The Fittest On Earth Among 40 Penalized in 20.2
CrossFit HQ has continued to show no mercy penalizing 40 athletes including the Fittest On Earth in week two of the CrossFit Open.
Quick reminder: The top 40 men and women worldwide each week are being asked to submit videos for review by CrossFit Games staff. After 20.1 an unprecedented 26 athletes were penalized. This time around, half of the pool copped a sanction of some description.
The Podium Punished:
- Matthew Fraser: Big name, very minor penalty. The Fittest On Earth had his score adjusted by one rep for completing the final toes-to-bar after the time cap.
- Noah Olsen: Lost 7 reps (980 to 973) for rounds where he didn’t complete the required number of double-unders.
- Lefteris Theofanidis: The current leader of the 2020 CrossFit Open was penalized for a false start and “heels not breaking the vertical plane on toes-to-bar.” For now, Lefteris remains the worldwide leader, pending a review of his 20.3 performance, which has been heavily criticized.
Who this hurts the most:
- Swede Simon Mäntylä copped a major penalty for “consistent lack of depth and lockout on thrusters” falling to 1776th on the worldwide leaderboard for this workout. With Lukas Högberg withdrawing from the 2020 Open, Simon looked in place to claim a qualifying spot as Sweden’s National Champion. He’s since taken to Instagram: “As much as I feel that the decision is wrong, that I want to appeal, that other athletes reps look even worse, that I have been wronged, etc. It won’t change anything.”
- Chandler Smith slipped to 210th worldwide in 20.2 having his score adjusted from 922 to 898. CrossFit HQ said: “In 24 of 27 rounds, he performed only 23 double-unders,” and while Smith slips out of the qualifying contention for now, at 34th place, a good performance in the final two workouts could see him scrape into the Top 20.
The false start: This is where HQ is really cracking down for the second week in a row, penalizing 33 athletes.
Athletes must begin from a vertical start as per the workout description: “This workout begins with the dumbbells on the floor and the athlete standing tall. After the call of “3, 2, 1 … go,” the athlete may begin performing thrusters.”
Again, the number of reps deducted weren’t disclosed by CrossFit, however, it’s fair to assume this was deemed a ‘minor’ penalty given the top of the worldwide leaderboard remained relatively unchanged.
- Women: Jamie Greene,Tia-Clair Toomey, Emma McQuaid, Carol-Ann Reason-Thibault, Camilla Salomonsson Hellman, Gabriela Migala, Brooke Wells, Andrea Solberg, Meg Reardon, Dani Speegle, Emily Rolfe, Bethany Shadburne, Emilia Leppanen, Andrea Nisler, and Kristine Best.
- Men: Lefteris Theofanidis, Björgvin Karl Gudmundsson, Giorgos Karavis, Patrick Vellner, Josh Miller, Jean-Simon Roy-Lemaire, Logan Collins, Cole Sager, Scott Tetlow, Martin Fuentes, Samuel Cournoyer, Brendan Willis, Sean Sweeney, Willy Georges, David Shorunke, Jeffery Moss, Karar Margrander, and Adam Klink.
Moving forward: The “false start” seems to be standard that’s catching a lot of athletes out. The unprecedented number of penalties dished out after 20.1 obviously didn’t ensure athletes headed the warning on the “vertical start.” Whether or not it’s justified, HQ are clearly watching this standard like a hawk.
Full video review is still pending for 20.3 and with the controversial movement standards there’s a number of storylines were watching closely to see how the review team responds:
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