Samuel Kwant Upsets Fraser In Event 10, Swim ‘N’ Stuff
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Mathew Fraser may have swept all four events in day two of the finals, but that didn’t stop Samuel Kwant from stealing his thunder to kick-off day three. Kwant bested Fraser to win his first event of the Finals and score 85 points to catapult him up the leaderboard. He’s now in second place overall. For the women, Tia-Clair Toomey maintained her dominance, with Haley Adams behind her to place second. Fraser and Toomey both have 950 and 870 points, respectively.
A previously unannounced event kicked off day three at the Morgan Hill Aquatic Center in Morgan Hill, CA — Swim ‘N’ Stuff. Here is what the athletes were tasked with:
Four rounds, each for time:
- Air bike calories (Women — 10 calories / Men — 15 calories)
- 50-meter swim
- 10 GHD sit-ups
- 10 ball slams (Women — 40 pounds / Men — 60 pounds)
- Rest
Begin a new round every four minutes. Rounds two and four performed in reverse. Whoever has the fastest cumulative time after four rounds is the winner.
Swim ‘N’ Stuff Women’s Results
Note: not all interval times were displayed on coverage for the women. The times listed below are the athlete’s cumulative time.
- Tia-Clair Toomey, 8:25.48
- Haley Adams, 8:40.41
- Katrín Tanja Davíðsdóttir, 8:47.62
- Brooke Wells, 9:39.96
- Kari Pearce, 10:10.58
Swim ‘N’ Stuff Men’s Results
Note: The times listed below are the athlete’s cumulative time.
- Samuel Kwant, 8:29.66
- Mathew Fraser, 8:38.14
- Justin Medeiros, 8:52.93
- Noah Ohlsen, 9:14.34
- Jeffrey Adler, 9:43.30
Swim ‘N’ Stuff Highlights
The men were in the pool first. With his water polo background, Noah Ohlsen was expected to tear through the water. Of note, the athletes did not know their times between intervals, most likely to ensure that they pushed hard throughout the event. Ohlsen and Kwant were the first to get to the GHD sit-ups in round one and all athletes had to figure out how to handle the ball slams while wet. Ohlsen won the first interval by less than a second.
In round two, Justin Medeiros made his presence felt, leading the field into the pool. It was Fraser, however, who made it to the assault bike first. Kwant was hot on Fraser’s tail and finished four-tenths of a second behind him.
Round three saw Kwant take a four-second lead diving into the pool and he held that position through the interval. He picked up an additional seven seconds over the second-place Fraser. In the final interval, Medeiros took a lead proving he was stronger on the reverse sequencing in this event. Although Kwant finished third in the final interval, it was within enough time to hold his lead and win his first event of the Finals.
For the women, Toomey was the last to finish the bike and dive into the pool while Kari Pearce led the pack. However, Toomey still made it to the GHD sit-ups first, but a no rep on the ball slams allowed Haley Adams to cross the finish line ahead of her and just four-tenths of a second ahead of Katrín Tanja Davíðsdóttir. Toomey placed third in that interval.
In interval two, Adam’s extremely fast time on the GHD sit-ups put her into the pool first, but Toomey’s stroke rate in the pool was too fast. The defending champion made up time, and crossed the finish line first with Adams on her heels. Pearce struggled this round, with a last-place finish.
Davíðsdóttir, Adams, and Toomey hit the pool in interval three simultaneously, but it was clear that Toomey was the strongest swimmer in the field. She was the first to reach the GHDs, and pressed the advantage to win this interval by eight seconds. In the final interval, Adams leveraged her fast cycle times on the ball slams and GHDs to get into the pool first, but it was simply not enough to make up for Toomey’s strength in the water.
Toomey claimed another Finals event win — her fifth consecutive win in a row. Adams took second, a huge point get for her after entering the day in fourth position. Davíðsdóttir claimed third, leaving Brooke Wells in fourth, and Pearce in last.
On to the Next Event
Samuel Kwant no doubt feels great. After a strong second-place finish in Happy Star, the final event of day two of the Games, he’s off to one heck of a start on day three. Kwant’s event 10 win must also boost the morale of the other competitors as Fraser, for the first time during this year’s Games, appears human. (Though, Fraser got second in the CrossFit Total event, some consider the loss due to a weight miscalculation.)
You can read more about the events the athletes will have to endure today, and be sure to check out our leaderboard and results page to track all of the action.
Feature image via CrossFit Games Instagram page: @crossfitgames