So, uh, what's your name and what affiliate are you here with? Chris Spealler of CrossFit Park City. What's your inspiration for being here today? Um. Just enjoy using my body. Enjoy fitness and the gifts and abilities given. In 2007, I think it wasn't necessarily an event it was just like the atmosphere. Yeah, Spealler! Go! Go! Go! Yeah! I think it was the BBQ at the end of day one that was probably the most memorable. Anything you could say to anybody to motivate them to come next year? Um. It's just fun. Great sense of community. Fun people. And, uh, good times. Yeah. KHALIPA: At that point it was, it was a, just a totally different time in the sport. That was on a ranch with ... you know, you got to pick what workout you wanted to do at what time of day. It was totally different. I remember it like it's yesterday. And then boom it came to me and I had to go because Spealler was already on you know number nine out of 30. And you just hear the announcers, "Oh Josh Everett is on this number ... this person's on this number ..." and I was thinking to myself, OK, I caught up! I caught up! And I just kept going. And going, and going. And then boom. I won. I remember after I won the event I went to In-N-Out Burger and I was just sitting there I won $1,800 bucks. I was just sitting at In-N-Out Burger like, OK, I had some gas money and some change for sure. THORISDOTTIR: The first thing that comes to mind when I think about the Games 2009 is muscle-ups. The support and help that I got to try to get a muscle-up was ridiculous. Even from girls that were fighting for the spot on the podium. They were still trying to give me some tips. I think it was at that moment that I actually kind of fell in love with CrossFit. FRONING: I hate losing. And I, I have said a few times I don't know if I like winning more than I hate losing um but I absolutely despise losing. In anything. It seems like when I have struggles they're epic struggles. Going into the final event in, in the lead um, by complete surprise COMMENTER: He's in trouble. He has tried that three or four times. FRONING: Going to jump up on a rope. Didn't think that would be a problem. And, uh, get about halfway up and realizing it's not going to happen. COMMENTER: Oh, look at Rich Froning. He decides that ... Oh! He just rallied the forces rallied the body to climb that damned rope without using any legs. LEBLANC-BAZINET: In 2011 final workout of the Games I'm like I really want to like get into that top 5. I just really wanted it. And, uh, started the workout and my rower is not working. COMMENTER: Oh man. There's something wrong with her rower. Oh that's going to hurt. It was surreal and it was like so hurtful at this point because it's everything you put in and it's not something you can control. So it's really like just something else outside that you have no control over it and you're like ... it really crushed me. It just so much preparation for that. So much hard work and to have something like that happen that is completely out of your control. FOUCHER: I think that one of my absolute favorite events was Camp Pendleton. Um. Just because of the camaraderie out there. I remember several times during that workout like, having other people help me keep going. Um. Like, one of the strongest memories I have that I'll always take with me is doing most of that run with Christy Phillips (Adkins). And her coming up behind me with a pack of people And being like, OK guys, we're going to run for 30 seconds. Ready, go! And they would all run, and they kind of picked me up along the way. It was just ... it was so awesome. I don't think I would have done that without someone next to me the whole time. BRIGGS: One of the ultimate goals of being a CrossFitter is to make it to the Games. And then to have made it three times. And then to have actually won it. Is the ultimate prize. All of a sudden it was over. The weekend was over and then I stood on the podium with everybody screaming with the Union Jack. It's like, did it really happen? Did I dream that? Sometimes sometimes I don't believe it, but then but no it did, it happened. COMMENTER: Samantha Briggs is the Fittest Woman on Earth. BRIGGS: So my aim now is to get back there next year. And hopefully make it back onto the podium. Whether that's in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd. I would just like to be back on the podium. CASTRO: You can't have any flaws if you want to be at that top level in CrossFit. If you want to be one of the best in the world if you want to compete with Rich Froning you have to be solid everywhere. MCKERNAN: It's no longer for funsies. It's no longer a recreational, something I do on the side. It's no longer three on one off. It's all day every day 24 hours a day. Every decision they make. WOODLAND: It's a full time job to train and get in to the CrossFit Games. And Rich Froning is a big reason for that because the only way you'll catch him is if you dedicate your life to that sole purpose. Being the best at anything there's a lot of sacrifice and I'm not going to go compete and compete for 10th or 11th or 30th. That's not fun for me. So if I can't go at 100% and try to win the Games every year then, what's the point? If I have to travel, if I have to you know, spend spend time doing something that I need to do or you know, I would want to do family wise and stuff like that I can't completely enjoy it. You know, it's just time for me to spend some time on those things that I have been neglecting. for the past few years. And actually enjoy them. It's not to say that I don't enjoy doing those things. But there's just always that ... in my head is what should I be doing? We're going at 28 and I don't quite know what we're doing. It's either going to be thruster, squat clean deadlift, or a combination of all three. SHERWOOD: Jason Khalipa guy is cut from a different cloth. He's a unique individual on, on, on many levels. I ate a lot at night. Too much at night. Last night, dude, I hit this Whole Foods popcorn. Fuck. It had chocolate on it. I could not stop. I could not stop. I feel like a crack addict. I was just sitting there ... You meet him at first and you want to just think that he's some Saint Bernard that you've given too much sugar to. KHALIPA: You have to remember that when I got into this there was no money, no fame. No competition, really. And so I got into it because I just want to train, throwdown with my buddies. And now everybody wants to train to get to the CrossFit Games. But the reality of the situation is very few people make it there. So they need to take a step back and be like, why am I doing this? And the answer should be they're doing it for themselves. They're doing it because they want to be in better shape than 99% of the population. And they want to have a good time doing it. And if they're not having a good time, they're in their dungeon by themselves with headphones on just hating life every day they're not going to get very far in CrossFit. They might get to the Games one year but I guarantee they won't be there consistently. Because it just takes a toll on your body. Gotta enjoy the experience. This is a whole ride. And uh you gotta relish in it and enjoy it. It's hard because I think I think that every year I'm pushing it's just that in my head I'm like it keeps getting more mature every year so I just feel like every year I'm pushing more. You know? But this year, yeah. You can ask Dave. I'm kind of a mental case here. CAMERAMAN: What? Nothing is given everything is earned, Ian. Good, better, best never let it rest. Til your good is better and your better is your best. CAMERAMAN: Is that true? I have no idea what he just said. Hashtag Dave Lipson. Just because I won the Games last year doesn't mean that I can win it again this year. People are coming back stronger, faster. There's new people coming into the sport who are 10 years younger than me who are already a hell of a lot stronger and faster than me. So I need to evolve as an athlete this is something that I can incorporate into my training which is helping with my strength. But it's not hindering uh, my gymnastics or my uh, running or anything like that. I have no butt cheeks. I need to evolve as an athlete. Whether I'm evolving in the right way ... or not. We'll only find out when the Games is here. One week before the 2014 Open. If you put heavy weight on your back and you go up and down with it, you're going to get stronger. It doesn't really matter how much weight that is. Uh. Or how many set or how many reps you do. Just gotta move the bar. You know what I'm saying? Grooving. Grooving. Just grooving, bro. Here's the reality. The reality of the situation is, is that you get what you put in in life and hard work you know generally leads towards success. And I'm working hard on everything I have going in my life. Whether it be in the gym in the business or for my family everyday all day I'm sitting there asking myself the question, what can I do better as a X? As a father, as a husband ... as a, as a business owner as a, as a, you know as an athlete. And uh every day I'm striving to get better, and better, and better at that. And I think when it comes to the time where you know lots of things are slipping that's when I have to re-assess. Right now things are going good. Uh. I'm dedicated. I'm dedicated to winning the CrossFit Games. I'm dedicated to I'm dedicated to being a good father, a good businessman. And whenever that time comes something has got to give. And it surely can't be the business because that supports our life. And it surely can't be my family. So. There's only one more thing left. But hopefully that day won't come. I could always keep a good balance. And balance in life is really important. Balance and hard work. You know, a lot of people they think CrossFit Games athletes only workout for a living truth of the matter is very few CrossFit Games athletes make a full-time living just off the CrossFit Games. You know. Myself, for example, I have a full-time job. I'm running a, you know, a big company that employs 40 people. There's a lot of other CrossFit Games athletes that have to work. Garret goes to school. And uh you know It's just not the truth. People sit there like, Oh I could do that if I had all day to train. The reality of the situation is, a lot of these guys don't. They're trying to run gyms. They're trying to support their families, support themselves. And so I think people have the wrong impression about CrossFit Games athletes. Very few make a full-time living. Very, very few. Off the Games. A lot of them made a lot of sacrifices in their life. And I think people need to respect that. Anybody that makes it to the CrossFit Games has made a lot of sacrifices in their life. When everybody else is sitting there on the couch playing video games or when everybody else is doing X, Y, Z, the Games athletes those guys are training. Those guys are pushing to get better at something. And uh I'm just honored to be a part of that group. when we all get to the Games, right. Because it just shows, you know if you're sitting on the bus with some dude that dude worked his ass off to get there. It didn't just happen. Or it didn't just happen because he didn't have a day job. It happened because he put in a lot of work to get there. Feel me? You know what I'm saying? CAMERAMAN: What's happening? I'm going to get drugs tested. Nice. So I have to take it with me. That's your pee? It's the new flavor. It's the new flavor? It's the new flavor Progenex. Briggs. Briggs (laughs). SHERWOOD: Ok, let's say, I'm not a steroid expert but let's say it allows you to put on muscle easier, um maybe lets you recover faster so you can workout harder more often but it doesn't freaking increase your pain tolerance which the critical part of doing well in CrossFit is your ability to just suffer. FRONING: Yeah. You can take all the steroids you want. If you don't have it between the ears you know, that's a wonderful deadlift you have and by the way you're 60th at regionals. FRONING: That's like, there are several people that I'm sure are fitter than I am physically but mental, when you get to that point it's like there's a tradeoff there. It's part of the ... you know it's not one of the 10 General Physical Skills mental toughness but it should be. LEBLANC-BAZINET: I think that's one of the reasons why you see the same girls over and over again going to the Games is that, like, if you want to beat me or in my region me and Michele you don't just have to be like good and manage all the skills the weight and all that you need to be like willing to die. Like, you need to leave it all there cause like we're going to do it. You know? We're like we've done it she did it for three times I did it four times but like like, we're going to go in that really dark place and if we need to go there in every single workout to secure a spot to the Games we'll do it. So it's like, not only you need to be I guess as good as we are now you need to be willing to go there with us. WOODLAND: The way to explain the Open to people is that it's the first step on a three step process to find the fittest on Earth. MCKERNAN: So far in the Open historically all we've seen is one-on-one match ups. Tonight five champions three men two women one funky heat. The first time that we paired male and female athletes in head-to-head competition in that type of scenario. Right ... I can't tell ... Are you messing No, I agree with you. My booty shorts booty shorts are ready. BRIGGS: They're always scary because you don't know what Dave's going to throw at you. So you stand there and people always say, Oh you knew in advance. You really don't. We do a general warm up. We stand there. And as he announces it we go out and do it. CASTRO: The clock, save you it will not. You will do 168 reps or you will quit in the process of trying. 14.5 is for time. BRIGGS: And then 3, 2, 1, go! You give it everything you've got. CASTRO: 3, 2, 1, go! COMMENTER: 14.5 underway for the champ-packed Kezar Pavillion. Five champions: Graham Holmberg Annie Thorisdottir Rich Froning Samantha Briggs and Jason Khalipa. MCKERNAN: But as soon as they drop the flag you hear Sean Woodland says it in his call it looks like Sam Briggs got shot out of a cannon. FRONING: Sam goes out like a bat out of hell. Didn't even think about it. I was like, well she's going to kill us on this workout not even worth it you know, just let her go. BRIGGS: Nobody had really seen anything of Annie. We didn't know how she was going to uh, perform. So I wanted to try and get out ahead. It could have blown up in my face. COMMENTER: Sam Briggs now onto the 15 thrusters. Rich Froning still in second. Jason Khalipa slight lead over Graham Holmberg for third and then it's Annie Thorisdottir in fifth place right now. BRIGGS: When you're in so much pain and your lungs are ready to burst you kind of, uh, ... does it matter if I beat Rich? No. COMMENTER: The two defending champions nearly rep-for-rep here on that set of 9. FRONING: So once I started to get a little closer, I was like alright now I'm going to try to beat Sam. COMMENTER: Rich Froning has been steady throughout. Three more bar-facing burpees for him and he will be done. Briggs is on the barbell. She will beat Annie Thorisdottir handily in this workout. But it's Rich Froning who else? The champ, another victory. Unbelievable. FLOOR ANNOUNCER: And when you saw Rich Froning creep on that lead what was going through your head? BRIGGS: I'll let him. Sam Briggs almost took down the champ in head-to-head competition with Rich Froning. She was absolutely incredible. The Open in the past two years gave us our CrossFit Games champion. Last year Rich won the Open he won the Games. The year before Rich won the Open he won the Games. Last year Sam won the Open she won the Games. WOODLAND: Rich Froning the overall leader he wins the Open again. Eighteen total points for him. Sam Briggs sits atop the overall leaderboard at the end of the 2014 Open. It's her second straight Open championship. She beats Camille Leblanc-Bazinet who finishes second for the second straight year. Last year Briggs beat Bazinet by 27 points. This year she beats her by 127 points. LEBLANC-BAZINET: It's cool to be second just for the fact that it's great to know that you're still in the race. You know? But at the same time I stay very realistic that I know that there's a lot of work that needs to be done. BRIGGS: There are going to be 50 of us there. And any one of those can take it. Not just Annie, not just Julie, not just me. It's all about who who is ... made their weaknesses their strength. Who can go out there and make every single workout in their wheelhouse. My name is Lindsey Valenzuela. I'm 27 years old. I live in Moorpark, California. And I've been to the CrossFit Games three years. It was probably the coolest moment of my life being up there on the podium. And proving to myself and to others but mostly to myself that I could get there and that I belong near the top. I knew last year going into regionals I wanted to win. Um. This regionals I want to win even more. I want to prove to myself that it wasn't a fluke. And I can win more than just one year. You know, the conversation all year long was about three women in particular. And it was about Annie Thorisdottir, Julie Foucher, and Sam Briggs. And those were the three women that everybody was excited about. I mean, we were basically betting on the fact that that would be the podium in one format or another. She wants to be a doctor. And she wants to be the Fittest Woman on Earth. FOUCHER: Yes, I've pretty much given myself this year and next year and then after that I have to be in school and training ... like training for being a doctor full-time. To marry those two things together is one of the craziest goals I've ever heard. When you take into account what other people are doing for, uh, for a living or for their jobs. Um, I'll have to start doing my clinicals um where it's just ... I mean even now it's not really possible to keep up that kind of schedule and still stay competitive in CrossFit. Just because you have to make it almost like your full-time job if you want to stay at that level. So so yeah, I'm pretty much giving myself two years. And then I remember that the other shocking thing is Annie Thorisdottir was way in the back. She really wasn't even a contender in that event. And that, that raised some red flags. That maybe she wasn't all the way back. And maybe she was still nursing that injury. THORISDOTTIR: I obviously do not like losing and I really lost. I didn't even beat the guys! Um, it was ... Yeah, I don't like losing I know I need to work on something. And I'm going to be ready. I'll be ready. I'm pretty ... I'm pretty fired up right now to just train hard. MARQUEZ: She won back-to-back titles and it kind of seemed like she was just on this, like, path. Going up to where nothing was going to stop her. And then a pretty serious injury knocked her off the rails. I just PRed by back squat. I'm super excited. And I decided I didn't need to rest and I didn't need to warm-up my deadlift or anything like that because my squat warmed up my deadlift. Threw my technique out the window and I just tore up the bar. And I could feel just from that very first pull I felt something move in my back. My doctor said I would never be 100% again. But the fact was I didn't want to get 100% again. I want to get better than I was before. I wanted to get 150%. What are your self doubts? That I'm not good enough. That other girls are better. Um. But I think that every competitor goes through that and if they say they don't they're lying. How hard is it to keep training on days when you just don't feel your best? Um. Hard. It's more mentally hard than physically hard. I think this happens, and I've seen this happen to almost every other CrossFit Games athlete. Is there comes a point where you have to just stop and ask yourself why you're doing this. Especially as it becomes so much more demanding. And all along the way, um, I guess, you know, you just keep going because you can. And then eventually you have to stop and ask yourself why am I doing this and why do I want to keep going? But you just do it because you don't have a choice. So you don't have a choice? Yeah, can't not do it. And I just hit that point where I was like I don't know if I want to do this anymore. Like, I don't know if it's worth it because I'm just ... I was sort of at my last straw. If your CrossFit career ended now, would you be happy? Yeah. Knock on wood. I think that I've shown people I'm a good athlete. But most importantly I showed people what it means to never give up. And I've led by a good example. I've always said if I can leave this sport being a good example rather than being a good athlete I'd be happy. Winning is cool and awesome and satisfying, but if I was winning and people didn't respect me I wouldn't be happy. So for me there's a lot of a lot of reasons why I'm training to be the fittest on Earth. And why I want to be the fittest on Earth. I think for one I've seen myself progress over the years. And I see how I am capable. And I know that I am capable of being the fittest on Earth. And I think that and why I am kind of giving myself this year and next year to pursue that goal is because I want to see if it's possible. And I don't, I don't ever want to have any regrets. Can you delete that? SHERWOOD: Who do you think are going to be the three people going from SoCal this year? Why? Why ask these questions? I hate these questions. I don't even want to answer it. SHERWOOD: Age? 30. Height? 5-5 on a tall day. Sometimes I can be a mix between a Camille and a lion. So I am a Camillion. Roar. Right now I'm getting my shins warmed up. Looks really weird. Your shins warmed up? Yeah. So just like stretching out my shins. Do you ever just walk around like that, like in the street? No. Slow down! Jesus! I am a cookie monster. Chocolate chip cookies and milk at night almost every night. Almost every night. I saw those The cookie jar. Yes. There's a cookie ... there's a cookie jar in my house, yes. And if it's empty it will get refilled soon. SHERWOOD: Would you commit a crime if you knew you could get away with it? No. What's the fastest you've ever driven in a car? Uh, 105 miles per hour. That's a crime. Yes, ma'am. I don't know what's wrong. Point the camera lower. Jesus christ. So this is a pretty serious session here. Tensions are high. She's already ready to go and I'm like resting still. They're still red and sore. I only just had the operation. Might want to get some sort of a cream on there. I mean my brother and Jason do a lot more than what I usually do. So, do you have 'What is Garret Doing?' on your ... No, I do not have what is Garret doing. I am better than Garret. We shouldn't say that ... don't say that on camera. No, he'll get mad. He will. Since Jason Khalipa has put up that little stupid 'What is Rich Doing?" thing. It's like that's not a good motivator. Like, I don't think about what Rich is doing. And like whatever Rich is doing is fine, that's what motivates Rich. And that's what gets Rich to where he is and that's awesome. And I think what Rich has done is phenomenal. I'll never take that away from Rich. but for me if I focus on what Rich is doing like, it doesn't allow me to be the best that I am. You know it doesn't ... it allows me to I don't want to say that I use, like, let me try to rephrase this correctly I guess um I guess the best way I can put it are you a golfer? At all? Ok. Do you follow golf at all? No? I'm guessing probably not then. So, obviously Tiger Woods was there for a while. He was the ... he was kind of like the Rich Froning of golf. He is, like, the guy who is basically beating everyone and everyone was kind of going for second. To Tiger Woods. And then there were a couple of guys behind him. And this was back in 04, 05, probably 06 when Tiger was at his like peak. And uh there were two guys, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els, and Phil Mickelson or and Ernie Els, is like I wake up every morning and I want to know what Tiger's doing. I think about him. What is Tiger doing today? How can I be making myself more like him? To get to, you know, where he's at. And Phil Mickelson kind of laughed at it when he said that. He's like ... he's like that's pretty terrible. He's like I wake up and I enjoy my morning with my kids and have coffee. He's like ... and so that has always, like, really resonated with me as to where I can't have those external focus on a guy like Rich. To see what Rich is doing. Because if I consume myself with what Rich is doing I'm always going to think I'm not doing enough. And so and the moral of the story was Phil Mickelson went on to beat Tiger Woods at a couple ... he beat him in the masters he beat him in the championship. And Ernie Els fell off the face of the Earth. Like, no kidding, like after that year like three years later you never heard of Ernie Els again. Like, he has done nothing since then. And so that has been the biggest eye opener for me. So whenever Jason made that "What is Rich Froning Doing?" I just chuckled at it. I'm like, perfect. I'm like, Rich owns you now. Like, you are only striving to be as good as Rich. You'll never be better than him. You know, the nights where it's like I mean let's say on a Friday I put in a triple session Friday night rolls around. It's like, well, I can't stay out until midnight. I can't stay out until 1. I can't do those things. You got to sleep because you're going to get up on Saturday and at 10 o'clock you're going to go out and workout again. And you're going to go and get the rest and and you just have to make the sacrifice. Oh yeah, people ask me all the time what's my secret. Especially for like pull-ups or, uh, you know those movements that are more my, uh, my trademark or my strength. And I have all those drills. And I give them those drills, and the truth is I'm not scared of anyone beating me because I know that most of them are not willing to put in the work that I put in. So. I tell them, do 10 million of them and do all the drills that I gave you every day and next thing you know no one does it. So. Like, I give them my magic pill. They're just not willing to put the same work in. So. That's where, uh, ... And then you'll get that new girl who's willing to put the work in. She'll be there. She'll be there. So. I think that's the magic pill. (Inaudible) on the podium comes and goes so fast. And like if that's what you're doing it for those external motives like with like we've been talking about all day you're not going to get there. That's not motive enough. Like if you aren't enjoying what you're doing day in and day out to get you there. The journey there. You know, you might as well quit. Because that's 99% of it. You know? The standing on the podium or getting to the Games is the 1%. You know? It's just it's such a short period of time. It's a flash and it's gone. Yeah you get a few memories out of it. But gosh, the other memories are the hours that you spent in the gym with whoever you're training with. Or your coach, or by yourself with you and just the barbell. It's like if you're not enjoying that, man, you're probably not going to get ... Yeah, it's a lot of work for very little reward. And so I think that's the secret. It's enjoy what you're doing. I actually talked about this with people at my work. You know they're like, Dan, you look super tired. You don't look like the 6th fittest man in the world. And my response was I'm not doing this just for fitness. I'm not, I'm not the case where it's like hey I just want to get in good shape. I'm competing in a professional sport to win. Sometimes it's just miserable. Especially those days where you're tired or you get emotional. I think it's like there are those days where your demons your inside demons come out. And, uh, you have no support, you have nothing to like no one to make you feel good about yourself or whatever those are kind of the days where you need to, like, I guess get better mentally. Or just kick that little demon off and keep going. So those days are very miserable but I think those are some of the best training sessions you can have. So. It's like, same if someday you feel like on paper you did suck like sometimes that's the best day and that's the best training you could have. If you had a dog what would you name your dog? I really like Baxter. Baxter? Yeah. Like from Anchorman? Yeah. Three, two, ... we're going that way There are only three spots per region to get to the Games. There are now so many other athletes coming up who are good who are focusing wholly on the regionals to qualify for the Games. So you can't take anything for granted. You need to make sure that you are in top shape. Top form. For Regionals. As any slip up will mean that your trip to Carson is cancelled this year. And I for one do not want that to happen. What's today? Today is Friday. Today is the first day of regionals. For breakfast after the competition. I did have some for dessert last night. If you're going to mess up anywhere it's going to be on the snatch and then you only get like one attempt at the handstand walk. So. They're the biggest they have the biggest risk factor associated with them. CrossFit problems. CrossFit problems. #CrossFitProblems COMMENTATOR: Hello ladies and gentlemen welcome back to CrossFit HQ's coverage of the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games European Regional. There's an old saying, are you hurt or are you injured? And we're about to find out which one it is. I didn't see Annie do one repetition in her warm-up, so it'll be interesting to see what she can pull off here. And she was legitimately ... I could see in Annie Thorisdottir's eyes that she was legitimately afraid before she took the floor for the snatch event. That she wasn't going to be able to hit anything. Sam Briggs misses 145. Annie Thorisdottir, successful lift at 150. And there's that smile that we've come to know from Annie Thorisdottir. Sam Briggs for 1-6-5. And a good lift for Sam Briggs. Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir is actually leading the pack. She's now at 70 feet. 80 feet. BRIGGS: I was hoping to get one full length. That was my aim. When I came down I looked I was like, ah that's not too bad! But then when I saw the placing then I was like, ah, OK. COMMENTATOR: And there's Sam Briggs who is out of the handstand walk early on. Not a good thing for Sam Briggs. BRIGGS: Suddenly more stressful than I planned. Yeah, fine. Handstand walk was a little bit shit, but I ... yeah ... I just ... I ... didn't warm the handstand up, purposely because I didn't want to mess with the snatch. The defending champ meanwhile currently sits in 9th place after three events. For some people that would be cause for concern. You say no worries whatsoever. I am not worried about Sam Briggs qualifying again at all. It was kind of a big shock. Everyone is staring at the leaderboard like oh man how is she going to bounce back from that? But secretly in the back of your mind thinking she's going to come back. She's the champ. She's going to come back. I have to win the rest. There is no second place. I have to win the rest. Sam Briggs across the line in 10 minutes 17 seconds unofficially. Tanja Davidsdottir in the all white chasing just behind her. Sam Briggs showing no fear maintaining the lead. Annie Thorisdottir close behind, and if you're a CrossFit Games fan this is what you came for. At under 4 minutes Sam Briggs is getting the crowd into it as she advances her chess piece and gets into her 10th and final round. She is going to annihilate the event record. Sam Briggs is an absolute cyborg. 10th and final rope climb for Sam Briggs! And the crowd here at the Ballerup Arena has erupted as Sam Briggs says you can't get rid of me that easily. Unofficially 4 minutes and 30 seconds. Davidsdottir is having a complete meltdown in lane number 7. Right now it probably feels like her world is coming apart. The final heat of women literally comes down to this last event. Currently Sam's in 4th 2 points behind 3rd and 4 points behind 2nd. You never heard that expression? Dogs were in the poo. The shit. So I'm shaking like a shitting dog. Only one workout left. And I need to not fuck up. In my heart of hearts Sam Briggs is doing to pull off the impossible. Not a Sam Briggs workout. I'm going to try and think I am Talayna Fortunato. Anybody got some socks that I can stuff my bra with? Yeah, I feel like I'm getting fitter because my heart rate is staying elevated the entire weekend. COMMENTATOR: It's all about Sam Briggs. Who is threatening to accomplish the impossible. Just two points out of the podium. The current event record under 2 minutes. 1 minute and 55 by Pip Malone. Sam Briggs needs to not just do well here she needs to do very well and she needs some help. Coming off the bar there were already three people doing overhead squats so I had no choice but to go straight into it. COMMENTATOR: Sam Briggs puts the bar down. In lane number 4. And Briggs is struggling so on the 5th rep she puts the bar down. And at that point the air pretty much came out of the room. Everybody realized it was reality. And she wasn't going to go to the CrossFit Games. As soon as I dropped the bar the realization set in that I wasn't going to the Games. And that for me was probably one of the hardest moments of my CrossFit career. Having to pick up that bar and finish the reps knowing that it didn't make any difference. That I wasn't going to the Games. That bar felt more like 400 pounds. Not 135. Ah, I was a little bit upset obviously. Uh, messing up twice on the overhead squats. But I was aiming for a 2:30 that would have still put me in 7th against those little beasts. So, it wouldn't have affected the scoreboard at all. 4th coming back from 26th not a bad effort for the weekend. And the fact of the matter is that in any given workout in any given region you show a weakness and, and you rest on nothing. You can't rest on your laurels. She was out of the CrossFit Games for essentially one mistake. Hello everyone, Sean Woodland and Pat Sherwood recapping the third and final day of competition at the Southern California region and probably the biggest story of the weekend coming out of this region on the women's side of things Lindsey Valenzuela winds up in 4th place. She will not be going back to the CrossFit Games. Valerie Voboril finishing first Becca Voigt, and then Games rookie Lauren Fisher the first time she is going to Carson, California. But for the second straight week we have a woman who stood on the podium at the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games who is not going back. VALENZUELA: I think a champion has to go through a little bit of a hard time and I think God has a plan for me. And, uh, I might not know what it is right now and I might not know what it is next week but I'll figure it out. MCKERNAN: She didn't have a finish worse than 8th place. The entire weekend! All top 10 finishes! And that used to be the statistic you would read off when you said here's what makes a CrossFit Games champion. Everything inside the top 8? Oh yeah you're good to go. Because that's consistency across the board. But the fact of the matter is that the tide has risen so high that anything, any slip up and you're losing that space. VALENZUELA: That moment of like oh shit I'm not going to the Games and uh feeling like I let my fans down. Um. Feeling like I let my coach down. My husband down. And my family down. It was shitty. I'm sorry, Dusty. It's OK. You know it's ... we don't go out there and just put on a performance. It's not just a performance. It is a year of our life accumulating into one weekend to make it to the CrossFit Games. BRIGGS: I was feeling great. I was feeling stronger and fitter than I did the year before. And I wasn't going to be given the chance to prove it. I went and enjoyed some drinks with my friends and the next morning I tried to shake the hangover off. And went straight back into training. VALENZUELA: I've learned both sides. That I want it even more now but it's OK to lose. Because losing, it doesn't define me. I can still be who I am, and still inspire people. My Games journey for that year was over so it was time to reassess and get ready for the Games next year. SHERWOOD: She's such an incredible, ridiculous human being athlete and she wasn't good enough to go. Should she have gotten an invite? No, she shouldn't have. LeBron James will miss a three pointer with two seconds left and their whole season will be over and they lost the championships. And he was the MVP of the season, he's the greatest basketball player in the world and he misses a three point shot with one second left. That was Sam Briggs' three point shot with one second left. She had a couple opportunities. And, um, that's the reality. At the end of the day it's still a sport. There's still rules. There's still parameters. There's still a scorecard. There's still points you have to valuable points you have to get at every stage. And she didn't grab those valuable points there climbed back, had a chance at the end and missed it. You have to work so hard for this. What do you mean? I just mean that you have to work so hard for this. Like you have to push so hard every day. Just like really try to achieve that goal. To make it to the Games? Or just to like just to be the best? Or what do you mean? Just to be the best you can be. Just, uh, you have to be really have to be relentless with yourself. There's no stopping. And it's never good enough. When you're at the red line that's when you start kind of doubting yourself. Like, am I going to be able to do this? Can I maintain this? What are the other girls doing? You know, any negative talk. That's when I come back to you're OK you can do this like, you're fine. You're doing it for you. Not for anyone else. Come here, Jake. Last year at the CrossFit Games I did not have fun. Until Sunday. I was miserable. I ... it was ... I don't know. You know, just the fight of it. I did actually enjoy having to battle back. But I just didn't enjoy it. It was just one of those things that I was kind of like I really honestly thought that last year was going to be my last one and I was going to walk away. And, uh, you know I kind of told Hilary that was going to be my last one. We were joking around and there was one afternoon she called me. She was like, what are you doing? I'm at the track. She's like, why are you at the track you hate running? I was like, ah. I need to get better at it. She was like, why do you need to get better at it? You're not done are you? I'm like, nah I'm going to do one more. So. Might as well do one more. I'm not good at anything else, so. Pretty good at working out. WOODLAND: Everyone has either been told, you know, you're too short, you're too tall, you're too big, you're too small you're not strong enough everyone has felt like that at some point in their lives. And when you look at Chris Spealler out there on the floor he shouldn't be there. After six consecutive Games appearances Chris Spealler failed to qualify by one spot in 2013. MARQUEZ: Him not qualifying in 2013 felt like it just wasn't finished yet. It left a bad taste in your mouth and it just didn't seem right. MCKERNAN: Spealler has always been that guy that call him an underdog, call him the David to the Goliath of the CrossFit Games but he's the guy that pulls off the absolute impossible. COMMENTATOR: Chris Spealler goes unbroken on 64 pull-ups look at Chris Spealler! Gray shorts, black knee sleeves, no shirt. This is going to be his 7th trip to the Games! Chris Spealler steps on the finish mat at 1 minute 57 seconds. Securing his trip to go to Carson, California. CASTRO: We were at the first Games together. And eight years later we're going to be at the Games together again. And we've watched eachother grow. He has watched the sport grow. I've watched him grow. As an athlete as a human as a friend. How sweet is it to be going back to the Games? I mean, you're one of the few men who could say you've been this many times. Uh, it's special. Yeah. This is going to be the for real last hurrah. So it was a it feels really good to make it. Who do you think is going to win the CrossFit Games? Uh, you. Ah, I like that. Good job, buddy. Thank you. And just in conversation with Ben and with Sarah it's ... yeah this is it. This needs to be it. And um For various reasons, you know? It's everything from taking care of my body to um it's no longer a sport for somebody 35 5' 5" 150 lb. on a good day. Um. And uh it's I don't want to miss the next two to three years of my kids being out of school in efforts to make it just one or two more times. And be broken when I'm 45. It's just not it's not worth it anymore. He's chasing Graham Holmberg with a time of 1:42. With only 1 rep left he can definitely accomplish that. There it is, can he get it? 1:39 unofficial for Mathew Fraser! With a great chance at a podium spot in Carson, California. To be consistent. Just even keel across everything. I came in last year strong as hell but not an ounce of cardio also. I made sure to correct that. I was 2003, 2005, 2007 school-age national champion. 2009 junior national champion. 2009 junior world team member. I was a resident athlete at the Olympic training center for two years. Resident athlete at the Olympic education center for two years. And then I started CrossFit. Yeah, so, when I first came home it was nice. I was back in Vermont so there's lots of Ben and Jerry's around. And when I first got home it was a pint of Ben and Jerry's every day. And after a couple months of that it started catching up with me. And so I was like, OK I either give up Ben and Jerry's or start working out again. And I didn't want to give up my Ben and Jerry's. Is it too dangerous of a sport? No. No, it's not too dangerous of a sport. I think people need to realize that now CrossFit as a sport is very, very different from CrossFit as a training methodology. There's been a split. There's ... whether people say it or not or admit it um, I still believe that our needs don't vary by kind but they vary by degree. I think that's a very accurate statement. Um, but there has been a split where now the demands on athletes going to the Games and even to regionals at the top tier, athletes in the top 10 or so, um, there is a very different demand on those guys and girls than on anybody else. And it's no different than any other sport. I don't know where the hell that came from. I mean you have CrossFitters now doing strength cycles or Olympic weightlifting cycles for months at a time. I did that for 10 years. Nothing but an Olympic weightlifting cycle for 10 years. So I came into CrossFit with a 500 pound squat, a 300 pound snatch, a 375 pound clean and jerk. So, I mean, I came into it with this huge advantage of knowing the movements. And so, I mean, that was clearly a huge advantage for me. That's why I've been able to compete at the level I have been so quickly. CASTRO: We're not saying CrossFit is everything because people say that a lot about us now. That we're trying to just say that anything you do is CrossFit. You've got to look at the macro picture. And not just the micro picture. Looking at the micro, what's he doing right now? Oh, he's Olympic weightlifting. He's not CrossFitting. Again, step back and see what else is in the programming. FRONING: The people on the outside looking in to CrossFit think that when they see CrossFit it is only CrossFit metcons. That's what they see that's what they think. You know, the 21-15-9. Or the five rounds of whatever. They don't see I mean, they don't understand it. And so they think, he's not doing CrossFit if he's doing intervals. You're an idiot. That's what CrossFit is. CrossFit is you want to be as strong as you possibly can without it affecting flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, ... any of the other things you know, being too strong affects. But you don't want to have too good of a VO2 max that it affects your other strength numbers or you're losing weight or whatever. People get too caught up in in just CrossFit. Metcons. That they think that's what CrossFit is. That, you know, that's all we do. They're idiots. SPEALLER: And it's no different than any other sport. Um. You know, skiing. I'm not going to go out and skii recreationally the same way I would if I were trying to make the Olympic team. You know, it's a different world. And that's happened in CrossFit and I think people need to start to look at that. And kind of accept that. And start to figure out hey, where do I lie? What are my goals? How am I being realistic? And then just resting and what that is. FRONING: Anyone who has ever been the best at anything or the best in the world at anything knows it takes sacrifice. And hard work. And, you know, there's always it's always in the back of my mind that I'm not doing enough. If I'm competing as an individual there's ... you know and I'm ... I'm not going to be able to be fully involved with my family because I'm always thinking about you know, am I doing enough? You know, I'm falling behind. I'm going to miss things. Somethings going to suffer. Whether it's competing or me being a dad or a husband. And uh ... Being a dad and a husband I think is more important and I don't I don't think that's what needs to, uh, take the back burner. LEBLANC-BAZINET: So I'm ... I'm full-time at school right now. And um I'm really busy. I'm very stressed out. And I have a lot of work to do. So before going to the Games um I just wanted to retrieve myself a little. To like uh well, train at altitude with friends and uh really retrieve myself in somewhere like this. Where it's like beautiful and peaceful. And I have like 5 classes. So it's not ... Wait, you're taking five classes? Yeah, I'm taking five classes. For the summer? Yeah. Oh my god! Yeah! Camille communicating with her classmates via Skype. So it's really hard this summer. Really, really hard. I've a couple ... a couple meltdowns. But I don't know. Meltdowns? Like emotional meltdowns? Yeah, emotional meltdowns like like ... just that's enough. Cami is, uh, pushing a sled in Matt and Cherie's yard. Because she just found out that there's a sled push in the Games. So she's a lunatic. And she ran out to grab the sled. You can do it, Cam. I know. I'm just going to figure out. You got to get real low. There you got it. It's too slippery. Fuck! It's like not fucking moving. I'm getting frustrated. You can do it. Aaaaaa! Damn it. You got to get lower, missy. Mental fortitude. All about mental fortitude right now. Get your feet moving. Keep those feet moving in little choppy steps. Little choppy Cami steps. I can't I'm slipping. God damn it. Auunngh. Ah! Fuck! Aaaa! I don't want to do it anymore. You can finish, Cam. You can do it. You're almost past the part where you started cruising. Try starting it slow. See if that helps. Dave, I tried everything. OK? Like See if you can wish it forward. I tried to! What do you think I'm doing? I'm fucking stupid? Like I don't try to do the same thing every time. You can move that sled. Aaagh! Fuck. Nothing will break you at the Games. Aaaa! I am not doing this a third time. Why not? Yeah ... that, that was enough. That was enough mental training. Why not?! How much more do you want me to flip out? I want you to do it without breaking. Mentally. The cursing, the frustration ... Yeah, that was me trying to fucking push the sled. This is a good example of all married couples working out in CrossFit. And I find it humorous because I'm not the married couple right now. I want you to try to do it without getting frustrated. Well then don't talk the whole time I do it. I won't say anything. I'll be completely silent. The fact that it's hard isn't bad. The fact that it's hard is actually good. Because then she can practice staying in her game. But when you start getting affected by I'm only moving the sled six inches ... or it's not moving ... or my feet are slipping ... those are all like it's circular thinking. And it doesn't help accomplish your task. Ah. Fuck. Aaah. Fuck. Hey! That was way better than the second one, Cami. Yeah, it was weird. I didn't even push that hard. I just pushed over the sled. I think that was it. You said over the sled. Yes. She was like here that time instead of here. My feet were like Over the sled so you're like just walk kind of like ... Yeah, it was like easy. I would have seriously stayed here all night. Good. Like, seriously. That's what we would expect from you. Alright, here we go. 10 feet. Here you go, Cam. I was almost there. That was awesome. That was by far your longest bout. Yeah. I heard a saying once that when you lose your ability to get angry you lose your passion. Oh yeah You know? Oh yeah, I totally agree with that. I always say that the day I stop caring I'm going to stop doing it. What's the catalyst to make it easier for you as opposed to harder? I don't know. Maybe imagine that that exact scenario that we just saw there was at the CrossFit Games. Yeah. And not the 6th try but the 1st try. Then what? Then what do you do different? I think I stay much calmer. Yeah, I just stay much calmer. And just figure it out. I think I can win. But I'm being, um, very aware of the amount of pain that I need to go through to do it. Um, which I think is different than just uh saying I can win. It's like pixie dust in the sky. Um. Like I'm like really trying to get my head into it. To be like ready at the Games to like like get really hurt. Really, really hurt. Because no one is going to give up. So I know that if I go as hard as I can and I do my best and not only my best but I go in that really dark place in every single workout. I should be in a good place. I think every guy there wants to win it. Every one wants to be the best. That's why we compete. Is to prove that we are the best. LEBLANC-BAZINET: Who did their homework? Or who, like, tried to study last minute for the test? LACHANCE: I've never swam in the ocean before. CAMERAMAN: Oh really? Yeah, I'm going to learn today. Today's a great day to learn. Yeah, exactly. It's just like a pool. We're learning how to swim. CAMERAMAN: You're reading an article on how to swim? Yeah. An animated video. An animated video of how to swim on your side. I haven't found the playlist yet, but I was thinking of listening to "Let It Go." From Frozen. Hello everybody, and welcome to the opening event of the 2014 Reebok CrossFit Games. Do you swim in the ocean all the time? No, never. Never been in it once. I'm a little scared. It's dark and scary out in the ocean. CAMERAMAN: Are you saying the opposite of what you're actually saying? Maybe. I feel very attractive with this. I feel like I have a condom on my head. Yeah, my ears hurt like crazy. I'm sitting there like yeah this thing's tight. You guys got Magnum size? Some people have built in floatation devices. Those waves were huge that day. And I had got, like, crushed by multiple waves. I didn't think the salt water would have that type of an effect on me. But your nose is running, you're drooling, you're laying there in the sand doing burpees, and there's snot coming down my face and I'm trying to you're trying to spit and clear your nose. BRIDGES: And I heard there was a shark sighting about a mile south while we were in the water. That's pretty cool. Especially since it's Shark Week. I've been watching Shark Week all week. Rich and I are always side by side in the beach event. It doesn't matter whether we go in the water at the same time we come out of the water at the same time, we finish the reps at the same time ... Always next to Dan. He was breathing on his left, I breathe on my right. And literally every time we would lock eyes. Every single time. So the whole time, every breath I take it's like "Oh." We're just staring at each other. THORISDOTTIR: I was like, I'm out of the ocean! She survived! LIPSON: (SINGING) Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead. Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead. See? I had to do it with my hand. How did the first event go? Um, really well. I'm, um, ... I ... I don't think .... people can even understand how hard I have worked on my swimming this year. Thousands of years alone in the pool no one looking at me, just like getting after it. And, uh, it's just so exciting to, uh, do an event and see all of your hard work pay off. OLSEN: I was back stroking around the pier I heard Joanne say, "Go, Noah!" and I looked up and as I was back stroking I gave her a little kiss. Nice! Awww. She caught it. BRIDGES: You see him on his swim? He's a fucking cheetah. He's a water cheetah. He's a fish out there. I'm glad he didn't get eaten by a shark. You know, 'cause he's a fish. And sharks eat fish. GRUNDLER: It's going to be a straight, old-school bro session with these guys throwing down some big weights. For a heavy lift it's one of my favorites. It requires skill, not just raw strength. WOODLAND: Rich Froning at 365. Uh oh, uh oh, Bill. FRASER: Like a reporter asked us, hey Tommy how much are you looking to hit? He said 400. He said, Mat, how much are you looking to hit? I said, one more pound than him. I think he hit 376 and ... 377. WOODLAND: Now Mat Fraser, 377. Trying to beat Tommy Hackenbruck. And he will do it! He's your new leader by a pound! Camille Leblanc-Bazinet trying to lock up second place overall in this event. Everything was shaking. It was like, oh my god! Just stop shaking! And she will get it! She beats Amanda Goodman by one pound. Kara Webb says, why not? I'll go for 250 pounds. On the women's side it's Kara Webb of Australia who sits atop the leaderboard. LEBLANC-BAZINET: The hardest one was the Triple 3. Because I've never pushed that hard in my whole life. Like I've never puked in a workout in my life, and I really thought I was going to faint and puke in this one. That was terrible. It was long and it was hot. BAILEY: Borderline one of the hardest workouts we've had to do at the Games. Especially if you put out on it. You can cruise through that workout and just kind of get it done. But if you go hard, it's pretty miserable. You're hurting for a long time. I lost some feeling in my feet during it. I think because I tied my shoes too tight. And so even on the double-unders I couldn't really feel my feet. And then I started the run. And I think my brother was in there like, Come on, Lauren! Like, run! I was like, I can't feel my feet right now! And I was like, this sucks right now. MCKERNAN: Men and women start filtering across the finish line. Well, where's Rich? Where's Rich? Where's Rich? WOODLAND: We are halfway through the 3-mile run and now Rich Froning starting to walk. Taking a break there. Rich walking during the Games was fantastic. It was awesome. And the dude's walking. Rich Froning is walking on the back side of the run event. I love Rich to death, but uh, if you're the fittest man in the world you can't walk in a run, brother. You gotta just keep moving. Just keep moving. Yeah. BAILEY: It's just there's so much saliva in my mouth. If I try to swallow it I'm going to lose the chance to breath. And I have to breathe or I can't lift up the weight. So. The option gets removed for it to go down the esophagus. It has to come out. It was good. It was real good. I mean, by good I mean ... long and hard. That's what she said. Not to me. Look how small I look in this tub, Ian. (High pitch voice:) Hi, Dad! It's my rubber ducky. Tommy told me one positive. You have an excuse for a small weiner now. Girls, listen up. Best toast ever, Ian. He's just happy I put sun tan lotion on him this morning. You put sun tan lotion on him this morning? Oh yeah. It's the reason I became a coach. It was because I hoped that someday I could put sun tan lotion on Chris Spealler's back. WEBB: I'm not going to lie, I don't love running. And um little runs, yeah. Long runs not so much. Um, but I really work my ass off, and um like I honestly, 100%, from the bottom of my heart that's all I want to do. I want to know that whatever I walk away with at the end of this weekend it was 100% Kara in whatever I could do. And I nearly killed myself trying, so I'm really really happy with that. That was the most painful workout I have ever done. I mean it's so fast and so short, but my quads ... I could barely walk off the field. It felt like I was still pushing the sled probably for 3-4 minutes after I was actually done. My legs hurt so bad. It was unbelievable. It was so painful. Like, everyone our butts hurt so bad for like You think that after pushing the sled the pain would go away in like five minutes like literally your butt hurt for 20 minutes. It was terrible. In competition, in training, that was the most painful ... that was the most pain my legs have ever felt in my life. It was terrible. And I'm laying there and some lady comes over and just starts rubbing ice on my chest. I'm like, what is going on? Like I don't even want to open my eyes, and I can't even tell "You need the doctor? You need the paramedic?" I'm like, no go away. Just leave me alone. You like this one? It's good for you, OK? That one's gone. Let's focus on the next one. Should I eat something, or like, take a protein shake? Yeah, take a protein shake. We don't have a lot of time. Because they're going to start calling heats pretty quick. What time do I go at? I can go find out. Yeah, she wants to do well. She's bummed. But, uh, ups and downs, she's going to have them. So, she's going to come back and attack this one. That was going to be the one that I was going to like, bump down a lot on. In my head I was getting ready. All you have to do is ... It's all about just staying consistent. Staying in that ... It's not about the leaderboard. It's about doing this one event really well. That's all you've got to focus on. So let's not talk about, is it good for you? Is it not? Because that does not even matter. Right? Everyone talks about, like, where's the good ones for me? It's always about how much effort you can give to each one. So it's the same deal with this one. Yeah, get out of the sun. Alright. A lot of athletes look to see, is this one good for me? Is this one not good for me? When's the CrossFit coming up? This isn't CrossFit. And it's not about that at all. This is all CrossFit. And it doesn't matter if it's good for you or not. It's what's presented to you. What happened ... what I could have done different ... and then they want to talk about, like, where they are on the leaderboard. Those are two things that don't matter anymore. I'm in 13th place. Which sucks because I wanted this event to get me up to the final heat. Just thought I would be in the final heat. But, it's OK. Um. Yeah. It's OK. Obviously I would like to be higher. Noah Ohlsen, a rookie, is in the top position. But he's being chased by some very experienced athletes in 2008 Games champion Jason Khalipa and two-time team champion Tommy Hackenbruck. Well the test of fitness to this point has been just that extremely varied. We've seen it all. And it's led to an international leaderboard. On top of that, Kara Webb, an Aussie who has traditionally done very well at the Games. Behind her an old favorite competing since 2010 Camille Leblanc-Bazinet. FRONING: James had went out before me and he said go faster than you think you should. It's short. You'll be fine. Just go. And so, that's what I did. WOODLAND: The crowd coming to its feet as the three-time defending champion Rich Froning moves to the barbell. GRUNDLER: He's actually attacking this workout. And the champ is back! Rich Froning demolishing the time to beat. 4:16.63. And Camille Leblanc-Bazinet will do pull-ups all day long. Camille being one of the few, if one of the only, athletes going unbroken on the 21-15-9. That's it, Cam! One, Cami, go! WOODLAND: One more muscle-ups is done, two more muscle-ups is done ... Camille Leblanc-Bazinet will win with 21-15-9 Complex. Yeah, Cami! Wooo! Camille Leblanc-Bazinet still in second but she's closing the gap on Kara Webb. Bridges now taking over third place. Ohlsen the rookie drops to second. And it's the 2008 CrossFit Games champion Jason Khalipa you overall leader. SPEALLER: As much as I wanted to, I don't think I'll realize how special it is to be here and with these people and in this element and in the community like this until I'm gone from it. And I think it's easy to be like, oh my gosh, I've got three huge days ahead of me ... and for me I'm kind of thinking like holy crap day one is already done and I've only got 2 more of these left. And I'm done. Are you like pissed right now, or? Yeah I'm, I'm not happy. You know, I'm not happy with how I performed on that first event, uh. You can have one bomb. Like 22nd or something for me in the overhead squat. It was a good overhead squat for me, but that's pretty low, in terms of points. And then to follow up with another one the following morning that sucked. So, I knew what I kind of wanted to average in terms of place-wise to get myself a shot at the podium and winning. And I'm way off, to say the least. So. That's upsetting. But, you know, you just gotta forget it. That's all done. Focus on what's next, and go as hard as I can at it. Um, another whirlwind of surprises. I think I said this to you earlier, but it's kind of funny how expectations always change throughout the competition. And I, uh, came into today in 3rd place. I did well this morning on the Triple 3. Bumped me up to 1st place. Which was unexpected. Um. Sorta shifted expectations again there. Didn't know how well I would do on the Sled Sprint. Ended up holding my spot. Broke the curse of the leader pants. And then, uh, didn't do as well as I wanted to on the final workout. So then I dropped down to 2nd on the end of Friday. And it's funny cause when I saw that that Khalipa had jumped me I got pissed. And uh it's so weird because coming in to the CrossFit Games I would be stoked to see myself in 2nd place. But having tasted 1st and dropping down to 2nd really kind of fueled me. Um. I want to come back and take it back. I never really realized how much a hundred points helps. Yeah, 100 points is big. Usually I'm like, yeah I'll be up there towards the top. And then I'm like wait 100 points helps ... I mean I've had three crappy finishes. A hundred points is, uh, a lot. I'm going to start trying to take 1st from now on. What am I doing? Now I've figured it out. Now that he's figured it out, and starts winning these events ... What?! I really, I swear like, the way that stadium is shaped there's a lot of energy that like pools in that one little area. It's just crazy. And it you can feel it inside of you as soon as you go to start. It's amazing. So yeah, it's cool. Yeah, so when I first started CrossFit I think I was 19. And I joined a gym because I was just doing the normal 18-, 19-year-old stuff. You know. And I just didn't have any direction. I didn't know I didn't know who I was or what I wanted to do you know, at that age being a female you have insecurities. All that kind of stuff. And um I needed some kind of direction. And my mom told me to go and exercise. And so I did. And then I met Brian. He learned about CrossFit. We started CrossFit. And then all of a sudden I had this sense of achievement every single day. I finished work, and I would go to the gym. And I would progress, and I would do a different movement, and that sense of achievement has just developed more and more. But that's what it's always been. And then it became a social thing with people likeminded. We have a healthy group of people. And um, it's the best thing that's ever happened to me. And, and that's the most important thing. Have you been looking where you're at in the standings? Or are you not even paying attention? I know where I'm at, but it doesn't mean anything until Sunday. I mean, you want to be in number one. But it doesn't mean you're going to let off. It doesn't mean you're going to get comfortable. Every event is a new event and you've got to be focused. I want to spend time with the ... I want to enjoy this, you know? Because it's never guaranteed to happen again. So. I need to always remind myself of that. Every day. We basically got to the afternoon of Saturday and I was like Kara Webb won the CrossFit Games. I mean there was very little that she could do to screw this up. Of course anybody could be annihilated but the capacity she showed between the Wednesday event and the Friday and Saturday day was unthinkable. Throughout the weekend you felt like oh man this this could happen. Kara Webb could win. You're all wearing the exact same thing. Rachel Martinez doing the workout a second time? She's in every heat?! Rachel Martinez in Lane 12 ... and Rachel Martinez in Lane 6 ... See? That's how far we go. That's how far we go. Sorry. Nice. So nice. I can't see. He was looking for something over in the bushes. I don't know what he was looking for. It was in his pants. I don't know. Were you peeing? I was definitely peeing. Pretty much wide open. And I'm a little nervous. You just pissed like right there? Right there. Did you just piss too? A little bit, yeah. A little pre-workout jitters. MCKERNAN: Thanks, Sean. It's a unique event. We've seen ladders before but in increments where you were forced to rest. Now the men are racing through and this final weight of 310 lb. that's the average weight of an NFL lineman It's huge. This isn't just Mongo pulls the bar off the ground. You have to have technique. You have to be solid. This event tests it all. That was possibly one of the coolest things I've ever done. The Speed Clean Ladder was awesome. I could feel my heart all the way up my neck. And in every finger I could feel my heart pumping blood. And the enthusiasm when Spealler stood up 275. And when Cody Anderson stood up 310. And Chris Spealler yet again you know, he makes history. I feel like I could run through a wall right now. It was so amped. I think that's when it set in that this is the Games. WOODLAND: Josh Bridges off the wall first. Ben Stoneberg was right behind him. And then a mad dash to that first sled pull. That last leg I wasn't even watching my sled. I was just watching where Rich's sled was at. I was just like I've got to pull as hard as I can. And to beat him by that like one or two seconds. The rush afterwards was just like ... I couldn't even contain it. It was so much fun. That was probably one of the coolest moments of the Games. Fuck yeah! Fuck yeah! What's funny is I don't even remember screaming that. I kind of blacked out. I don't remember I don't remember saying that. WOODLAND: Still got a long way to go. But Rich Froning sits atop the leaderboard just 7 points ahead of Mat Fraser. Josh Bridges will sit in 3rd. He's just 12 points back. Noah Ohlsen, the rookie, sits in 4th. Kara Webb stays in 2nd place but her 9-point deficit just turned into a 75-point deficit. Annie Thorisdottir creeping closer. She sits in third. And look at Michele Letendre. She sits in 4th place. Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt. No, you're fine. You have no idea how much I wanted to yell out, "Mashed potato!" Yeah, that was exactly what it looked like. I got it, Dan. Mashed potato, what? Knees in! Bro, you're so mushy! That was exactly what I felt like. That went according to game plan. Which doesn't usually happen. It was very well done. I managed to do the 10 deficit unbroken. So I got my, my edge there. How does that one feel? That one feels good. It's good to end on such a positive note. But can't get caught up with it. We have another full day tomorrow. Got to get back to work. She has bugs flying around her head. You never know what can happen. So, uh, gonna stay, uh, laser-focused and attack tomorrow like it's the first day. And, uh, there's no score. Like everyone's at zero. But, uh, really excited. Um, I'm bummed, man. Yesterday, everybody ... I was bummed I went from 1st to 2nd. And everybody was like, where did you start the day? And I started in 3rd and moved up to 2nd. So you had that to look forward to. Where did I start the day today? In 3rd. Where did I end up? In 4th. So. Moving down is never fun. Um. Like Dusty said we have 3 or 4 more events tomorrow and I'm damned sure I'm going to do my best to get up on the podium. It's not like they were going to let you just roll into the top three, right? These guys came out for blood tonight. WOODLAND: Meanwhile Kara Webb like you thought is having trouble. She has yet to complete her second 50-foot handstand walk. Kara Webb sat in 2nd place coming into this event. She's going to plummet down the leaderboard. She looks like she's in pain right now. Kara is out. She's not competing in the final. What happened? Her shoulder. She had an issue before. Or like felt it before the Games. And then it was fine. But, apparently something happened. MARQUEZ: The workout literally brought her to tears on the field, and it was heartbreaking. It was as heartbreaking a turn as I've seen in CrossFit when it comes to competition. I'm so sorry. You'll be fine. They're really dark. So you were in second place? Yep. And what happened in that event? Um. I, uh, I had a, um, a bit of a nerve upset when I got here to the States. Um. You know, I don't know exactly what it was. It was inflamed. And at one stage I couldn't I couldn't move, I couldn't get out of bed, about a week before the Games. So I had a week off. I did everything I could in that time to give myself a fighting chance to compete. And, uh, I've been able to hold on with the treatment I've had until this stage. And then, I guess, it just took the wear and tear of the weekend and the handstand walk. My left arm has just gone numb. I've just got pins and needles and I can't ... the meds just recommended that for, like Brian said, for the longevity of the sport for me and for my health that it's not wise to go on. So, um, yeah. It breaks my heart, but I'll be back. At the moment I've just got a broken heart. Similar to 2011, the athletes are placed in seclusion to keep the final event unknown to them. OHLSEN: This actually sounds really cheesy and I probably shouldn't tell anyone this, but somebody happened to give me Rich's book the day before I left Yeah. And I was reading it on the plane. Just little pieces here and there. And I was reading a section where Rich was talking about being secluded down here and having no idea what was going on out there. Like you can hear the roar of the crowd but you don't know ... You have no clue what you're about to face. It's cool to read about it and then live it. I was listening to her talk about kids and time with Vin and not having to tell her I have to workout all the time. Because every morning it has been, "Don't go, Mommy." Is that what she says to you? Yeah, so. We'll be looking forward to not having multiple responsibilities. Just having summer break and one responsibility. Just being Momma. Personally, thank you for all your hard work. I appreciate it. Thank you. Absolutely. Yeah, you're welcome. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet is one of the most recognizable faces in our sport. But she has never stood on the podium at the CrossFit Games. Now she finds herself poised to be crowned the Fittest Woman on Earth. In Lane 4, the leader Camille Leblanc-Bazinet! Mat Fraser, the rookie, who's trying to play the role of spoiler. He has a chance of chasing down Rich Froning. The three-time CrossFit Games champion. FRASER: As soon as Double Grace was announced like Rich and I kind of looked at each other like like we knew that, alright, this was a race between us. Jason was right ahead of me so I had to do some work. So I was like, well, I'm this close. I'm almost done. It's the last time I'm going to be in this stadium. I might as well push through and try to win another event. And that's what happened. Leblanc-Bazinet started her Games journey in 2010. She has never stepped onto the podium. That will change. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet with one rep to go. Oh yeah, last year with the last rope climb. Without a doubt. I, um, I don't know. I hit that wall. And I found myself somewhere that I guess I never found myself before. I underestimated the workout which was a complete mistake on my part. And it got me good. And it got me good. I was literally thinking, get me the hell out of here. Like, get me out of the floor. Like I don't know what to do anymore. This is just not working. But that moment was also one of the moments that made me win this year. So I think that all of those moments where you're like, this was the worst thing, I wish it never happened. That's not true. I think everything that happened to me I did wish it happened. Because now it made me just so much stronger. And so much better. Especially knowing that you know, your rower can break. I lost four toenail in the triathlon with the ... the next year. So like I got into that sort of pain. I feel like at the Games this year I was like, if you want to beat me you're going to come with me to that really, really, really dark place. And just be willing to stay there with me. Like, that's where I'm going. So I think you need to understand that that's what you need to do to win. Camille Leblanc-Bazinet with one rep to go! And she is the Fittest Woman on Earth! In 2014, Rich Froning is the fittest man in history! FRONING: You have to be a little crazy to be the best in the world in anything. And there's got to be some sacrifices made. And, um, I'm not willing to make those sacrifices anymore. Just a sense of like just ... just relief. I was just glad it was over, to be honest. SPEALLER: I mean, I got to do something seven times, that most people will dream of doing once. So. I can't be disappointed for that. Chris Spealler! Julie Foucher will finish third and return to the podium for the first time since 2012. Are you OK? Yeah, I'm just happy. Like, I think that's how happy I would feel if I won. Just because I felt like I gave it everything I had. I made it back on the podium, so I'm really, really happy. Is it all worth it? All the stuff you had to do ... Oh yeah. This is the one day of the year where you feel like, OK, everything was really worth it. But it's bittersweet, I have to say. This makes me really want it. You know? Maybe next year is going to be a good year for me. I was so, so happy that I ended on the podium with the people I did. During the awards ceremony it was like a surreal moment of like Jason Khalipa here, Rich Froning there. I'm like, damn, these are the guys I've seen on posters and watched YouTube videos of. These are them. Like, they're right here. And I'm in the mix with them. So what's to say with one more year of training that I can't be number one. It's another year of training. So much can happen in one year. Who knows? Who knows what's going to happen next year. What are you thinking about? I don't know how this just happened. You worked so hard for this. And it ... you know it's ... It's almost hard to believe it can happen just because how hard you worked for it. So when it happened you play the scenario so many times in your head. That it becoming truth doesn't even seem real. It seems like it's still the scenario you play in your head. But it's not. I think I was more crying because I was like tired and really proud of myself that I made it come to life. More than like the title or anything. It was more crying about the journey than the result. CASTRO: 2015 is going to be exciting. 2015 is going to be, um, it's going to be our best work yet. Until 2016. I'm looking at the camera. Can I take this? Real quick. Hey, dude. OK, just like on TV. Did you ever see that Key & Peele where they did the state of inner-city wizarding? I'm ... Pardon Miss Jackson. Principal at Vince Quartel High School. It's mind numbing to think that she can balance those two things when I have trouble feeding my two kids and letting my dog out to take a piss. In the same day. Sorry. It must have like ... Sam Briggs not making it must have been like ... like if you watched the movie Predator. OK when like Arnold has the best team in the world. People who he probably thinks could never get hurt. They're bullet-proof, they're indestructible. And one by one they start going away. And these people you're like ... These are the best in the world and they're not good enough to defeat this creature. This is a terrifying situation, right? I want you to feel comfortable with this interview. Like North Korea. This will never see the light of day!
