Sam Kwant Surges On Day Three

After stage one of the 2020 CrossFit Games, Sam Kwant made it clear to the Morning Chalk Up he was fighting for a spot on the podium. With only one event left — a chance at 100 more points — and first and second-place finishes already in the bag on the morning of day three, a podium finish for the 24-year-old is on the horizon.

Remind me: Kwant came into the 2020 CrossFit Games known as the “most underrated athlete” in the field. He flew under the radar, even with an impressive Games record — a top 20 finish in 2018 and 13th place finish in 2019 — behind him.

• “Sam Kwant, he came into this CrossFit Games with a big question mark on him. You know, was he supposed to be here, was he supposed to be here before,” commented Bill Grundler before the sprint, sled, sprint event, where Kwant came in second-place, just four-tenths of a second behind Mathew Fraser.
• “But every time there’s a very grindy, very gritty, very ugly event, he has performed extremely well,” Grundler concluded.

Kwant’s Day Three, So Far: Today was a big day for Kwant. He came into the morning in third place, 25 points behind Jeffrey Adler, who was in second with 440. After his event win in “Swim ‘N’ Stuff” and his second in the “Sprint Sled Sprint,” Kwant moved into second place with 590 points, 85 points ahead Justin Medeiros (505 points) who now sits in third.

• “I honestly wasn’t sure, I wasn’t sure if this was going to be my event or not,” Kwant said to Niki Brazier in a post-swim event interview. “I think I was just able to hold on a little longer than everyone else. It was all about the assault bike.”

The bottom line: Unless Medeiros wins the next event, and Kwant receives a zero, Kwant will take second place at the 2020 Crossfit Games. But, as we’ve seen across the competition, one small error can cost a lot of points.