On last week’s episode, 6-time CrossFit Games individual competitor Margaux Alvarez bested fellow CrossFit Games competitor Kelly Stone and former Titan Kelly Valdez to become the new reigning Titan of the West Region in the women’s division.
On the men’s side, it was Noah Palicia who defended his Titan status against Exodus Rogers.
This latest episode was the last opportunity challengers had to ascend Mount Olympus before the West Region Championships next week cements who will advance to the Titan Games Championships.
In the men’s division, Cirque Du Soleil performer Wayne Skivington battled head-to-head against registered nurse “Rhino” Robbie Rodriguez.
In the women’s division, it was mountain guide Lindsey Hamm against bank teller Jamara Garrett.
In both divisions, the first athlete to score two event wins would be given the opportunity to challenge the reigning Titan for their spot on Mount Olympus.
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Nuts & Bolts — Men’s Division
Each athlete is assigned a wall with long pegs that are weighed down with large plates for a combined weight of 2,000lb. Competitors race to spin plates off their respective wall so they can pull it down using rope. The first athlete to bring down their wall and pull the Victory Chain wins.
Both men rushed out of the gates and attacked their respective top rows first. Skivington found his rhythm early and took a strong two plate lead.
Rodriguez caught up on the bottom row as each athlete’s strategy started kicking in. Skivington did not waste any time trying to remove the lighter weights from the bottom row on this wall, while Rodriguez left all the plates on his lower center peg.
The “Rhino” made tbe boldest move in the event and darted for his rope.
Skivington had to follow suit. Although Rodriguez made it to his rope first, Skivington’s choice to spread out his stranded weight out paid off and he was able to bring down his wall faster to take the win.
- Skivington — 1
- Rodriguez — 0
Chain Linked — Women’s Division
Chain Linked required both athletes to traverse four sheets of 10-foot tall chain link fence suspended in the air to reach a platform. From there, they have to turn a crank to close the gap between themselves and two more sheets of chain link fence so they can climb across to reach the Victory Chain. First athlete to pull the Victory Chain wins
Both athletes jumped onto the fences with a blistering pace. Undoubtedly, this challenge lined up more with Hamm’s skillset as a seasoned mountain climber and the discrepancy in technique was apparent.
Hamm made it to the chain pull faster than Garrett and ultimately it was the difference maker. In an extremely close climbing challenge, the climber was able to leverage her experience. Hamm takes the first event.
- Hamm — 1
- Garrett — 0
Lunar Impact — Men’s Division
Both athletes race up a 25-foot ladder to opposite ends of a narrow ledge. They then run along the edge to the Sensor Wall. The winner is whomever able to push the wall all the way to the opponent’s end and knock them off the ledge.
The race up the ladder favored Skivington’s circus training and he made it to the Sensor Wall first for a big push before Rodriguez crashed against the opposite side.
In an inch by inch fashion, Skivington drove his shoulder relentlessly against the wall. Just when it looked like it was going to be a one-sided endeavor, Rodriguez found a second wind and battled back.
After achieving parity at the middle point on the ledge, with both athletes drenched with sweat and Skivington with bloody shins, it is Rodriguez whose legs gave out first.
Skivington drove “Rhino” off the ledge and advanced to Mount Olympus.
- Skivington — Advanced
- Rodriguez — Eliminated
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Kick Out — Women’s Division
On a large vertical panel, five gigantic pistons poke through both sides. Each athlete must grab onto the beam atop the panel and kick their two pistons through to the opposing side before going after the center golden piston. Whomever kicks out the golden piston first wins.
Hamm scored the first piston with unbelievable speed. Garrett wasn’t far behind, but Hamm didn’t let up. A second peg locked in for Hamm and she advanced to to the center golden piston.
Garrett simply could not find the force needed to jam her second piston through. It in almost leisurely fasion, Hamm took her time locking in the golden piston to bring Garrett’s time in the Titan Games to an end.
Hamm swept both events to challenge Alvarez on Mount Olympus.
- Hamm — Advanced
- Garrett — Eliminated
Mount Olympus
The course on Mt. Olympus consists of ten obstacles:
- Starting Gates — weaving over and under thick triangular hurdles.
- Box Flip — flipping a humungous box three times.
- Iron Ascent — using only their hands, athletes pull themselves up using a lever system.
- Log Lift — hauling a large log up a long flight of stairs. Note: entirely different from a strongman log lift.
- Sky Bridge — lifting two 120lb weights on a gear that is then spun to lower a bridge.
- Crank Down — turning a heavy crank to lower a pillar that is then climbed.
- Cage Crawl — a series of narrow crawl spaces built atop each other that must be crawled through.
- Drop Zone — a mounting series of large panels that hinge when the athlete places their weight at the edge.
- Ball & Chain — an spherical stone is dragged via chain across the arena.
- Titan Tomb — competitors smash a stone block to retrieve the Titan Relic (a metal relic shaped into The Titan Games logo).
Margaux Alvarez vs. Lindsey Hamm
Alvarez pulled no punches in her first Titan defense and took an early lead through the Iron Ascent. She breezed through the Log Lift as Hamm stumbled to find her footing.
The reigning Titan extended her lead over the Sky Bridge and into the Cage Crawl. Hamm appeared fatigued and needed a big push or a mistake from Alvarez to catch up.
However, there was no window given as Alvarez flew through Ball & Chain and made quick work of Titan Tomb. In a lopsided race, Alvarez locked in the Titan Relic to maintain her status as Titan of the West Region.
Hamm will return next week to seek redemption in the West Region Championships.
Noah Palicia vs. Wayne Skivington
Both men sprinted through the Starting Gates and hit the Log Lift hard. Palicia’s experience on Mount Olympus was shining through as he took a slight edge heading into Sky Bridge but it was Skivington whose acrobatic experience enabled him to excel through the Cage Crawl.
Palicia stumbled coming out of the Drop Zone as it was apparent that Skivington’s speed was unlike any of Palicia’s previous challengers.
As both men attacked the Ball & Chain, Skivington flinched first. He fell approximately ten feet away from his Titan Tomb. Palicia aimed to capitalize but returned the favor when he slipped as well.
Both athletes were completely gassed slamming their sledge hammers into their Tombs. In the final moments, it was Palicia who excavated his Relic, locked it in, and defended his spot atop Mount Olympus.
In his third win on Mount Olympus, Noah Palicia will head to the West Region Championships as a Titan.
Skivington will get a second chance when he returns next week to try and topple the undefeated Palicia.
Feature image from Margaux Alvarez’s Instagram page: @321gaux
