One thing is for certain, The CrossFit Games are not in California anymore. The move to the Midwest brought a whole new list of opportunities, but also some new challenges, some of which people may not have expected. Amongst the most challenging is probably Mother Nature as Day 2 started in the cool, crispy mid 50’s with rain layering the O-Course, increasing difficulty to the elements as athletes fought for qualifying spots.

After the Teams and Individual athletes cleared the course completing Event 4, they headed into the Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center for Teams to test their 1RM Clean and Jerk and the Individual Men and Women to test their 1RM Snatch.

photo: CrossFit

For the Teams, each male and female trio lifted their weight individually with the totals being combined once each 1RM was established. Each trio counted for one event, making it a total of two events for the day. Notable trios were the men of CrossFit 417 of Missouri with a total combined weight of 1054lbs giving them an Event 5 win. And for the ladies, it was the trio from Salt Lake City CrossFit with a total weight lifted of 698lbs.

When this event concluded, the next event was announced and appropriately named “Rowing Worm.” Each team had six rowers on the floor which the men rowed 40 calories and the ladies rowed 30 calories each, simultaneously. They would then move onto the first worm of the competition, a new addition, weighing in at 555lbs as opposed to the traditional 465lb worm, which they were tasked to complete 30 squats as a team. This event was 3 rounds for time. Wasatch CrossFit took the event win which catapulted them to the top of the leaderboard heading into Day 3. However, CrossFit Mayhem made some moves putting them hot on their tail with only 24 points separating the teams. CrossFit Milford, CrossFit Invictus, and 12 Labours CrossFit close out the top 5.

The 1RM Snatch event is where things got interesting. With many heavy lifters in both the male and female fields waiting for their moment to shine, it was expected to see a shakeup in the leaderboard. All athletes had two rounds of 20 seconds to establish their 1RM Snatch with the Top 10 earning two additional attempts. It set the stage for big numbers, PRs, and one great event to watch.

Garrett Fisher of CrossFit Invictus showed the men how it’s done with a huge 305lb lift, earning himself an event win. For the ladies, Alessandra Pichelli was crowed the winner at 207lbs, but after it was discovered her bar was unevenly loaded with only 197lbs on her barbell (alas, still an impressive save), Kara Webb with a 203lb lift was named the winner. Her barbell was just one pound heavier than fellow Australian and points leader going into Event 5, Tia-Clair Toomey. Webb went onto claim the first back to back event wins for this year’s Games in Event 6, Triple G Chipper.

photo: CrossFit

After three events were in the books, Dave Castro dropped the bomb that the fourth and final event of the day would be bringing back another odd object and non-traditional CrossFit element from 2012, The Banger. Going into the event, Toomey and Webb were leading the field, but that all changed after the Assault Banger event. Toomey fell to second place and Webb to fourth. It’s Sara Sigmundsdottir that will lead the pack for the first time this weekend with 524 points heading into Day 3. However, as we’ve seen over the past two days, it’s still any lady’s game with only 20 points separating the Top 5 Women.

For the men, even after logging his worst finish out of seven events (20th) to end Day 2, reigning champ Mat Fraser still sits comfortably at the top of the Men’s Leaderboard. However, Ricky Garard, the 23 year old from Australia, has stealthily made moves to claim the second place spot, just 68 points behind Fraser. The top five is rounded out by Brent Fikowski in 3rd, Noah Ohlsen in 4th, and Jonne Koski falling to 5th.

photo: CrossFit

Day 3 will begin with the teams at 8am CST/11pm AEST, followed by the Individuals at 9am CST/12am AEST. Ladies and gentlemen, we have an exciting competition on our hands and you aren’t going to want to miss it!

For full schedule and events, be sure to check out our viewing guide.