This will be the first year since 2014 that an individual athlete from Latin America will compete at the CrossFit Games. That was the last year before the Super Regional format was introduced. Emmanuel Maldonado and Wanda Brenton qualified for the Games that year.
Last year two athletes from the Latin American region were anticipated to make a run at the top 5 at the South Regional. Marcelo Bruno and Brenda Castro finished 11th and 12th, respectively.
The new Latin American Regional will only advance one athlete to the CrossFit Games, so there is no room for error this weekend in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
On the women’s side, Brenda Castro finished 1st in the Open in the Central America region with just 12 points. Renata Pimentel finished 1st from the other region, South America. Pimentel finished 20th in the South Regional last year.
For the men, Bruno is not competing this year. The next best finished at last year’s South Regional was Anderon Primo. He finished 14th.
This year Paolo Rossil and Ivan Gaitan were the Open winners in their regions. Other top contenders from previous years are also in the mix: Luis Oscar Mora, Guilherme Domingues and Games veteran Emmanuel Maldonado. Mora finished 4th in the 16-17 Teenage Boys division at the 2016 CrossFit Games.
The Barbell Spin’s Predictions
Women: Brenda Castro
Men: Anderon Primo
