“Strongman’s Fear” was one of the most-hyped and hotly anticipated events of the 2017 Reebok CrossFit Games — at least as far as events announced ahead of time. And the event lived up to its top billing, featuring a final Men’s heat where the winners were separated by just 0.09 seconds.
The event finish — embedded below — features Mat Fraser and Brent Fikowski at the very end of the strongman-inspired medley, with Fraser finishing the sled drag and Fikowski finishing the yoke walk. (In the event, athletes could pick the order they carried one of three implements across the field; returning to pick up the others required them to handstand walk that distance.)
While it looks at first like Fraser has a several foot lead, looks are a bit deceiving, as the sled he’s dragging must cross into the drop area, not just his body. And Fikowski ultimately gets his foot onto the finish area by the narrowest of margins at 4:13.22 to Fraser’s 4:13.31, making this one of the closest Reebok CrossFit Games event finishes we’ve ever seen.
Fraser currently sits in first place overall, 86 points ahead of Fikowski.
(Check out pro strongman competitor Robert Oberst put his own spin on the “Strongman’s Fear” event here.)
One the Women’s side, two-time defending champion Katrin Davidsdottir won “Strongman’s Fear” in 3:55.53, well ahead of second place finisher (and current Women’s overall leader) Tennil Reed-Beuerlein, who finished the event in 4:17.14. Davidsdottir currently sits in sixth place overall.
There’s plenty of action left to go in Madison, but so far, “Strongman’s Fear” proved to be one of the most exciting workouts yet.
Featured image: The CrossFit Games on Facebook
