Day 1 of the 2022 Madrid Championship is a wrap. After three events to kick off the first major off-season competition in Spain, some familiar faces are atop the leaderboard. Lazar Ðukić and Lena Richter sit in first place in the individual competition. And for teams, CrossFit Oslo HSTL. Made started off strong and hold the top spot going into Saturday.
The Events
The individual athletes took on three events Friday afternoon beginning with a 2k run. The second event, Round 2, started right after the completion of Event 1 beginning at the 13-minute mark. Round 2 was a 30-20-10 couplet of T2B and single dumbbell OHS. To conclude the day, athletes sprinted through a clean ladder with heavy double-unders in between.
All of the events on Day 1 were short and fast with the longest event being the 2k run. It only took Ðukić a combined 11 minutes and 23 seconds to complete all three workouts.
Elite Men
Lazar Ðukić picked up where he left off in Madison. Coming off an 8th place finish at the Games, Ðukić was heavily favored coming into this weekend. But athletes like Travis Mayer, Adrian Mundwiler and Elijah Muhammad were also expected to be factors this weekend.
The 2k run was not an issue for athletes like Jelle Hoste or the Ðukić brothers. Hoste won the event in a lightning fast 5:39. Luka took 4th and Lazar finished seven seconds behind in 6th. Mundwiler, Muhammad and Mayer were not able to keep up. All finished near the middle of the pack finishing in 24th, 27th and 29, respectively.
With little time to rest, Round 2 began just a few minutes after the first event concluded. This time Lazar Ðukić showed off his ability to recover quickly and workout effortlessly through the toes-to-bar and dumbbell overhead squats to earn his first event victory of the weekend. Luka would take 3rd and Mundwiler recovered to finish 6th. But for Muhammad and Mayer, the slow start continued. This time, Muhammad would take 44th and Mayer would end up 31st.
But the slow start would come to an abrupt halt in event 3. With the help of a heavy barbell, Muhammad and Mayer both made a statement. Muhammad raced through the heavy double-unders and made the cleans look light as he finished in only 2:02, seven seconds ahead of Calum Clements. Mayer would take 3rd in the event. For the Ðukić brothers, both finished well with Lazar taking 6th and Luka crossing the line in 13th.
Heading into Saturday, Muhammad is in 10th while Mayer sits in 12th overall.
Several notable athletes expected to compete in the men’s field were absent. Guillaume Briant, Giorgos Karavis and Zack George were all scratches.
Elite Women
Many were looking forward to the women’s competition to see how several up-and-coming athletes would fare against each other. Manon Angonese and Anikha Greer, both coming off qualifying for the Rogue Invitational, were anticipated to be near the top of the leaderboard alongside Lena Richter, who was on CrossFit Olso’s 2nd place team at the CrossFit Games. Add in Games veteran Emma McQuaid and Games veteran Emma Tall and the women’s competition has plenty of fire power.
The first event, Round 1, provided to be a bit shaky for some of the top names. Angonese and Greer finished in 17th and 35th, respectively, while some lesser known athletes took the top spots in the fast 2k sprint. Martha Rochford won the event in 5:57.
Round 2, however, started to provide some normalcy to the leaderboard. Richter would end taking 1st in the event with a blazing time of 3:44. She was followed by Valentina Rangel in 2nd and Emma McQuaid in 3rd. Greer finished 5th with Angonese following close behind in 7th.
The last event of the day, Need for Speed, was the shortest of the events. Angonese, known for her raw power, cruised through the heavy double-unders and made the heavy cleans look easy. She finished in just 2:15. Rangel earned her second consecutive 2nd place finish while McQuaid took 3rd again.
Notable names outside the top 5 include Aimee Cringle (6th) and Anikha Greer (15th).
Julie Hougard and Marie Robin did not compete as anticipated.
Teams
Most eyes were on CrossFit Oslo HSTL. Made and Krypton in the team competition. For CrossFit Oslo HSTL. Made, three of the members were on the 2nd place team at the CrossFit Games last month while Matilde Garnes, who also competed at the Games as an individual, stepped in for Lena Richter who made the jump to the individual competition this weekend.
And for Krypton, the team is led by 4x CrossFit Games veteran Jamie Simmonds. She is joined by her husband and Games veteran, Elliot Simmonds, Mia Hesketh and Kristof Horvath (Laura’s brother).
The CrossFit Oslo HSTL. Made team left no doubt on Friday that they are the team to beat. Finishing no worse than 3rd in any event and taking an event victory, the team out of Norway looks tough to beat. Behind them are two teams out of Denmark, Norce X and Team Independent. Each team notched an event victory and finished no worse than 7th on Day 1.
As for Krypton, a 3rd, 5th and 8th place finish on Friday was not enough to put them in the top 3 on Day 1, but they are still in contention for a podium spot.
What to Expect
Both the individuals and teams have three events on Saturday. On Sunday, only one event is known, but there is a second event shown on the schedule. It seems like Fraser has something up his sleeve to surprise the athletes to finish out the weekend.
Stay tuned to TheBarbellSpin.com and follow us on Instagram (@thebarbellspin) for updates throughout the weekend.
