Photo Finish — Fraser Ekes Out a Win Over Kwant in Event 11
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Samuel Kwant nearly had Mathew Fraser beat in the Sprint Sled Sprint event, trailing the men’s leader by just four-tenths of a second. That’s about as close as it gets. For the women, Tia-Clair Toomey left her fellow athletes less wiggle room, by finishing just about two seconds ahead of Brooke Wells. Fraser and Toomey now lead with 1,050 and 970 points, respectively.
Here’s what event 11, the Sprint Sled Sprint, consisted of:
100-yard sprint
100-yard sled push
100-yard sprint
Women: 80-pound sled / Men: 105-pound sled
Sprint Sled Sprint Women’s Results
- Tia-Clair Toomey, 1:05.23
- Brooke Wells, 1:07.82
- Katrín Tanja Davíðsdóttir, 1:12.57
- Haley Adams, 1:14.93
- Kari Pearce, 1:24.51
Sprint Sled Sprint Men’s Results
- Mathew Fraser, 0:56.08
- Samuel Kwant, 0:56.45
- Justin Medeiros, 1:01.97
- Noah Ohlsen, 1:03.89
- Jeffrey Adler, 1:05.64
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Sprint Sled Sprint Highlights
The women took the field first. The event had a blistering pace, and it was Toomey who took the lead by the time all the women made it to the sled. However, Wells quickly caught up. Toomey and Wells had noticeably different techniques on the sled — Toomey’s body was positioned much lower, almost parallel to the ground, while Wells stood more upright.
In the end, it was Toomey who got to the finish line first with a faster final sprint over Wells, who scored a big second-place finish and a much needed 75 points to bounce off the bottom of the leaderboard. Katrín Tanja Davíðsdóttir finished in the middle position, with Haley Adams in fourth, and Kari Pearce in fifth.
On the men’s side, Noah Ohlsen and Kwant placed second and fourth in the sled event in 2019, respectively, raising expectations that they could have big finishes to get into podium position. Kwant lived up to that hype. On the other hand, Ohlsen had the lead in the first sprint, but fell behind on the sled push.
This is probably the most exciting race you’ll see all day. Buckle up. pic.twitter.com/p75BxGNySl
— The CrossFit Games (@CrossFitGames) October 25, 2020
During the final sprint, Fraser was well ahead, but Kwant kicked himself into high gear and quickly caught up ground. By the time the two crossed the finish line, Fraser was merely one step ahead of the runner-up. They finished within four-tenths of a second of each other. This is Fraser’s ninth Games Finals win. Rookie Justin Medeiros crossed the finish in third place, Ohlsen in fourth, and Jeffrey Adler in fifth for the second time on day three.
On to the Final Event
The final event of the Games — Atalanta — has been billed by CrossFit Games Director Dave Castro as the most difficult final event in CrossFit Games history. The details for what the athletes will have to endure not yet been revealed, but it will take place at The Ranch in Aromas, CA.
You can read more about the events the athletes will have completed thus far. Be sure to check out our leaderboard and results page to track all of the action.
Feature image via Dave Castro’s Instagram page: @thedavecastro