Crossfit Invictus Games Update
Written by Luke Layton
Heading into Day 3 at the CrossFit Games, Team Invictus sits in 2nd place with 355 points. They are 12 points behind CrossFit Oslo Navy Blue for first place who are coached by longtime Invictus Athlete, Kristin Holte. Team Invictus has flexed a balanced attack across a variety of different workouts so far. These workouts have tested their endurance, strength, gymnastics, and ability to adjust to new movements. Upcoming, they will face events 5 & 6 on Friday beginning at 9 am PST. To watch the events LIVE check out the CrossFit Games Youtube Stream.Â
Day 1 Event Highlights
Day 1 began with “Biker Bob” where teams would experience a bike course for the first time ever at the CrossFit Games. Mixed in with the bike course were a sled push and synchronized toes-to-bar. Team Invictus was able to showcase their months of odd object training and ability to adapt to the bikes by placing 5th in the first event. The highlight of the event was the photo finish between Team Invictus and CrossFit Reykjavik, where they were able to edge out CrossFit Reykjavik by 1 second.
The second and final event of the day took place in the coliseum, where Team Invictus took on “Pegs & P-Bars”. This event would challenge our athlete’s gymnastics skills with a brand new movement to the CrossFit Games, parallel bar dips. They moved well as a team through this workout and placed 7th just ahead of CrossFit Oslo Navy Blue.
Day 2 Event Highlights
Day 2 allowed Team Invictus to showcase their strength and speed. The first event of the day was a max lifting test of a jerk and front squat. BIG shoutout to Jorge who front squatted 435lbs on his last lift to give Team Invictus a second-place finish!Â
The max lifting event was then followed by a 3-mile relay sprint for the teams. The teams would run the first mile as a group and then the next 2 miles in pairs of their choosing. Brittany and Devyn showed off their speed by running the anchor leg for Team Invictus. They were able to hold off a bunch of other teams and secure a top 5 finish to end Day 2.
Invictus Masters
On the Masters side, fan and statistical favorite, Sam Dancer, withdrew from the competition after suffering a bicep tear on Event 1, which is a crushing blog. You can send him some positive vibes @samdancing.
For the Invictus Masters who finished Day 2 (Day 1 for Age Groups and Adaptive), they made quite a showing with a total of four 1st place finishes, five 2nd place finishes, and three 3rd place finishes. lf the competition ended today, Invictus would have four of our eight remaining athletes on the podium!
Mallory Berger (35-39) sits in 6th and had a 2nd place finish on Event 2 – “Max Trio”.
Jenn Ryan (40-44) sits in 3rd  and placed in the top 3 on all 3 events of the day and 1st in Event 3 – “Skills Chipper”.
Karen McCadam (45-49) currently sits in 8th and started her podium hunt with a commanding 2nd place finish on Event 3 – “Skills Chipper”.
Cheryl Brost (50-54) is absolutely dominating her division and sits atop the leaderboard. She got there with a 2nd place on Event 2 – “Max Trio” and 1st on Event 1 – “Three Ways Down”. Cheryl is such an Invictus Masters legend, we made a shirt in her honor! Grab one while you can!
Cherianne Benoit (50-54) is in 10th and climbing with a 7th place finish on Event 3 – “Skills Chipper”.
Eirik Solen (50-54) is the other division dominator atop his bracket with a 20-point lead over 2nd. He followed his Event 1 win with a 3rd on Event 2 and 2nd on Event 3.Â
Debbie Downing (60-64) is in 7th place and had a strong 1st place finish in Event 1 – “Three Ways Down”.
John Mariotti (65+) currently holds the 3rd spot but is creeping toward 2nd as he’s already beat the two athletes ahead of him once each in workouts on Day 1.
Thanks for this update, Luke! So many invictus athletes crushing it!!