a-10k day and things like that, So when we go to the games and they're forced to do, In general, things that they usually dislike... It warms my soul. And the 7k trail run was the perfect epitome of that. And everybody's sprinting and pushing each other. I think everyone came out pretty hot. let the crazy people do their little sprinting and fighting bit And then just kind of pick people off. I was just so excited to run with the boys, But then I was like, oh, my god, they're gonna trample us. It's the kickoff of the games. You know, the nerves are all there, from the bird's-eye view that you might be afforded when you're watching The crossfit games, this is an arroyo that you go down into. What you can't see is how incredibly steep it is And the fairly slippery slope. for me, I was like, "I gotta get out to the front." I don't want to get caught in a channel and not be able to pass people. -All right, up? -Yep. Come on, guys. the dust is so fine and thick And the effect of that, as soon as one person goes through it, It's in the air. As soon as two people go through it, it's all over the place, And as soon as you got a herd of people going through it, You're basically breathing smoke. Early on, there was a handful of athletes That kind of separated themselves towards the front. Josh bridges, mat fraser, brent fikowski, Sam briggs for the women in particular. slow down, slow down, slow down. Take it easy going here, you gotta go left, slow down. we both know we can pull away right now. Let's leave these guys behind. mat took off and I was like, okay. I let him go, let his lungs burn up a little bit, And then I'll catch up to him, which is not the case. All of the sudden, that dude was just gone, so... it was not an easy run, by any means. Some of those hills were, you know, you're on all fours, Using your hands, you're crawling up. I went down a little bit and then up again And then down, then up again, and I was like, "wow. When does this stop?" Like, "when am I done with this?" I was just by myself, kind of like, "man, I hope I'm on the right path." you could see who said, "I don't like this crap either, "but I know I need to do it, I need to be well-rounded, "so I don't avoid it in my training. Hey, I'm glad you threw it at me, watch this." you're always looking behind you, Just constantly have that fear of someone chasing you. You just feel it on the back of your neck. So it's like, just keep going, keep going, keep going. Poof! All the dirt off the ground, you couldn't see anything. I think I slid all the way down. It was the fastest, safest way. - Ow! -here he comes! if you're running faster than you can fall, you're not gonna fall. Try to keep those legs pumping. how was it? It was good. not a barbell in sight, And mat fraser's got 100 points on the board. The guy wasn't even breathing hard. He just did a 7k trail run through treacherous terrain and walked off. Josh bridges comes in a 1:20 behind him. And then, as more and more people filtered in, That's when you started to see the effects. That was awesome. What a way to kick the games off. Whoo! Yes! Here's what I like about sam briggs. She's running, there's not a female in sight. She could walk it in. Brent fikowski is about 10 or 15 feet in front of sam briggs, And solely to establish dominance, Sam briggs dusts brent fikowski just to say, "welcome aboard, rookie, this is my event." Not necessary to do at all, That's just how sam briggs rolls, and I love it. Sam briggs beat me in the run. did she beat you on the run? Yeah, I was the first dude she beat. - I know she was. -She was right behind you. I was like, oh, briggs-- yeah. How close were you to brent? I took him on the last corner. I'm not the first dude! Yeah, no, I, uh... I don't feel good. So you took fourth overall, I took fifth overall? Oh, yeah, 'cause of her. I kept slipping and I was going so slow That I just went on my butt and literally just like... So, I probably have poison ivy... All over. seeing some of the women of the crossfit games Who are sweethearts and beautiful women... Do I look good? ...Just with like dirt mustaches? And like dirt beards, you know. And they didn't know it while having the interviews done. Have I been looking like this the whole time? Like mud everywhere, like between my teeth and everything. It was fine, and you're like, "ohh!" looking like they were coming back from war. I mean, just covered in dust. Looking like they've been up for days. It's the very first event of the crossfit games. People just hunched over, dousing themselves with water And then thinking, "I have everything left to do." Two minutes! In theory, the fastest runner Would not have the highest deadlift, And the slowest runner would have the highest deadlift. So sam didn't warm up for the deadlift either. I was like, "dude, you gonna like warm up?" He's like, "I just ran seven kilometers-- I'm warm." so in 2009, we did not get the loading right On the deadlift. I said, one or two people are gonna get the deadlift. And in that year, I think it was 17 people cleared the deadlift. I was like, this is the opportunity to get it right, The event right, the loading right, And the combination right. you didn't even know what was happening out there Because no one was cheering-- you heard your name called out. Now it's just you and a barbell. sam dancer, he's like a cartoon character. He, I think, almost checked out of life on the trail run, But then when he got back in And there was a deadlift ladder there, He cleared the entire thing and pulled that last barbell Of 615 pounds. my spine would have shot out my back If I tried to do something like that. and then I watch brooke wells Pull 415 pounds from the ground. pulled 505 at the games. That's the heaviest I've pulled in a long time. I was really happy with my 505. That's right at my pr deadlift. 505 ended up being like 20-something place. 23rd? Oh, my god. Which was crazy 'cause that's where the ladder finished in 2009. Oh, wait, look, there's tia toomey again. Where did she come from? It's amazing, given that tia toomey finished second in 2015, That we still overlooked her. yeah, I wouldn't look at it like, "oh, I can't do this in any given day," And I've just done the 7k workout. Whatever it is, I just have to try and get to the end of it. what happened to tia in 2015, That's a really good question 'cause I remember going back And looking at everything we did, we barely showed her. there's rumors, there's a mysterious fog about her. You overhear something in a bar. You're like, no, that's a myth, that didn't happen. Damn it, how did she catch us by surprise like that? tia-clair toomey, she flew under the radar, And she was so consistent. It's because she wasn't flashy, didn't win an event in 2015. you look at the women she beat to get on that podium, It's like, "who is she?" and that's incredible as a rookie. tia-clair toomey! It surprised the out of me. we knew she was going to be in the mix again in 2016. but just very quietly in the background, saying, "yeah, I can do this and I can do the next event. I can probably do the next event, too." this year I qualified for the rio olympics, And now I'll be heading over to rio Ten days after the crossfit games. And I can call myself an olympian. You guys enjoy your introduction To the tenth anniversary of the crossfit games? yeah! Good. Eat some food, drink some water, relax. whoo! any part of you think that you made the event too hard? None whatsoever. - you ever thought that? -Yes. We're pretty well conditioned, comparatively, To like a power lifter, so those short rest periods Aren't the worst thing in the world for us. But we're taking just really nice jumps And crossfitters simply don't do that. And they typically don't deadlift. the ranch mini chipper brought to life One of the most notorious phases at the ranch. There was an event, the sandbag sprint, face up the hill. Run back, grab your sandbags, throw them over your neck, And haul ass uphill. Thorisdottir was this raw athlete with no technical skill. She didn't know how to snatch, she didn't know a ghd sit-up. She didn't know how to do a muscle-up, and regardless, In 2009, she crushes the sandbag sprint And takes first place overall. This wasn't bad, it was easy. easy? Yeah. Stand by! it was just the right amount of rep range For athletes to try and go for broke And do the set unbroken, But if you do so, you're burning up your legs, You have to get on a ghd that's gonna tear up your quads As your midline breaks down. I was next to annie who just went out of the gates. thorisdottir had the fastest pace going uphill And I went, "this isn't gonna last, this is a bad choice." And she kept going. fikowski in front of me, tried to chase him down. trying to run with brent is a challenge at the best of times. They were just slow, they were making the choice to be slow. Every single guy there could have been faster. like, sara, you have to run the whole time, you can't stop. One-third of the run, "okay, I have to walk." go-time, it's time to really run. that face of the hill is gonna rip up your legs And your heartrate's gonna go through the roof. run as much as you can, until you can't run anymore. You walk a couple steps and then you run again. it was the type of burn that it's hard to put yourself there in training. I was like, this is my event to win. If I don't win, it's my fault. you crossed the finish line And everybody was just collapsing. Nothing left in you when you finally got off that hill. Boom, you're on the floor. you gotta get out of the finish line. it's just like flopping around on the ground, Trying to find that position to make the pain go away. It doesn't matter how you sit, it's gonna hurt. damn! Did I... what? you've won your heat for sure. Good. if I understood your question correctly. I hated that event 2009, I hated that event there. That was hard. Oh, that was a blast. I'd like to do that again. seriously? Yeah, it was so much fun. All right, me and this hill, we bonded today. How cool is that, we just jumped on a plane this morning and we're here. -That was good. -That was great. Good finish for both of us. I felt that was my event To lose, or to win. And I did just that, so I'm... Really happy. It was hard, man. It was a grind. The last event was like... Hard. But afterwards you're like, "I should have pushed a bit harder." But like... I maybe did not think that when I was doing it, I was sighing, but afterwards, I was like, "I should have pushed harder, dang it!" But... First day done. Four days left. No problem. maybe do a little hoo-yah and say goodbye to aromas, And head back onto a bus for an hour, hour and a half, And then get to the airport To be told that our flights were delayed. Which for me is pretty typical. We got to the airport five hours early, first of all, And then our flight was delayed. So it was like, "okay, we're just sitting here forever." we're trying to find somewhere to sleep. There were bodies everywhere. we were just holed up outside the gate And just fell asleep. If we circle back to what I said previously, Which is that I enjoy human suffering And when people are totally thrown off their game, The ocean does that almost like nothing else. the ocean was amazing. It was like, as soon as you arrived, you were like, Wow, this is so awesome. And then dave announces that the girls and the guys Are all starting at the same time. We were like, say what, now? I actually freaked out a little bit because Those boys are not going to hold back And we're going to fall flat on our faces in the sand And they're going to trample us. Cole sager was sort of behind me to the side of me And he sort of said like, "brent, I want to let you know Like I might run you over." I'm a powerful athlete. I was a football player in my past. So, having just quick spurts of power can pay off for me, And I think it did. You want to start in front of me, cole? I was like, "why don't you like lead the charge, And I'll take the football and kind of stand behind you?" Foot off the line, foot off the line. Stand by! The thing is with crossfit everybody wants to win. And even if they're not a good swimmer, They want to be the first in the water. the swim was more like a fistfight and a run More than a swim. That was the most fearful I've ever been for myself in water. That was very scary. seriously war zone over there. People are scratching, pulling on your legs. you've got guys swimming over the top of you. And you've got no chance when somebody's twice the weight of you And you're getting pushed down and under. I'm very comfortable in the water, And at a couple points turning around the buoy, I was like, "I'm gonna drown right here. Somebody's gonna pull me under." it was getting very irritating, to say the least. I was almost to the point where I wanted to grab someone And pull them to the bottom of the ocean and tell them, "hey, stop swimming on top of me. I can hold my breath longer than you." And then we got hit. and ben and I got smashed by this wave. I didn't even see it. I got pulled under and tumbled. I'm like, "just relax, you won't drown, relax." I got up on a wave, I'm like, "I'm doing it," And then, "oh, I'm spinning, I'm spinning!" All three of us were taking a breath And then just... got up and got like a gasp for air. Looked at each other and was, "where's the shore?!" And then we started running for the shore. I only seen one girl, so I was like, "I gotta go! This is the time to go, you gotta go now!" I managed to hold on for a little bit longer and come over the line, But I had no idea if I'd come first or not. It was just like, I knew I'd beaten someone, so... When they said I came first, I was really happy with that. There was a wave, I didn't see it coming. And it dumped right on me and ben smith. Oh! Oh! I swall-- I got crushed! It was... Brutal! I think I got 15 kicks in my mouth. People were ruthless out there. - really? -Yeah. I got some scratch marks and stuff. that's scratching there? Yeah, people were pulling on you. I knew a little bit would happen, but people weren't messing around, so... Got me a little angry. It's really hot in the sun, isn't it? Thank you so much. Showering you. -What? -It's what whales do. She squirted all over me. Revenge. I'm not gonna name any names. I remember after the event, One girl came up to me And she was pissed. She was like, "someone grabbed And just yanked me back, like swam over me," And I was like, "yeah, that sucks." And she was like, "and I know it was a man, Because how strong they were." Next day in the athlete area-- not going to name names-- That man came up to me like, "my god, that swim was ruthless. At one point I just grabbed an ankle and pulled them back." I'm like, "shh! Don't tell anyone that." Like that is a bad story. murph-- it is a hero workout That's done in thousands of crossfit gyms across the world. And for the first time, The fittest athletes in the world Will be doing it here at the crossfit games. two years ago, I knew we were going to come to the ranch. One year ago, I knew we were going to do murph again. I say that because as soon as we did murph last year And all the commentary, Everything that happened with it happened, I said, "we're binging that back." kara webb collapsing Into the arms of anna tunnicliffe, Who's trying to get her water. They're calling for medical staff To come over and check out kara webb. I didn't want my story to end like last year, Overheated, and that was the last time you did murph. I kind of wanted to rewrite that a little bit. this is more than an event today. it absolutely is. It's one of the most famous hero workouts that we have, And everyone has done this. I'm not gonna lie, not having an american win it in 2015 Was a bit of a bummer. from iceland, gudmundsson will take Event number three, murph! murph is a hero workout Named after a seal who was killed in action. Josh bridges, well-known games athlete, former seal, Didn't compete at the games in 2015, So couldn't give bkg a run for his money. he crushed it, so you can't take anything away from him. He went out there and destroyed that workout. When it's a hero workout named after a former navy seal, You know, who, for me, it's just something Near and dear to my heart where, like, All right, an american should win this workout. Yeah, he did well, but in 2016, I wasn't going to allow him to do that again. I'm not here to take second in this workout. I'm not here to take third. I'm not here to take top five. I want to win this workout. I want it to be a dominant performance. But, of course, first mile, Guys are going out like a six-minute pace. You can't win in the first run, but you sure as shit can lose it. jacob anderson before the workout said, "I'm gonna win that first mile." I'm like... "you get it, man." And sure enough, coming to the stadium, He passes me, and he's like, "I'm gonna win this first mile." "get it, man. Get it." you could see the dividing line where the shade was. As the sun started to come up, More of the field would be covered in sunlight. Half the field is in the sun, half the field had shade. And it was first come, first serve for the lanes. I ran as fast as I could on that first mile Just to get a good spot in the shade. I'm gonna play it smart, I'm gonna go three lanes in. The shadow's not going to move 15 feet in the next 20 minutes. It did. And when he announced that it was like partitions, I was like, great, there was even more fitness to it. You just got to go faster. all the other girls were like, "oh, this is going to be so much harder 'cause we're going to have to go so much faster." In my head I was like, "we don't have to go faster, okay?" We can just take our time if you really want 'cause I'm up for that if you want to do that. We can do it but just do it slowly. Some of those guys like josh and mat, they smoked it. You couldn't watch them. If you tried to see whereabouts they were And keep up with them, you'd kill yourself. bridges done with round one And back for round two, and if he read the description That we just had on the screen, I'm sure that would have motivated him as well. He doesn't like to be told he's the oldest and the shortest. He's gonna use that as fire, had he seen it. the best part about being an older athlete, Being around for a while, is that you know yourself so well. You have the data, you have experience. You know when you should break and when you shouldn't break. the thing that stood out the most about josh bridges in murph Was he kept going back to the pull-up bar And did every set of 20 unbroken, which He makes look easy, but when you try that At that fatigue level, that was incredible. josh bridges is done And he is on to his second and final one-mile run, And he looks like he is well on his way Towards his eighth career event win at the crossfit games. I never got to meet michael murphy, But when you become a seal, you form a brotherhood with these people. Just knowing that we'd been through some of the same things together, And then knowing his story and what he did Was super special for me. You can watch it, you can hear other people Say how tough it's gonna be all you want, But until you actually experience it, You don't know what those athletes go through. And just last year I remember telling myself That I just gained so much more respect for the athletes That come here year after year. It's a lot more demanding than anyone can ever imagine. I remember I was just like in my own world. I didn't know where anyone was, I didn't care. I just wanted to go as fast as I could. And as I ran down that runway, everyone was cheering for me And I could hear them, like, they were so elated for me. Because it was more than the placing, it was the effort And overcoming what happened the year before. And I just couldn't get the smile off my face. there's nothing better than watching josh bridges win an event, Just for the celebration that comes out of it. It is a tremendous thing to watch Because there's nothing fabricated about it, There's nothing planned about it. It is raw emotion just from his heart and soul That is pouring out of his face and mouth And you can feel it. just coming into the stadium felt really good. You know, knowing that I did what I needed to do. You know, there was no way, like I said, I could let anyone else win that workout. I was excited About the squat clean ladder, But in the same time, I was also very nervous because I knew that Even though I really like squat cleans, Compared to some of the other girls, It's not a strength of mine. Dave's scalp is gonna burn with those braids. The next event, you guys all know what it is. It's the squat clean pyramid. Who thinks ben smith's gonna win? Who thinks fraser's gonna win? Hey, what the hell, man?! how about josh bridges? Yeah, thanks, there we go! who thinks josh bridges is gonna win? --there it is. No pressure. Yeah, you know, you know. -Teams and shit. -That's right! reps go down, weight goes up, And, man, look at those weights. We're ending up with 325 squat cleans At the end of doing all these reps. This is gonna be a big one for these strong guys. If you made a pact with the devil, And you're like, "I want to come back "as just the strongest, most handsome man You can come up with," He would make you alex anderson. alex anderson crushed that workout. what's cool about the squat clean ladder for the men Is that it gives-- I don't want to use the term "specialist"-- But it gives guys who like to throw around heavy weight An opportunity to shine on a really cool stage, And that guy was alex anderson. He is strikingly handsome. Looks like a ken doll. And he's so strong. It is almost offensive. first event win for alex anderson! - wow! - -kara webb, one to go, Who's looking to make a charge up the leaderboard. I couldn't keep up with her and that thing, same weights. And I don't know if you think you could, But I'm here to tell you, you can't. Not even close. We'll set it up after this. And then we'll play it on a monitor And you can try to race her on the monitor. It ain't gonna go well. kara webb hearing it from the crowd As she will win event number six! Katrin davidsdottir, the defending champion, Still on the floor, as is sara sigmundsdottir, Two women you would have expected to be pushing for the lead here At this point in the event. I tried to follow kara webb Instead of going in my own pace, And just lost my head and lost focus And it was like wow, "what's happening to you, sara? Where is the sara that I know?" It's like my head just, I don't know. I don't know what happened, but it was like okay, Stop thinking about it, next event. and once again, tia toomey, Just like a thief creeping in the night, Just takes third. Again, you know, like, All eyes on kara webb, And there's tia toomey Doing amazing once again. I was extremely nervous at double dg. But that was just a confidence booster. Like, okay, I can with this. You put me next to like Alex anderson, That's a big guy. I ain't as big as mat fraser. They breed those anderson boys big. When in doubt, sparkle. Anything, and it doesn't just apply to nails. It's eye shadow. It's headbands. Leotards. Special leotards. I used to always have sparkly earrings, But my grandma always wore pearls. So I changed, I wear pearls now. I failed like four rafters And I never fail in these squat cleans. I don't know what's happening. I have to bring it in dt. you excited about dt? I am, I'm very excited. real house workout? Yeah, it's gonna be group, just group, yeah. My coach decided that we should go do stockton For training camp before the games. We're teasing them. They think we're giving them food. It's like a small farm or something And walking distance from the gym. It was just awesome. It was so quiet. It's warmer than in l.A. Yeah, and no distractions. no breaks! Back to the bar! Back to the bar, let's go! Back to the bar! Come again! Fight to the end, sara! Come on! Come on! Go, go, go, go, go! Let's go! Let's go! Come on! Of course, I thought, you won heavy dt last year, You have to win double dt, too. double dt, put my money on sara, Beyond a shadow of a doubt, right? all eyes were on here. This is her event. This is where sara sigmundsdottir is gonna make her move. sean, all eyes on katrin davidsdottir. I talked to her coach, ben bergeron, backstage, And he said she's going to smash this workout. We go into other workouts, you cannot back off. This one is everything you've got. Okay, show me you're smart, show me you're strong. Show me smart, show me strong. Let's go. mat fraser comes in With a 104-point lead over alex anderson. Mat fraser could sit this event out And he would have the lead going into Saturday. sara sigmundsdottir, if there's one thing We've learned about her, she will not quit. Whatever davidsdottir is gonna do, Sigmundsdottir's gonna see if she can do better. it's Friday night lights, Crossfit-style, and we're doing it with double dt. This is where ben smith can start making a move on mat fraser. this is an event that is very, very good for him. He's extremely good with the barbell, He's short range of motion, so the deadlifts are gonna be great. If the range of motion is shorter, the reps will be faster. He doesn't like being talked about, one of the shorter athletes. "he's gonna be good at this workout 'cause he's short." Find something different to say other than I'm short. I've heard enough of that. Maybe it's because I did ten years of olympic weightlifting. it is an icelandic civil war Between katrin davidsdottir and sara sigmundsdottir Who right now has the lead. Toomey is currently ninth place in the heat. you win it in rounds 8, 9, 10. Rounds 1 through 7 are just to get there. Hey, I got to round 6. My grip was already going out. I was like, hang on there as long as you can. That last round, I think I broke up the hang cleans three times. katrin was more on her game plan. Sara was starting to rest longer, The barbell spending more time on the ground. Katrin clearly had a strategy and was able to stick to it. You get to round 8 and 9, and now katrin's pace Looks basically the same as it did in rounds 1 and 2. She might not be the most physically gifted athlete, But what's between her ears made the difference in that event. katrin's speed on these cleans Is just so much faster than sara's. you always have a plan, and if the plan doesn't work, You've just got to work with what you've got. mat fraser is an unstoppable force! he is on fire. katrin davidsdottir has moved into first place 'cause sara sigmundsdottir got hit with a costly no-rep. I think I failed one hang clean, It like flew out of my hands, and after that, I knew I lost. last year, round 1, Heavy dt went to sara sigmundsdottir. Round 2, double dt, And this one goes to katrin davidsdottir. I knew that I could win that workout. put your hands together, How about katrin davidsdottir! my grandma has always been my biggest fan, And my best friend, she is amazing. In the stands, she was always standing. Everyone else might have been sitting, And she was standing, cheering her head off, And you could always hear her, I always knew where she was. And everyone always knew that that was my grandma. my mom was katrin's biggest fan. Embarrassingly so. She would be at competitions and she would be so loud That we would move away And it would just be my mom in the bleachers. Very suddenly, she died in April. it was devastating for everybody, But it was particularly devastating for katrin. every morning, I light a candle. She loved candles, and she would light a candle And she had these little moomin elf cups she used to collect. So these things are like the moomin elves. They're such little cute things. It's a finnish thing. And I love them so much. I have... My grandma collected them. They're so cute. These are all the moomin elves. I have two at home now and I always light a candle And I always say good morning to her. And I have coffee out of that. I think I'll miss her Every single day for the rest of my life. I don't understand how it happened so you can be mad. You can quit everything, I can put everything on hold And I can go get a tub of ice cream and cry. If I would do that and imagine her looking at me... ...She wouldn't want that. What she would want is for me to keep doing what I'm doing. If anything, it made me do things better. We were always together, that's what we always said on the phone. That's what we always said when I was leaving, "we're always together," and I still believe that. She was always in the stands. And now I feel like she's with me on the floor. Which is cool for her. She has more energy than anyone else. And that she can now get to experience being on the floor, I want her to be so proud of me. They said you have to touch steel. I was planning on getting all the way to the top and just going like that. -That's good. -And then dropping. So, what you have to do is like double tap. -Double tap. -And you're good to go. They also said touch the v. So I was gonna just slide myself down here. we talk about the unknown and the unknowable a lot. It's a silly phrase, I think, except to say that What it represents is critical to the crossfit games. People have to be able to show up, Learn something in a very short amount of time, what the task is, And be able to accomplish it in order to say they're the fittest on earth. The climbing snail was by far my favorite event of the games, By far! That wonderful combination Of fun, Miserable, And... Unknown. it is climbing snail, The first new challenge, a rope climb with a rope That dangles five feet above the floor. The other is the snail. The climbing snail is an interesting workout Because you had two new kind of elements thrown in. You had the shortened rope, so they had to do A legless rope climb and then transition Into using their legs once they got high enough on the rope. Then a completely new element in the snail, Which athletes had never really touched before And most athletes didn't even know what it was. we threw this big cylinder out, filled with sand, So when you roll it, it's not like you can build momentum. And they didn't have practice, you wanted to see how they were going to adapt to that. yeah, when that one was released again, I thought, "I think this is mine to win." That berm run is just... It sucks. It's like just long enough that you start losing hope By the time you get to the top, and then it flattens out. So you just had to remember that you're strong enough To make it up those stairs and you got to run the stairs. the climbing snail for the men was a cool battle to watch Because you had two athletes in patrick vellner and brent fikowski, And you could see them battle and it looked like no one Was really going to give an inch there. It was one of those things where they see in their eyes, "we're in this thing for the battle." as brent fikowski is coming down the steps first, He and patrick vellner have both passed cole sager on the run. I've been trying to get with brent all weekend. I knew that coming down, he was a little ahead of me, But his lane was farther down, So I knew we were a little bit close coming in. I was far enough ahead of vellner And confident enough in my rope times That I was just up and down it. Then as I came off, I could hear the announcer That I was the first one off. brent fikowski, the rookie, Battling another canadian, patrick vellner, Who's trying to catch up with fikowski. And brent fikowski is gonna lock up 100 points As he wins climbing snail! Doesn't look like anybody's gonna catch sam briggs here. She just has 40 feet to go with that 400-pound snail. And it's gonna be event win number two For samantha briggs, The ninth event win of her crossfit games career, And she will earn 100 points. So like sam briggs always does, She just goes out and hits a home run, And while she was doing that, tia toomey Is busy struggling a little bit, and I was actually surprised At how much trouble that event gave her. I think that workout kind of went downhill from there. It feels like everyone's overtaking you. toomey just looks gassed, Just resting her head on the snail right there. Katrin davidsdottir is on the left. She has passed sara sigmundsdottir. Davidsdottir will get in. She only trails sigmundsdottir by 10 points. Sigmundsdottir needs to hurry up and cross the finish line. Kirstin holte is gonna beat her there, And that's gonna cost sara sigmundsdottir. Tia toomey has yet to finish, And that means that samantha briggs Is gonna be your overall leader after eight events. Sam briggs wins and tia toomey Is back in the middle of the pack And falls off the overall lead. how was that? So good. That was my rope climb workout. So happy. So, so, so happy. Gotta do what you gotta do, man. That was good. Just trusted the other guys would die off, And then my pace would be fast enough, and it was. Again, I felt this was mine to win or lose. It was kind of my call. Brent and patrick were very impressive to me. The mantle in canada was passed, and those two took it and ran with it. They're going to be a challenge for these top guys For years to come. Brent fikowski is an odd bird. And that doesn't mean he's a bad bird, But he's just not your normal bird. He is different than everybody else, From just how he said he prepared To, you know, that sensory deprivation tank That he would go into. For how many years he had been grinding, How much a student of the game he was. It was just, a little flag went up, And I didn't know if it would pan out, but he wasn't normal. If I wasn't doing this, I'd be doing something else. I'd try to be the best accountant in the world, Or I would try to be the best rower or swimmer. I have that drive, and it's just hard-wired Into how I've always been since a kid before my parents told me to work hard. It's just what I wanted to do. When I retired from gymnastics, I sort of had a big gap in my week. So when I finished that, I had a lot of time on my hands. I needed an outlet probably for my competitiveness And crossfit allows me to compete every day. I'm a student, full-time. I study to be a chiropractor right now. So pursuing a health field is something that's important to me And I'm passionate about. Not just a capable athlete, But another one that when I spoke to on the phone, He was just fun to talk to. Laughing, joking around, he had some good personality. Took the event and what he wanted to do seriously But didn't take himself too seriously. Kind of had a light-hearted approach While working hard at the same time. I appreciated that. And he, with fikowski right on his heels, There could be some canadian athletes Making a serious run at the crossfit games, And that's pretty exciting. gonna be a good workout. Definitely a separator. -The separator! -The separator! How do you feel about those friends of ours, bro? great, man. -I'll be passed out. -Huh? - I'll be passed out. Oh, see, that's what happened! Oh, boy! Holy shit! This is! What the! So practice went well. Every year at the games, We always throw a movement out there that... The object is to test the athletes, not showcase them. And this was definitely gonna test them. Oh, my god, that workout was... It was terrible. final heat of the separator, Everyone chasing mat fraser. you do as much as you can on the rings And you don't have to worry about anything With your shoulders, you just back squat. Try not to use your shoulders at all on the burpees, Just belly-flop it, and then go back, do it again. You bring your shoulders out on the front squat, Try to belly-flop your burpees again. And then you just try to survive that last push On the handstand push-up and the overhead squat, And then just ride it out, if you get there. josh bridges is pulling farther ahead here. so, the whole workout, josh and mat are neck-and-neck. okay, like he's got this one. There's no point killing myself to get to him. And I don't know what happened, but all of the sudden, I was getting no-repped on my handstand push-ups. so she started just no-repping me galore. I'm trying my damnedest, and I'm like, I just did a set of 12 and now I can't even string two together. no-rep again for mat fraser. No-rep there for fraser. I don't know what happens in no-rep, sean. fraser gets hit with another no-rep And clearly disagrees with what his judge is saying, Shakes his head and walks back to collect his thoughts. Tia toomey is past the halfway point. Katrin davidsdottir has moved into second In front of sara sigmundsdottir. Gets to the final 185-pound barbell for the overhead squats. Mat fraser's creeping up on him. josh gets it overhead and he's working his tail off, And he's a scrappy guy, but he's not known for his strength. You've got a former junior national weightlifter right behind you. He's bearing down on him with these last couple reps. oh, yeah, that's what I wanted-- He is attacking. I have never heard the tennis stadium crowd Just like you've rocked-- Every single person in here is screaming. And I was like, "oh, yeah! Yeah!" And then like I did one and, ehhh! davidsdottir's done! And she's gonna lock up what looks to be A second place finish in this event. That will be worth 94 points. Now tia toomey is in. Mat fraser once again continues to be The unstoppable force. ...Josh bridges at the finish line... Nice work, bro. Ah, I had you! One stupid lift. Dude, I walked my bar forward, did one rep and missed it. I was like josh is away. And then you missed it. I was like, what the. Uh, we're moving. Mat went in this year's games way more mentally dialed in. The ring handstand push-ups was a really good example Of something that in years past might have derailed him. Mat wasn't mat versus the world, mat was mat versus mat. heavy dt last year. I was ahead by a very good margin. It was ben and I going into the last round in a race And me kind of shrugging up like, whatever, I've got enough points. I'll let him get like these six points. Then come the end of the weekend, Those six points would have been nice to have. mat has this mentality, which is why he's so good, That he has to prove something to everyone else, right? He has this thing where it's, "I'm gonna be the very best at everything." It's why he's so good. If he finds a weakness, he's gonna train So he's the best in the world at that. It's one thing to be gifted at a couple of things in life. But then you have to do something with that. You have to have the mentality to go with it. You have to have the drive and the focus. It can be a detriment, though, as well. He's the best in the world at parallel handstand push-ups. If I'm the best, I should be able to get these unbroken. He got them unbroken, I'm better than him. I can kick back up right now. I should be able to go now. When you erase that this year, you kind of figure out, It's not mat versus the rest of the world, It's mat versus mat's best, it changes the approach. And so that ate at me all year, Just like, don't let-- don't ever give up. Don't ever get comfortable. 2014, I was full-time in school at uvm. 2015, full-time student for one semester, Went part-time for the other semester. 2016, just crossfit. Late last year, I was always competing with the guy next to me. But the whole 2016 season, for the most part, I was training by myself, and when I'm training by myself, I'm imagining training next to katrin and telling myself, "katrin wouldn't be putting the bar down right now. Katrin would be taking shorter breaks than you." He's pretty rough and tough on the exterior And he's got a potty mouth, but when you dig into it, He has got one of the strongest mindsets. And nothing can really shake him. just imagining your competitor Right next to you and always imagining That they're doing one step better than you. I think that was my biggest change Going into the 2016 season was just my mental game. Ohh! whip it forward after every ten, just like a regional. Okay? ...Because it's a streak. You just need to go, go, go. You guys excited about this one? - Yeah. - -let's have some fun. yeah. yeah, that's fitness. I thought it was gonna be some bullshit. The one thing I need you to remember Is it's not over till you cross the red line. So you have to sprint to it and sprint after it. This will be fun. Probably gonna be totally shit at it and be last in my heat, But... It'll be all right. the workout, 100%, is the last Saturday night lights event that we're gonna get to have At the stubhub center with the games moving locations. For the women at that point, katrin had beaten tia In three consecutive events. So it was starting to look like katrin maybe Was gonna put some distance between her and tia. That was really the start for me of what felt like This championship prize fight boxing-style Between tia and katrin to close out the crossfit games. earlier in the week, Dave castro said these games would test you Physically and mentally, and he wanted to see Who came here really to take the title, And this event's gonna show you who's in it to play. everyone that's going to go to the crossfit games Is going to be the biggest threat. I don't think that there is one particular person. I think that you can't underestimate anyone. there are a lot of contenders. There are a lot of very fit, very strong girls out there. So when I'm out there on the floor, The only thing I can worry about is myself. all those guys showing up to the games, They're there to win. And to win, they've got to beat everyone else, And I'm one of those people that they have to beat. So I look at it like they're trying to take it from me. this event is pretty simple. Just stop the gas and see how long you can hold on. The woman who currently has the overall lead, The defending crossfit games champion, katrin davidsdottir, But only by 12 points over sara sigmundsdottir. look out though, katrin is gonna smash this one. we're underway, and the crowd already on its feet Knowing what they're gonna see here, If they blink, they're gonna miss it. I was like, okay, this is pure crossfit. This is like, you can't make any mistakes Because then you're just screwed. stop for a second on that workout, And it's gonna cost you a couple places. it's one where you're just gonna set yourself on fire. The pace is go, and the pace is, if you slow down, These people around me are so good, they're gonna pass me. And a lot are gonna pass me, So you need to go for broke, go berserk. it was crazy, it was a street fight out there. everyone on their feet here, sager five to go. He's back in the lead. Now here's fikowski! the crowd was just going nuts Because everyone was so close. the man they call "the professor" Gets across the finish line In dramatic fashion to win the event! it's like a cartoon slip and your feet are up in the air. If you didn't slip, you weren't running hard enough to the finish. davidsdottir and sigmundsdottir, These two heavyweights are trading some big punches here. Katrin and sara battling it out. One is gonna win the event. Everyone was going crazy and saying their name. This is the workout where you can't look around. Tear and go, just like pick it up over the shoulder. I started realizing, "come on, tia, you've got to go." this is a battle that started last year, And this war is gonna carry over into Sunday As tia toomey finishes ahead, brooke welles is in, And there's sara sigmundsdottir. tia, when the lights were kind of brightest, Really, really, really shone And really kind of announced to everyone, "no, I'm not going to go quietly into the night." where did she come from? Toomey just does that. katrin davidsdottir Will finish seventh in the event. So tia toomey looks like she's gonna have the overall lead Heading into Sunday. All right? Yeah. It's like you can't make any mistakes. Think I got three no-reps in the d-ball. They cost me a lot. All we're doing now is we turn the page again, Now we look forward. It's what can you do in this moment right now To prep yourself for tomorrow. Anything we do in the past does not help that. Yeah, ask me about the start of Sunday, bro. --let's talk about this one. So, like, when it's Sunday morning, I'm almost like sad that it's over. Last day. It's the last day, man! It's the last day. I'm excited! Almost over, my year's almost over. you're in the lead. Yeah. Not for long after those handstand walks. I'm gonna be so happy not to eat after this weekend. Oh, my god, I'm so over this shit. Just have to see what dave brings. I was dreaming about all the exercises that are left. Thrusters, bar muscle-ups, ring muscle-ups, pistols. So the big question is, what is dave gonna bring? Pretty much a nail-biter. Me and fraser, Nail-biter right now. get past today. My wife this morning goes... "jacob, you can still Do really well today." She's like, "except for fraser." She goes, "you can win every event And you still will not even come close." I was like, ah, thanks for the encouragement. the biggest question we had was, By how much was mat fraser going to win? just like you want before Like the biggest day of competition of your life, I didn't get a wink of sleep. you wake up, and you're like, You got to make the most of this day. It's the last time you're gonna get to work out At the 2016 crossfit games, you better make the most of it. And this handstand walk's gonna be fun. Sunday, it just rolls on and I just wanted it to be over Because you're putting yourself under so much strain, really. I've held on for so long. And then it just gets like I just lose it Towards the end, like, you know. All of the fun stuff is left. So this day will be really good. Let's stop filming now 'cause there's other athletes. You'll probably want to delete that after today. No way, man. It'll be like, "this bitch is not worth my photo." did you bring your leader jersey? They gave me that bloody leader jersey, And I was like, "ugggh, great." I hate it, angel. I think it's so cursed. It's not cursed. What are you talking about? How long have you been wearing it? - after this first workout-- -don't get it in your head. -No, it's already in my head. -No. That's part of the fun. Can you just merge into everyone else So I can pretend you're filming everyone else and not just me? yes. Sunday morning, The mixed competition Was extremely tense. First through third was only separated by 12 points. Tia in first place, katrin second, And then sara sigmundsdottir in third. the fifth and final day of competition for individuals At the 2016 Reebok crossfit games And it's time to decide Whose skills will pay the bills. Day number 5 starts With a brisk walk on their hands. it was hard because there were like holes. You went into a hole, you're like, "oh, no!" trying to balance again. when I kicked down, I was in first in that heat, And then I got called back and it was a fight to the finish Because my arms went out. I hit the little red guy. Can't fall down, you have to back up, So trying to stay on my hands and trying to walk And I kept it up there. and davidsdottir gets there just ahead Of kari pearce, and she Is gonna pick up 50 points. And tia toomey is towards the back of the pack, And she's gonna watch her overall lead disappear after this event. Right next to her is sara sigmundsdottir. katrin was the only woman To finish the entire handstand walk unbroken. - there goes mat fraser... - -oh, my goodness! ...Who's catching up with jacob heppner, And jacob heppner will take this heat. Now, mat fraser, he will finish second. We were pretty dumbfounded By what he did in the handstand walk, But that paled in comparison To what he did in the suicide sprint. last year there's two runs, And I think I got dead last on both of them. - That sucked. - I up. what happened? I'm not a good sprinter, and it was the type of thing Like everyone said, "ah, suicide sprint. What are you gonna do?" I'm like, "no, I wanna win that." so you're thinking, okay, this is where mat fraser Finally finishes in the middle of the pack, And all order is restored. And katrin davidsdottir unofficially has The overall lead thanks to her win in the handstand walk. But this is the event where tia toomey could regain it. by that time, I think I heard that katrin was leading. Instantly, when you hear that, you put out more effort, Because you're fighting for that position again, And I think more adrenaline kicks in or something. It's just a mental thing. and toomey is gonna take it. So tia toomey answers back here in the sprint And she will win the event. Now I'm not sure who has the overall lead. and katrin's face, she is not happy with that. look who is there in the red shorts. Now fraser and ben smith in a foot race. going around the corner, he'd get a couple meters ahead. By the time we got back, we'd be even again. Then on that last one, he was a couple meters ahead of me. I had so much adrenaline going. If I don't do this now, That whole year of training was useless. If I'm not going to die before crossing that finish line, What was the point of that whole year of running? are you kidding me? What can't this guy do?! Mat fraser is gonna win his heat! I was so pumped up of like... Just... Whew! Goosebumps again. That was the proudest I've ever been of myself. Like that was like the moment of the games for me. I'm lucky that I get to do what I do. I'm lucky that I get to be at the crossfit games. This is what I love doing. You're going to have ups and downs And things aren't always going to go your way, But make the best of it, like make it a good memory. that's a different katrin than last year. It's something that she struggles on a lot In previous was what I call horizontal movement. Move things from here to there. She's a gymnast and she moves well And she's good at this really long conditioning stuff, But odd object brunt work force, not so good. And when she went out for that event, Which was the most just like get work done, And annihilated it, That's when I turned to my friend and was like, "she can repeat as the champ." If she was to be crowned the champ two years in a row, She has to stay ahead of tia toomey. briggs putting on a last-ditch effort to beat davidsdottir. damn you, katrin. I was ready to overtake her. She cut into my lane and blocked me. I was like, what a strategic move. katrin davidsdottir is your overall leader, Another 50 points as she wins two of the three events here In the soccer stadium. Fraser is gonna be in the top four once again. what the heck is going on? domination. Tia toomey had the lead, lost the lead, Had the lead, and now has lost the lead again. My legs hurt so much. I can't walk right now. Can someone help me, please? Literally just going until my legs don't work anymore. Like, if I have a drop of energy, use it. I don't need to come across the line With any extra energy. hell yeah! Hell yeah, ben! I thought I could pace it On the first one and sprint the second one. Didn't have it, bad strategy. That doesn't look fun. your next event, We call it the rope chipper. Heavy-handled ropes With a heavy cable, feel it. Can I feel it, too? Nah, you're good, you're good. You'll see it out there. your final event Is gonna start with Three pegboard ascents, And we call this event Redemption, Because we're gonna see Who practiced and trained On something like this Over the previous year. - yeah. -I think it's cool. I really like the chipper. I love workouts and chippers. I love workouts that's just go, go, go, go, And I just like a cool rope pull. Couldn't have picked like the worst movements for me. No, just... Nah. I'm not that great with all the friggin' rowing And the assault bike. Sometimes you surprise yourself against certain athletes, But I know where I want to measure up Against certain people in certain events, And when you get a good win over the right people, It's reassuring and it makes you feel like You belong there a little bit, right? As soon as you think you can't beat someone, You're definitely not gonna beat them, And you're definitely not gonna beat another ten guys That are just as good as them. I just go out there and do my thing. It's kind of like what he said, I was able to win three events at the crossfit games. I think you're gonna go faster than you think you can. Okay. 'cause skier, rower, bike-- we live on that shit. Right. And then the pull is just, Get that pump for the finish line. Right. Ahh! when he announced the workouts, I almost did backflips Because when I'm pressed on time, I just do an emom Of 200-meter row, 200-meter ski, 200-meter assault bike, With 50 double-unders in between. So when he announced it, I'm like, oh, my god! Throwing me a nice slow pitch, let me crank this one out. Meanwhile I get on the field, not the same as home. At all. event 14 of competition here At the 2016 reebok crossfit games, And as always we close out at the tennis stadium At the stubhub center in carson, california. here we go, ladies and gentlemen! mat fraser will be right in the middle. He has a gigantic lead over ben smith, And then the two canadians fighting for third place. That's patrick vellner and brent fikowski. it's been like a ping-pong match-up Between 1 and 2, davidsdottir and toomey. Will she take it back after this event? josh bridges is the first man to the rower. He seemed to get to the next movement right before I would. It was good to have him and ben smith to my right. It seemed like we were all holding the same pace. and it's australia out front, Kara webb and tia toomey, the first women to the jump-rope. This is good for tia toomey. I'm shocking myself, like this is awesome! And then it came to pulling. the crowd coming to its feet As both davidsdottir and sigmundsdottir Have gotten to the skierg at the same time. Tia toomey is onto the sled pull as is kara webb. Kara webb accidentally stepped across the finish line. She is not done yet, she has to pull that sled Standing in that red box. There was confusion with her and the judge. Toomey needs to make up 11 points in order to overtake The top spot on the leaderboard. Josh bridges gets to the sled first. Brent fikowski's behind him, And I remember looking at the sleds, And josh's was creeping and brent fikowski Was taking these giant chunks. look at him crushing this! toomey still ahead but davidsdottir Threatening to pass her. Kara webb is the leader. Brent fikowski is destroying this sled And brent fikowski destroys the time to beat! Another win for the impressive rookie! I expected it to be heavy, but I didn't think It was gonna stop me in my tracks. This is not moving. What is going on?! kara webb has her sled across the finish line. Katrin davidsdottir will finish second, and she will take the lead Into the final event. Now tia toomey is in trouble. I was a bit disappointed because I was killing that Until that pull. here comes cole sager Across the finish line. Ben smith will be done. Mat fraser is pulling. Here comes his sled. ...Three, two, one! ladies and gentlemen, What a finish! Put your hands together And make some noise... she leads tia toomey by 23 points. Sara sigmundsdottir 53 back, and sam briggs On the outside looking in when it comes to the podium. Sara sigmundsdottir and tia toomey will try To chase down that woman. They have one event left in which to catch her. finish it up strong. brent fikowski quickly becoming a crowd favorite. He's still in fourth place but only 26 points Behind patrick vellner for the third and final spot On the podium, ben smith solidly in second. I'm not being negative, just realistic. Maybe the podium isn't in the cards, So it would be silly for me, I think, to chase that And then finish in like tenth or whatever, When maybe fourth is where I belong. I'm not being negative, I completely believe I can be on the podium, But that's how I see it. No! - one second too late. -One second too late. Uggggh! Gosh! There's one more, and that's your one more. Just gonna leave everything out there. The whole of 2016 is being left on that floor For the next one, yeah? Yeah? I'm.... Let's go cool down properly and get ready for the next one. Ice me. last year, when the pegboard showed up, She was unable to climb any pegboards. She didn't get one. and katrin davidsdottir has decided That she's not gonna go after this thing again And rest up for the second event. we practiced pegboards a lot this past year. We built up a lot of upper-body pulling strength. Having said that, for as much as we worked it-- We did, we worked it a lot-- Between last year's games where she did not finish a pegboard And this year's games, she did one. I just kept saying, "I don't know how to do this workout." And I was worried that I'd get my emotions all mixed up And I would go out too hot and I'd fatigue And then everyone would overtake me. sometimes it's honestly better To take yourself out of the crossfit games. Like I said, if you're thinking too much about it, If you're like this moment and these pegboards Are gonna come down to whether I win the crossfit games or not, It's easy to get caught up in like going too fast And blowing yourself up, and it's a short workout, there's no time for that. Then shane goes, "all you need to do is beat katrin. Okay? That's all you need to focus on." I was like, "all right, that's all I'm going to focus on." You knew that toomey had to beat davidsdottir But she also needed some help. She needed to get as many people between herself and katrin In order to make up the point deficit And get herself on top. and also I said, "shane, I need to see you." So like if there's a workout That I want a bit more support in, He'll position himself in the crowd Where I can see him so he can tell me what to do Whenever I sit back and I'll be, "okay, three seconds, I'm gonna go." -You about to go hard? -Hmm? -You about to go hard? -I think we have to. You don't have to. Dare you to do the minimum work requirement, mat. I'm just gonna do the workout. -My hair, is it all right? -It's doing good. - Cool. It's a little wet. - -Mine's a disaster. that's basically how it always is, so... That's what you're looking for, then that's what you got. going into that last event, Like you have to go for it. We're in a points battle for the podium, And I knew brent was really good on the pegboard, And I talked to him about it before And he was like, "I'm going to go fast enough "that I'm going to risk burning out because it does matter. "if I can go all out and potentially get third, "if I go all out and miss it and get sixth instead of fourth, "that doesn't matter, but if you have the chance For the podium, you've got to go for it." -Oh! Who is that? -Oh, who is that? I'm really proud that I had the confidence To say that, yeah, I really want to go to the olympics And the crossfit games in the same year And I managed to do that. I'm really trying hard not to put pressure on myself For the games. I think this year, it's more about me just making sure I don't mentally break down. I think that has to do with a little confidence. I need to have more confidence in myself, So if I can improve anything, it would be Believing in myself a little bit more. do you think you can win the games? I don't know. she posted on social media, "this one's for you," A tribute to her grandmother who she lost earlier this year. She posted "together forever and always." Her grandmother was her biggest fan. my grandma was with me that week. The shoes with "amma," I was like wearing those. I need to be able to look down and see her And I had a necklace on. We both had the same one after she passed away, But like a protection angel on hers. That's buried with her, and then I have mine, And I have a protection angel on that, So I always feel like she's with me when I wear that. I put it on, and I was like, "we're doing this one together." - davidsdottir! - -let's go, girl! let's go! You're ready for this, sara, come on! we first saw the pegboard in 2015. That was a monkey wrench That director of the games dave castro Inserted directly into the anus Of most of the game's athletes. And they didn't enjoy the experience, And I don't know if he did. the first minute, minute and a half, However long it took you to get up three ascents, Was exactly the same as what she did last year. katrin davidsdottir just needs to finish in fifth place Or better in order to guarantee herself Another crossfit games championship. He doesn't have to do anything in this event. That's how far ahead he is, but that's not gonna happen. Last year it stopped the majority of the field Dead in their tracks, this year the pegboard is back. many women were just staring at it, But this year's gonna be a different ball game. If you're not on your feet, you should be Because this is gonna be a battle royale! the final heat of the final event Of what has been a five-day full test of fitness. there is so much on the line right now. the amount that these guys have had to deal with And how they are responding all the way into this last test Of this gigantic test of fitness Is super impressive. I just saunter up to my pegboard, I'm in no rush. I want to pace it, not embarrass myself, And just finish. Not only fatigue but you're also a little bit nervous About falling off at that height. look at how composed And relaxed katrin davidsdottir is. there was no reason for me to go out really hard Because it was just gonna come down To how many pegboards I was gonna make. I did my first three pegboards, and I'm not gonna lie, That third one, I was like, oh, my gosh. Like, my arms are already toasted. so I finally got down, looked at shane, And he's like, "you've got seven seconds." there goes tia toomey to the barbell. Toomey and pearce trading first place in this heat. Sara sigmundsdottir is on to the barbell. ben smith was ahead of me, And I saw him on his set of 21 thrusters. He had put the bar down, and that was the moment That I was like, "I wanna win this." So I just went, grabbed the bar and just started cranking them. tia toomey is done, will roll her barbell forward. Katrin davidsdottir is just finishing Her third pegboard ascent. on each, I was gonna pause at the top of the thruster And try to rush the transition as much as I could And take small breaks between the pegs. Every part of that event, if he was going up, I had to start moving. katrin davidsdottir is resting on the thrusters. she's been pushing herself to her limits And it looks like it might be catching up to her, sean. tia toomey continues to lead along with kari pearce. she takes a quick peek, has that thought process, "I've got to keep up with her?" She tries to go up a little too quick And doesn't take the rest she needs to. If she fails one of those pegboards, she's done. You can take a chance now. This is the time when you have to take a chance. sara sigmundsdottir just fell off the pegboard, So now she's got to go to the other end of the floor. like just stay calm and get your new pegs And then wait 20 to 40 seconds and then you go up again And you can still like, still a possibility. so that opens the door for katrin davidsdottir. Tia toomey is back on the barbell. tia, I thought she was looking at someone, And she was getting coached to slow down. sara sigmundsdottir for the second straight year Is running into trouble on the pegboard. And then I failed again, and then I failed again. Oh, my gosh, is this how my crossfit games are gonna end again? Like, what is happening? brent fikowski and ben smith are your leaders, But mat fraser has moved himself towards the top here. I don't want to be remembered as the guy who paced it But had done well enough in the weekend before. I want to crush all of them. mat fraser back to the barbell To put the finishing touches on his championship performance. The dream is becoming reality! Second no more! Mat fraser is the fittest man on earth! katrin just went methodically one hole at a time. somewhere halfway up, I start falling. I was not letting go. Katrin utilized the center peg holes Which no one at the time was using. So I just start like gap retracting my way up, And I was like, okay, at least I'm moving. And then I started going down. Don't fall, do not fall. Do not fall, katrin, and I make it back down, like, cool. katrin davidsdottir fighting for her life here. Toomey is back for her final nine reps. So tia toomey is getting closer to being crowned The fittest woman on earth. Tia toomey will wait and see what happens. She will place eighth in the event. Brent fikowski is across the finish line. everyone's eyes just immediately turned to vellner. Where is vellner at, how many spots Are going to get chewed up between them, And is it going to be enough to give fikowski a podium spot? as vellner comes across the finish line. Vellner will finish in ninth, and that's gonna do it. Now we need to see how this shakes out. I made five pegboards, that was huge. I couldn't be happier, but tia finished the workout. She got a time and... I didn't know where I placed, I didn't know where she placed, I didn't know her point distribution. It felt like forever That they were gonna announce it. mat fraser's dominance was astounding, There's just no other way to put it. He did great at a lot of things That I didn't expect him to. I expected there to be a closer race. But it seems like, if you were in a heat with him, You probably weren't gonna win. and the celebration can begin for mat fraser. you already know Who your 2016 crossfit games champion is! Mat fraser! everyone sees that little glimpse, that five days. They don't see me in the basement doing rowing intervals by myself. They don't see me squatting by myself. They don't see that work getting put in. Just think about all those nights at the track Where I pull out my flashlight on my phone to get to my car. I feel like this year's finish reflected What people didn't see, all that time training, Doing stuff that I didn't want to do. That's what stepping on that podium meant to me, was, It paid off. and this is just where all you can do is wait now we're gonna get those scores tabulated. but the question is, did toomey do enough To jump over katrin davidsdottir? These are some nerve-wracking minutes for these women. When, just before I left, someone said to me, "if you beat katrin in this last workout, You will win," and so I was like, "oh, my god, I beat her." But then I'm never someone to assume something Before I actually know the end result. They took so long. It was the longest ten minutes of my life. I could see katrin, and she looked really gutted, And I was like, "does she feel like she's lost?" I really wanted to win for my grandma. It was more for her that I wanted to win than for myself. we do have a lot of fun together. We like to go shopping. I like to go and cheer her when she is competing. We both do. Grandma and grandpa. That's us. she was gonna come to the games this year. And, I mean, she did. Just maybe not in the stands section. So she got to be out on the floor with me this time. All I wanted to do was make her proud. And I looked up at shane and I seen him again, and he goes like this. Then I started bawling and crying. And I walked over to katrin, I was like, "good job." It takes so much for an athlete to get through that And for her to come on top, I was really happy for her, But at the same time, I was so gutted. ladies and gentlemen, Your 2016 reebok crossfit games champion is... Once again katrin davidsdottir! I felt like my grandma was with me this year. She believed in me more than anyone in this world. -Thank you. -Nice work. it was a big disappointment That I let him down. Um... He did everything that he needed to do, And I didn't do my part, so... And that was to execute each workout To the best that I could. No, that's okay. You needed more than 15 seconds. he blames himself for me not coming first, And that's really heartbreaking As far as I'm concerned, he did everything that he could And it was me who kind of let the team down. You did well. Next year. Thank you. Results at the crossfit games often come down To just a couple seconds, or even less than a second. every little input that you have control over In these competitive events absolutely matter. It goes so far as to even go beyond The way that you do the actual work as it's written on paper, But it's how you get from one element to the next. It's your transitions, it's how you cross the finish line That could mean the difference between first and second, Podium and not podium-- every single little bit matters. again, at the end of that event, I toed bjorgvin across the line by a tenth of a second And that put me over. Trying to just sprint across in that last bit, That last ditch effort of my last one second of the crossfit games Made the difference for me to make it to the podium. Like that was it. I love you, man. I got a good friendship out of you, man. I love it. to finish it, I was overwhelmed with joy, Just because I was proud of the way I attacked an event. Like the big finale, I didn't choke or anything. I just did my best, it was sweet. I'm not satisfied with this year or last year. It's already begun. I'm so much more hungry for next year. Of course my goal for next year is to win. I'm the fittest person over 30 two years in a row. you felt like you were playing really good golf, But the guy you were playing against was playing better, So, that's kind of how I felt. I'm gonna need to work to get better next year. That's on me, that's not on anybody else, you know. even before the games, Crossfit was blowing up worldwide. And the increase in fitness that we were seeing Was already colossal. Then enter the crossfit games And the increase in performance we've seen In just one decade has made quantum leaps. In the next 10 years, I just can't wait to see How much further that can be pushed. I've got a taste of it. I want more. I mean, if one is good... Two's gotta be awesome, right? Duh! |
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