Val Voboril and Kirsten Pedri already qualified for the CrossFit Games before this weekend. Both Voboril and Pedri finished in the top 20 of the Online Qualifier in the 35-39 Masters division just a month earlier. Voboril, 38, and Pedri, 35, also finished in the top 20 in their region during the Open and were invited to compete at the California Regional.
Facing off against athletes like Lauren Fisher, 23, and Maddy Myers, 20, did not faze either of them as they performed well throughout the weekend. Pedri, who has qualified for four Regionals, has never made it to the CrossFit Games. She also missed last year’s regionals with a lingering knee injury. This year, Pedri was at the top of the leaderboard throughout the weekend until the final event where Chyna Cho broke the tie. Pedri would finish 2nd overall.
In years past, Voboril was always the athlete who would fly under the radar and qualify for the CrossFit Games without winning an event. Her consistency wasn’t flashy, but it got the job done. After dealing with some injuries and taking a year off in 2016, Voboril is back this year, but she probably wasn’t on anyone’s radar — again. But unlike in previous years, Voboril came out strong and won two events, 1 and 4, and was in the hunt throughout. Voboril’s worst finish was 10th on the final event, but it was enough to qualify for her 4th trip to the CrossFit Games.
Becca Voigt, another Masters athlete, also competed at the California Regional. Voigt was going for a 10th consecutive trip to the CrossFit Games, but fell a little short finishing in 8th place overall. Voigt did, however, qualify in the Masters 35-39 category so we will hopefully see her competing in Madison as well.
