By My first experience at regionals was an overwhelming one, but I wouldn’t change a second of it. From spending hours prepping the athlete’s food and writing my articles between events to hanging out at the house with Team Buff Box, Regional athlete Lucy Majury and Youtube CrossFit star Craig Richey, it was an amazing whirlwind adventure. Read below for the final results and the most memorable moments from Day two and three.
1. CrossFit Yas returned to regionals with a vengeance. They absolutely nailed the team events in day two and three and ended up taking 2nd place overall. The entire team was a force to be reckoned and having the 2016 Open women’s winner Jamie Greene certainly provided that extra edge.
2.Sam “The Engine” Briggs made the ultimate come back after day one. A 25th place finish during the first day’s squat snatches didn’t phase her as she knew it was a weakness of hers. Briggs was ready to show off her list of strengths in every other event and she set back-to-back records on the second day and came in 4th place overall.
3.Kristin Holte owned the first event of day three, setting a new event record with 10:06, which beat Kara Webb’s previous time of 10:53. Both times were overtaken however by Katrin Davidsdottir in the Central Regionals competition with a time of 9:50.
4.Steve Fawcett, a surefire favourite and friend of the Buff Box team, unfortunately had to withdraw from regionals after day one. During the kettlebell snatches in the 1st days Nate workout, Steve re-awakened an old back injury. He was undoubtedly disappointed, especially since in a few days he knows he will be fine again, but he knows the only way forward is to recover and re-evaluate.
5. Thuri Erla Helgadottir was the only Meridian female athlete to finish Nate but her upset in the last event of Day 3 was tragic to watch. Within seconds, Thur’s guaranteed 1st place finish fell from her grips when her last rope climb was deemed a no-rep and allowed the likes of Briggs, Holte, Davidsdottir and Sigmundsdottir to overtake her. I am relieved she is still going to the games however, as she managed a fifth place finish overall.
6. Emma McQuaid placed 6th yet again this year. Missing out on the 2016 CrossFit Games by just one spot!
7. Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson made every workout look easy. He placed first overall with a strong 85 points above the second place finisher. On Day two he told me that he was waiting to get the pistols in event four over with, as they are a weakness of his. Guðmundsson may have come in 17th during the event, but his strong finishes in every other competition secured the number one spot.
8. Laura Cullen of Team 8020 Black made her first appearance with the team at regionals this year. She came 83rd in this year’s 2015 European CrossFit Open. She plans to continue creeping up for next year by “working me ass off.”
9. Burpees for ice cream was the ultimate treat for spectators.
So, besides number 9, what do all these recaps have in common?
Each and everyone of the aforementioned CrossFit Meridian Regionals athletes were fuelled by Buff Box.
What’s more, many of them including Sam Briggs and Jamie Greene are regular clients of Buff Box throughout the year.
Of the top five men, three were fuelled by Buff Box including Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson’s, Jonne Koski and Lukas Högberg.
Of the top five women, four were fuelled by Buff Box including Annie Thorisdottir, Kristen Holte, Sam Briggs and Thuridor Erla Helgadottir.
Lastly of the top 5 teams, the number one and two spots were fuelled by Buff Box including Nordic Opex and CrossFit Yas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWc3RWAb4A
The Vic Edit 