Migała and Garard Ascend the Steps to Victory During Event Five of the 2022 CrossFit Games
Day Three of the 2022 CrossFit Games got underway on Aug. 5, 2022, with Ricky Garard and Mal O’Brien sitting atop the respective Individual Men’s and Women’s leaderboards. Individual athletes were scheduled to compete in three events each on Days Three, Four, and Five, so it was the start of a grueling series after losing their rest day to perform Event Two, won by Haley Adams, Tia-Clair Toomey, Jeffrey Adler, and Uldis Upenieks.
The first event on Day Three was titled “The Capitol,” which featured pig flips, running, and strongman movements. Travis Mayer blitzed heat to improve upon his Games performance which had not seen a finish higher than 17th up to this point. It was enough for third overall in the event behind Garard, who scored his second event win of the Games, and Khrennikov in second.
Adams crushed the running portion but was gassed by the Husafell bag carry portion of the event. Here are the results:
Event Five — “The Capitol” Results
Individual Women’s Results
- Gabriela Migała — 33:34.67
- Laura Horvath — 35:02.72
- Tia-Clair Toomey — 35:11.29
- Brooke Wells — 35:13.89
- Haley Adams — 35:51.51
- Danielle Brandon — 36:05.00
- Amanda Barnhart — 36:05.92
- Kristi Eramo O’Connell — 37:12.19
- Mal O’Brien — 37:20.04
- Emma McQuaid — 37:58.62
Individual Men’s Results
- Ricky Garard — 31:54.47
- Roman Khrennikov — 32:01.47
- Travis Mayer — 32:16.22
- Sam Kwant — 32:47.67
- Jayson Hopper — 33:04.11
- Jeffrey Adler — 33:16.60
- Alex Vigneault — 33:53.84
- Justin Medeiros — 34:08.32
- Björgvin Karl Gudmundsson — 34:12.77
- Bayden Brown — 34:27.50
[2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games Results and Leaderboard]
Event Five — The Capitol
For time:
- 20 Pig Flips
- 3.5-mile Run
- 200-meter Jerry Bag Carry
- 200-meter Husafell Carry
No time cap.
Women: 350-pound Pig, (two) 70-pound Jerry bags, 150-pound Husafell
Men: 510-pound Pig, (two) 100-pound Jerry bags, 200-pound Husafell
Athletes begin with Pig Flips at the Alliant Energy Center (AEC) Center, then across town to the Capitol. Once there, they will perform farmers’ carries with the Jerry bags, and Husafell carries down State Street, finishing on the steps of the Wisconsin State Capitol building.
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Event Five Recap
Heat One
The first heat for the men and women ran simultaneously. The commentary team suggested that with the pig flips going first that this programming would favor the runners over the athletes better in strength events. Fikowski, Mayer, and Magda were in the lead for the men through the pig flips. Ellie Turner and Dani Speegle cleared the pig flips first for the women.
It was a sunny 71 degrees by the time most athletes reached the running portion, so the weather wasn’t much of an obstacle yet. Mayer obtained a very extensive lead by the nine-minute mark of the event. The large group a distance behind him consisted of only male athletes and Ellie Turner, who led for women by a wide margin in this heat.
Although not detrimental, one of the potential obstacles athletes had to be aware of was Madison residents out for bike rides and the like on the roads. The run stretched far from the AEC Center, and the routine goings-on of the city was something athletes had to dodge. By the time Mayer reached the Jerry bag carry (100 pounds in each hand), he was all by himself with no one else remotely near him.
Mayer wasn’t invincible as he tripped at one point with the Jerry bags and had to regain his composure. It didn’t seem to cost him too much time as there was still no one close to him after he finished his run unofficially at 23:26. Vigneault and Brown were the first to the Jerry bags after Mayer, and they performed that section side-by-side. Mayer was already on his run to the Husafell carry.
Mayer opted to carry the Husafell bag on his shoulders rather than the traditional front-loaded grip. By the time Mayer was on the Husafell bag, Turner became the first woman to reach the Jerry bags. Walking up the steps of the Capitol with the Husafell bag was marketed as the most difficult portion of this event. Mayer was visibly not having an enjoyable time with it as he was reasonably gassed out, but his pacing stayed relatively consistent. He eyed the final flight of stairs at the 32-minute mark and crossed the finish line at 32:16.22.
Turner was the first woman to the Husafell bag with Fikowski right next to her. Vigneault pulled away from Brown on the steps to the capitol and converted a second-place time of 33:53.84. Turner was taking more frequent breaks, which opened the door for Kaya to get into the mix. After another long break, Kaya overtook the lead that Turner held the entire event. Turner recaptured the lead on the first flight of steps, and it was clear that all the athletes near the finish line were exhausted. Turner struggled on the final length, and it allowed Kaya to hit a late charge at the last possible moment to take first in the heat.
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Heat Two
Adams started the pig flip section well, going toe-to-toe with Toomey. Khrennikov and Hopper were the first two men to reach the run. They were joined by the early leader of the women, Amanda Barnhart. Barnhart is known for excelling in strength-based events. It came as no surprise that she made quick work of the pig flips.
Khrennikov led Hopper for a short time before Hopper decided to move in front. Khrennikov seemed content staying on Hopper’s heels as it was very early in a very taxing event. Lawson had some difficulty with the pig flips and reached the run approximately 90 seconds behind Toomey, who had a ways to go to reach Barnhart in the lead.
Behind Hopper and Khrennikov by about 10 seconds were Đukić and Garard. The latter duo was slowly but surely closing the gap with a faster pace, though both pairs were steady. By the time Khrennikov took the lead over from Hopper again, Adams assumed the lead for the women, further displaying how dominant she is in endurance pieces — she was 23 seconds ahead of Turner’s time from heat one at this point in the run.
Khrennikov began to pull away a bit, but the front of the pack was much tighter in heat two. Khrennikov, Hopper, Garard, and Đukić were all in the mix at the front, unlike in heat one where it was all Mayer all the time. By the 15-minute mark, Đukić moved into frame right behind Khrennikov, and Garard took over the third-place position from Hopper. By the 17:30 mark, the male leaders began voluntarily trading the lead — a strategy similar to Event One during the bike ride section.
By 20 minutes, Hopper fell off from the lead group, and Khrennikov, Garard, and Đukić advanced into a three-man lead. Adams remained uncontested in the lead during the run and seemed destined to reach the Jerry bags first for the women. By 25 minutes, Đukić made his move on a long hill leading to the Jerry bags to take the lead.
Đukić dropped his Jerry bags after the first set of stairs, and Adams joined the male leaders. Migała and Toomey were the second and third women, respectively, to reach the Jerry bags. O’Connell was also in the mix, passing Toomey out of the gate. Khrennikov and Đukić were paired in the front of the field, with Garard a few body lengths behind en route to the Husafell bags.
The three male leaders and Adams all used the same technique on the Husafell bags — up to the right shoulder. Khrennikov transitioned smoothly to the bear hug position to walk up the stairs to the capitol. However, it wasn’t sustainable, and Garard assumed the lead. Adams took a very long break at the base of the steps, and it gave Toomey a window to take the lead if Adams didn’t get back on course.
Garard crossed the finish line first to win his second event in a time of 31:54.47. Krennikov wasn’t far behind at 32:01.47. Kwant took the fewest breaks up the steps, and he claimed third in the heat. The steps proved to be too much for Adams, and her lead was eviscerated. Migała took over the lead and won the event in a time of 33:34.67.
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Looking Ahead
Days Four and Five will each have three more workouts. Only Event Six’s workout has thus far been released, the rest remain a mystery. There will be a cut of 10 athletes in each Individual division before the final day of competition on Aug. 7, 2022. Event Six is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CDT, and Event Seven is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CDT.
Featured Image: @gabimiga on Instagram