Great Success for Invictus Athletes at WODapalooza 2016
Written by Tino Marini
We thought Miami would be a good place to go during the winter to catch some sunshine, but we were wrong! The forecast was for torrential rain, and mother nature even threw in some gale force winds to add to the party. It made for a truly memorable weekend which saw Invictus Athletes excel in all divisions. The weather added an extra challenge to the already tough workouts, but our athletes stood strong with some fantastic performances.
One of the highlights of the weekend was watching our Elite Female Team athletes battle all weekend. “Two Grown Ups and The Kid” consisting of Maddy Myers, Regan Huckaby and Val Voboril were neck and neck with Lauren Fisher and her Team Progenex all weekend. Maddy and Lauren, who are training partners in San Diego, were pushing each other on the competition floor just as they do in the gym, with both performing brilliantly all weekend. At the end of the weekend, Two Grown ups and the Kid narrowly edged out Team Progenex to take 1st place. As coaches, we couldn’t have asked for anything better than our ladies taking first and second on the podium.
The Team Invictus males also had a strong showing over the weekend, finishing it out in 8th place, but only 8 points out of 4th. These three members of our Games team for the past two years, Nuno Costa, Bryan Miller and Rasmus Wisbech Andersen, were up against some stacked teams of Games athletes. With a few minor changes (which became learning experiences), they would’ve been pushing for a podium spot, and made a great push for it in the final two events where they took 6th and 4th respectively.
The Elite Teams were the most interesting to watch as many of the athletes had excelled on the individual stage at Games and were now placed in a team environment. It was interesting to see who responded well to those differences, and who relied on their individual abilities. It was also reflective of the changes we’ve seen in the team competition, whereas before it was assumed that the “best” athletes would always go individual, and now many are electing to take the challenge as part of a team. Whether Games Individual or team member, the key to success is that each athlete has an understanding of what it takes to be on a team. They can have all the ability in the world, but if they can’t communicate, take leadership and work together they will not be successful. Invictus has been able to show this over the last 7 years, and it was great to see our team athletes continue to demonstrate this at WODapalooza.
Invictus Athletes also locked up podium spots in the RX team division, with our Icelandic online athlete Sigurður Hafsteinn Jonsson’s team narrowly beating out San Diego-based Lil’ Ricky Moore’s team.
Invictus Athlete Karen McAdam also earned a podium finish in the women’s 40+ division. Karen overcame her fear of the water, and despite what she referred to as a doggy-paddle swim technique, she maximized the dryland portion of the swim event to take second place and all but ensure that she’d finish on the podium for the weekend.
Alex Anderson and Ben Williams took on the stacked field of Elite male athletes. Alex earned a 6th place finish, short of his goal, but it provided some good learning experiences and was a solid showing after taking some time to let a wrist injury heal. Long time online client JP Lytle showcased his hard work in training taking 5th Place in the RX Males division.
In total, 24 Invictus Athletes competed at WODapalooza this year, and we are proud of the effort each of them put forth. It’s safe to say that it was an extremely successful event, even with less than optimal weather conditions.
Huge thanks to Guido Trinidad and the amazing volunteers that kept things running despite the storm. We’ll be back next year, stronger than ever.
Invictus Athletes at WODapalooza 2016
Elite Female Team
1st Place – “Two Grown-Ups and The Kid” – Regan Huckaby, Val Voboril and Maddy Myers
2nd Place – “Team Progenex” – Lauren Fisher
Elite Male Team
“Team Invictus” – Rasmus Wisbech Andersen, Nuno Costa and Bryan Miller
“BSG” – Hunter Britt
“Team Oreo” – Joe Passalaqua
“Team FitAid” – Justin Murphy
“Heavy Fast and Hard” – John Coltey
RX Male Team
1st Place – “CFXY1” – Sigurður Hafsteinn Jonsson
2nd Place – “Burg Crossfit AllOutAthletics Invictus” – Lil’ Ricky Moore
“Crossfit Blur” – Justin Fallon
RX Female Team
“Invictus Tal” – Ayo Anise, Tammy Wildgoose and Lisa O’kane
Elite Males
Alex Anderson – 6th place
Ben Williams
RX Males
JP Lytle – 5th place
Chris Cristini
Martin Pedeira
Masters Female
2nd place – Karen McAdam
Youth 16
Nairobi Romero