There was excitement, anticipation, and a slight unease in the days and weeks leading up to the inaugural TYR Wodapalooza SoCal.
Coming out of the 2024 Games, just over a month after losing Lazar Ðukić, athletes, fans, and media were unsure of what emotions may emerge in Huntington Beach and if hearts were healed enough to take part in a CrossFit competition.
- When the TYR Cup athletes gathered on Thursday morning to begin check-in, things were….quiet. And anticipation was heavy in the air.
As members of Team North America and Team World began filtering into the Shorebreak Hotel to collect their kits and greet one another, the vibes settled in, and the day progressed with practice sessions for the two teams.
One could start to see a lightness in the athletes as some of the heaviness of the previous few weeks lifted a little bit.
It was obvious right away that this was going to be a memorable competition.
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The Background
The TYR Cup was a team-style exhibition featuring two groups of eight athletes, many of whom were experiencing team competition for the first time.
- Even CrossFit veterans had never been on a team with seven others in a live event.
By the time the workouts had concluded on Friday night, everyone could tell the athletes were having some much-deserved fun.
- Need a refresher on the TYR Cup? Check out our roster breakdown here.
Some Highlights
Over the course of the weekend, Team North America and Team World took on 11 workouts of varying formats. Here are a few moments that stand out:
A Magical Event 6
On Saturday night, the second night of competition, Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson and Brent Fikowski took on Event 6 as the male pair.
- The workout involved D-balls back and forth over a yoke, tossing a med ball back and forth between GHDs, ping-pong wall balls, and ski calories.
It was a spectacle, and the athletes — while putting in some work — were having a blast. The crowd was just as electric, roaring for both teams competing.
In his Instagram post the next morning, BKG posted that “last night was magical.” And in his post-competition interview on Sunday afternoon, he expanded upon that.
- “Man, I would have to say last night was magical for some reason. I’m not sure when something like this happens; it’s not necessarily the workouts,” he said. “I think it’s just the people and the community and being on the beach in California and not hanging around on a glacier in Iceland. It’s just magical for some reason. Yesterday was one of the funnest nights of my career.”
A Worm Surprise in Event 8
On Sunday morning, the athletes took on an “all-hands”-style workout for Event 8.
- This was the only event where all 16 athletes competed together on the floor as two eight-person teams, facing off while each working toward a common goal.
The workout involved heavy drag rope double-unders. Then, as a team, members had to move hundreds of pounds of equipment from one side of the beach to the other.
It was organized chaos.
In the lead-up to the event, Team North America coaches Adam Neiffer and Jesse Bifano tested different ways to carry the worm on the community stage, away from where the athletes were warming up.
- They hoisted it up on Neiffer’s back, and he was able to carry it on his own down the course and back.
They then talked over the strategy with Team North America but chose not to practice it to keep the technique a secret from Team World.
- Neiffer realized that if he could do it, they could definitely do it, so he told his team that they were just going to have to trust him.
The moment that Jeff Adler, with help from his teammates, lifted the worm up and onto his shoulders, then took off running on his own, was one of the most memorable sights of the weekend.
The crowd went wild, and Team World athletes did a double-take as they realized they had been out-strategized.
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Sending It in Event 9
Event 9 involved a head-to-head match between a man and a woman from each team.
The men facing off were Dallin Pepper and Brent Fikowski, and with five-minute rest windows in between, they were challenged to an all-out sprint on the Echo Bike of 50 calories, then 50 bar-facing burpees, and finally a 500-meter sprint on the Assault Runner.
We don’t often have a chance to watch athletes give an absolute max effort on an implement, as they’re usually tested with multiple movements or intervals, but we certainly got to see it in Event 9.
Both men completely sent it on the Echo Bike and completed 50 calories in 38 seconds.
Once the men were off the bikes, trying to recover, they were swarmed by their teammates, who brought ice packs, drinks, and gummy bears, as the men attempted to recover for the upcoming burpees.
- “I don’t even remember what happened afterward,” Pepper told the Morning Chalk Up. “I completely blacked out. I had Pat on one leg, Justin on the other leg; I don’t even remember it.”
Pepper asked us about the photograph we took of Medeiros picking him up and hugging him after the bike: “I have no memory of that happening. I was blacked out at that point.”
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The Bottom Line
Throughout the weekend, fans packed the stands, met the athletes, attended panels, and asked questions.
- The vibe felt like a giant party, with everyone on the same footing — athletes and coaches mingling with community competitors, photographers, writers, and lots of adorable dogs.
Speaking to community athletes competing and fans in attendance, the consensus was that this event was one of their favorites they had ever been a part of and one that they hope will become an annual recurrence.
- In no way does it replace the fitness festival that is TYR WZA Miami, but it definitely has a feel of its own and contributes greatly to the TYR Wodapalooza portfolio.
On a personal note, this competition was one of our favorites that we have ever covered, and it came at the perfect time.
- We spoke to so many of the athletes who all agreed that this was the weekend that they needed after Fort Worth, as it rejuvenated their love of the sport.
They shared that some of their favorite moments from the weekend were taking care of their fellow teammates during events that they themselves were sitting out.
It was a weekend full of cheers, laughs, core memories, camaraderie, and a shared love for the sport of fitness. And it’s one that nobody will want to miss in 2025.
Featured image: Scott Freymond
