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This weekend was the end of a greulling past couple of months for Jamie and Spencer at the Battle of London. Both have attacked their respective programs with determination and having seen the hard work they have put in I was very confident of a good couple of days.
The BOL was held at the CopperBox Arena at the Olympic Park. Having not been to any of the Venues I was in awe of some of the structures on show. I didnt realise until walking from the Westfield shopping centre to the arena how close the stadium was to the velodrome, to the CopperBox. The Arena itself was the perfect place for a crossfit event, great seating, brilliant spectator experience and the competition area looked like it was close to regional/games standard (close but the black matting was a bit chip shop and should have been tiled).
We learnt alot this weekend. Laccee Kovaks is without doubt a beast and Steven Fawcett cant be far away from maybe getting a games slot this year which would be truly amazing. We also learned a little about how to compete. Im not going to go through the events as I have in the past as the BOL are on FACEBOOK and have all the info. Instead I thought I would offer my take on what it takes to qualify and then perform on the day.
Our two athletes are two very good studies for this little blog. I get asked quite a bit about how to get into these comps and I always say hardwork, mobility, know your strengths, work hard to lesson your weaknesses and prepared to go into the darkness that is competition. Your training should leave you with 90% of the equation solved leaving 10% to figure out on the day when you find out the events. What I mean by that is know your numbers, factor in fatigue and make an educated decision when you find out the wods.
Jamie went into the competiton very confident of a good show. The Wods were published and nothing there worried me. The first event came and went and HSPU’s were cursed. The cleans followed and this where the wheels fell off. If any of you have seen Jamie lift recently a complex of full clean/ hang squat clean/front squat and then jerk holds no fear. Ive personally watched him throw 130+ around on many occasions leading upto this weekend. Jamie loaded 120kg onto the bar looked good right upto the jerk then catastrophe he didnt lockthe elbows and dropped the bar. 8minutes flew by and that was it, no lift. I was gutted. Competition is 90% mental 10% physical. Last yesr Dave did the same. Getting a score on the board is the most important part of any competition. It is a tough lesson, especially in front of 7000 spectators but im 100% sure it will spur Jamie on. He has the tools to be right up there smongst the bedt and the Open will be a good chance for redemption.
Spencer is a little older and a little wiser and performed fantastically well. I dont want to make a big deal about the life events he has had to deal with as I’m sure he wouldn’t appreciate it. What I will say is that to finish 82nd is a testsment to mental strength, perserverence and the attitude to never give up. The Fat Helen wod was a perfect example of this. Having been told he may never walk again seeing him complete the 200m circuit 3 times and beat over 50% of the field was a true moment of bravery. I dont throw words around like inspirational very easily but this was one of those times.
To conclude im proud to call Jamie and Spencer ambassadors for our little gym. Im proud of their efforts and couldn’t have asked for anymore. I’m really pleased that some of you guys managed to get along to support them. Fingers crossed it was a positive experience that has given you renewed enthusiasm to try and qualufy yourselves. The Open starts on the 27th February and I hope all of you sign up and join the fun.
www.games.crossfit.com
Lift big, eat big leave a massive coffin
Gareth
P.S all my videos are onour video page
AFSCrossFit, Andover-Battle of London
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