The inaugural TYR Cup competition featured one exciting moment after another as fans watched some of the best CrossFit athletes in the world take part in this unique team contest.
It was a weekend filled with pure joy and camaraderie among the competitors. And while Team North America beat Team World with a final score of 7-6, that does not tell the whole story.
We crunched some numbers from the weekend to get a bigger picture of what went down in Huntington Beach, CA. Here’s what stood out.
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5 – The Number of Times Arielle Loewen PR’d During the Spotlight Lifting Event.
Arielle Loewen hit all-time highs twice in the snatch (195 and 200 pounds) and three times in the clean and jerk (235, 245, and 250 pounds).
Afterward, her team crowded around her and celebrated in a moment that summed up the electric weekend in SoCal. The team knew they were most likely not going to win the event, yet they could not be happier to see their teammate put on a show.
- “I don’t max out much, so it makes events like this fun. I get to feel the hype of the crowd,” Loewen said in her post-event interview.
Close to the champ: Going against the seven-time Fittest on Earth might have helped as well. Five was also the number of pounds that separated her lifting total from Tia Clair Toomey-Orr’s.
685 – Gui Malheiros’ Olympic Weightlifting Total at TYR Cup.
Speaking of heavy lifts, Gui Malheiros snatched 305 and clean-and-jerked 380. With textbook form and incredible speed, he made these massive lifts look effortless.
- “People ask me what I’m going to lift. I say, ‘Bro, whatever the people want,’” Malheiros said in his post-event interview. “I just put the plates and let them fly.”
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Strong and tough: Both Malheiros and Toomey-Orr had done the previous two TYR Cup events within two hours and were the only athletes to compete in all three events on day one.
23 – The Number of Ring Muscle-Ups Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr Completed in Two Minutes.
During the Spotlight Gymnastics Event at TYR Cup, Toomey-Orr knocked out the same as Gui Malheiros and Pat Vellner, two of the strongest gymnasts in the men’s field.
The event was a cumulative total of rope climbs, freestanding handstand push-ups, and ring muscle-ups.
Toomey-Orr’s opponent, Alexis Raptis (also known for her gymnastics prowess), put up a very impressive score of 59 total reps.
Vellner accumulated 67 total reps, followed by Tia with 66, and then Gui with 65.
- “Do I have to go compete against the boys?” Tia once joked in the 2022 documentary “Fittest on Earth: Retro/Active.” Turns out, the answer might be yes.
83 – Team World’s Winning Percentage on the Bar Muscle-Up/Clean Ladder.
Team World shocked fans by winning the clean ladder convincingly, taking five of the six head-to-head matchups.
Seher Kaya and Aniol Ekai claimed important and unexpected wins over Danielle Brandon and Justin Medeiros, respectively.
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Under the lights on Saturday night, the event was a big swing in Team World’s favor, and the score was tied at 4-4 going into the final day of competition.
- “It was so great, and I felt the energy. I gave it to the team, and I set the standard for that event. It was great,” Kaya told Morning Chalk Up after the event.
1.3 – Number of Calories Dallin Pepper and Brent Fikowski Completed Per Second on the Echo Bike.
Fikowski held his own with the “King of the Echo bike,” and their race to complete 50 calories ended in an astounding 38 seconds.
It was only the first portion of Event 9, which was a one-on-one-style showdown. The chosen athletes then had to complete 50 bar-facing burpees for time, followed by a 500-meter sprint on the assault runner.
They had enough rest in between to give 100% effort in all three tests.
- “I knew I was going to have to go fast, but Brent did surprise me on the Echo Bike,” Pepper told Bella Martin in the post-event interview. “But I knew if he hit the same pace as me, he’s feeling way worse. I just needed to hold on for the rest of it.”
11 – Difference in Age of the Athletes Chosen for Event 9.
Both teams happened to pick their youngest and oldest athletes for the event. However, they did not match up this way as the young guns went up against the seasoned vets. This meant Pepper (22) battled Fikowski (33), and Walton (23) battled Rolfe (34).
The result was a win for Pepper and Rolfe of Team North America.
The effort put out in a short amount of time was not only impressive but devastating. None of the four athletes competed in the following event, and it concluded their weekend performances.
They were more than happy to be done following this grueling test of 100% power output times three.
- “I’ve never reached a point of almost failing a burpee,” Rolfe said.
- “That was the worst workout I’ve ever done,” Pepper proclaimed after the weekend.
2.1 – The Total Weight in TONS of Equipment Carried and Dragged Across the Sand and Back in Event 8.
The “All Hands” event was a thing of chaotic beauty.
Both teams moved 4,200 pounds up and down the beach. The equipment consisted of various sandbags, D-balls, worms, and sleds, following a buy-in of 40 unbroken drag rope double-unders for each individual.
- Team North America won the event with the help of Adam Neiffer, Justin Medeiros’s coach and seven-time Games team athlete.
After the event, Neiffer shared a video he made of himself carrying the 322-pound worm in the community athlete warm-up area, away from Team World’s view. With the help of two others to hoist it up, he ran with it draped over his shoulders.
- “I knew if I could do it, they would have no problem,” Neiffer said. “I told them they can’t practice it in front of the other team. They were just going to have to trust me.”
The one-man worm-carry proved to be the pivotal moment in the event to help Team North America secure the win.
Individual Win-Loss Records:
Team North America
- Justin Medeiros: 5-1
- Dallin Pepper: 5-1
- Emily Rolfe: 4-1
- Jeffrey Adler: 4-2
- Alexis Raptis: 3-2
- Patrick Vellner: 4-3 (Including the 2-point Final Captain’s Event.)
- Arielle Loewen: 4-3
- Danielle Brandon: 4-4 (Including the 2-point Final Captain’s Event.)
Team World
- Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr: 6-4 (Including the 2-point Final Captain’s Event)
- Gui Malheiros: 3-4
- Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson: 2-5 (Including the 2-point Final Captain’s Event)
- Emma Tall: 2-3
- Seher Kaya: 2-3
- Aniol Ekai: 1-4
- Brent Fikowski: 1-5
- Grace Walton: 0-5
These win-loss records can be somewhat deceiving because an individual can “win” their portion of an event, but the team collected the loss. Like a quarterback throwing for five touchdowns and losing the game, it takes the whole team to earn a victory.
More From the 2024 TYR Cup
- Seher Kaya Shines at TYR Cup, Thrives on Team World
- Gui Malheiros Leaves TYR Cup Refreshed, Ready for More
- 5 Things the CrossFit Games Can Learn From the TYR Cup
Featured image: Scott Freymond
