#412 – Semifinals Recap | Torian Pro Day 3

Taylor Self (00:00):

Coming on. Hey, I wanna, so I got a couple things I wanna show I got on screen.

Andrew Hiller (00:05):

Good to have Shaler back.

Sevan Matossian (00:07):

Hey, am. We’re live. Oh, I don’t know about that. I don’t know about that. We were fucking killing it. We were killing

Andrew Hiller (00:11):

It. You sent the wrong link. I was, I was in yesterday’s <laugh>

Sevan Matossian (00:15):

Oh, did, did I resend the right? Did I resend the right one?

Andrew Hiller (00:19):

Yes. It’s the first one you sent.

Taylor Self (00:22):

We’ll go redo that for Jr. Cause he’s not gonna figure that out.

Sevan Matossian (00:26):

I, I, I resent it to, uh, well, he’s on the same thread that you’re on, so he’s gotta figure it out

Sevan Matossian (00:35):

Guys. Uh, before we start, there’s something that I need to show you. I posted about it on my Instagram last night. Uh, if you watch sports for the reason I do and I don’t watch sports, it’s it’s for the, uh, it’s for the human drama. It’s all about the story. If there’s not a good story, then I’m a, uh, hardly invested. If there’s a great story, I’m super duper, duper invested, and we have an insane story, um, taking place in the, uh, syndicate. And I’m gonna tell you about it real quick before I turn it over to these, uh, guys, so they can geek out on some other shit. And first place you have Justin Maderas, who is basically the future of CrossFit. He’s, he’s basically our next rich Matt, uh, Tia, Tomi. He is a remarkable human being with great character and he’s amazing to watch, and you should watch the syndicate for that.

Sevan Matossian (01:27):

The syndicate is also an amazing event. Wilson. Pack’s done an amazing job. It’s beautiful. The camera angles have been great. Commentary’s been fine. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it. The story down here though, is this one. You have Jason Hopper who is being trained in following the program of Matt Fraser, the five times CrossFit games champion, and a truly fucking, I mean, I don’t, I don’t know what there is to say about Matt. I mean, he he’s UN unbelievable. He, he basically would do the stuff that we’re C and Tia do, uh, this week. And, and Matt’s done that for us before. So he’s Jason Hopper’s coach then right up above him in second place. And, and I, I mean, I’d never heard of this fucking guy before coming outta nowhere is this guy Tudor, Magda, Tudor Magda is trained by James Townsend. So you have last year’s superstar. That’s exploded on the scene. Jason Hopper versus the new kid who’s exploded on the scene. Tudor, Magda.

Taylor Self (02:28):

Oh, sorry. Didn’t mean to do that.

Sevan Matossian (02:30):

<laugh> um, the what we’re gonnas, what we’re gonna there’s there’s great drama here. Oh shit. There’s great drama here. Great, great drama. And here’s another reason why now listen carefully to this tidbit ear earlier this year. Uh, the great Maow Brian, um, was training with James Townsend. When you thought of ma O’Brien, you thought that her coach was James Townsend. That’s what everyone thought. That’s what everyone knew. Then out of nowhere, from, from a fan’s perspective, maybe it had been building in the background. We see mallow, Brian, go and start training with Matt Fraser that put, that obviously has to put tension between Matt and, uh, Townsend. You have the superstar, uh, young lady who you’ve been working on. She’s exploding, everyone’s talking about her. And then she gets up and leaves and she goes over to train with Matt Fraser. So you have Matt Fraser who has Jason Hopper and a ma O’Brien and all the kind of attention and drama spinning around the fact, why did ma leave James?

Sevan Matossian (03:29):

Does it hurt his feelings what’s going on with Fraser? And we had seen a few podcasts, but then they got pulled down for whatever legal reasons. But now out of nowhere here in, at the syndicate, we have James Townsend’s, other protege, um, putting it to putting it to hopper. And, uh, I, I think this is just a great story. I think this is something you can really get into. Um, and I don’t think it’s done here. I think this is something we’re gonna watch for the next 10 years. Um, outside of anyone getting hurt, I think tutor, uh, hopper, um, this is gonna be, uh, a, a great story to follow. So if you want a little drama with, uh, your, uh, with your fitness, um, that’s where it’s at and, and it, it’s not a dig on any of those guys. I have mad respect for all those dudes. Obviously I have crazy respect for hopper. He’s been on the show a ton of times. Uh, Matt’s a great dude. I don’t know James Townsend, but I respect the shit out of him and what he does with his kids. And I don’t know TUD, but, but this is a great story. All right. And, and that starts today. You can start watching that today at 8:35 AM, uh, Pacific standard time on YouTube, just go in to YouTube type in CrossFit games. And the, the live stream will pop up

Andrew Hiller (04:38):

Jackie style.

Sevan Matossian (04:40):

Say it again.

Andrew Hiller (04:41):

That’s the workout they’re doing that, that rowing. Oh, roster with the barbell workout. Do

Sevan Matossian (04:46):

You guys have, do you guys have a prediction who’s gonna win that tutor or Jason?

Andrew Hiller (04:50):

Uh,

Sevan Matossian (04:51):

They are good morning.

Andrew Hiller (04:52):

What do you think Taylor, you know him a little more than I do Mr. Hopper? Well,

Taylor Self (04:56):

I, I clearly don’t know much about tu mag. I, I was under the impression that he didn’t have much of an engine, and I think he proved that to be incorrect on the last workout. I will say. I think that workout surprised me watching it happen as to what was more important in the workout. I don’t think the ski was the ski was for sure important, but I think what mattered more than anything was GD speed and hand sand walk, speed. Um,

Andrew Hiller (05:23):

So on your screens still, Sharon,

Sevan Matossian (05:24):

Thank you.

Taylor Self (05:26):

Look, and I wanna say one thing while we’re, while you have <laugh>. Nevermind. Okay. I just wanted to say something about Ricky, but anyways, um, that workout was so, so dependent on your GD cycle rate and the hand <crosstalk> and the kid tutor was flying. Um, and there wasn’t, there wasn’t a lot of ground to be made on the ski, which I, which surprised me a little bit.

Andrew Hiller (05:50):

Um, and then also you, so in relation to this Jackie style workout, it’s gonna be about the thruster cycling pace and the OFS, the road doesn’t matter.

Taylor Self (05:59):

I think the road’s not gonna matter as much. I agree.

Andrew Hiller (06:01):

Sivan, you got that button,

Sevan Matossian (06:03):

Which button

Andrew Hiller (06:04):

I uploaded the link for you <laugh>

Sevan Matossian (06:07):

Oh, oh, oh, uh, no, I, I didn’t, I, sorry, I fucking have been trying

Andrew Hiller (06:12):

To, you have one job. Come on one job.

Sevan Matossian (06:14):

I know, I know. I know, but, but Katie, but Katie says I’m killing it.

Andrew Hiller (06:19):

Ah, all right. You’re one job ruins $10.

Taylor Self (06:22):

He’s had a really, really mistake free weekend tutor has, and Jason’s had a handful of mistakes. Um,

Andrew Hiller (06:30):

Do you know about the top of your head?

Taylor Self (06:32):

Yeah. So the, uh, sled that’s the, the first three mistakes when he had to adjust the stud three times this,

Andrew Hiller (06:38):

The first three mistakes

Taylor Self (06:39):

Missing the 3 35 complex for Jason was not a capacity issue. It was just a big mistake on the jerk, which I, I know he’s pissed about. Um, and then again, I think on the, uh, shoot, what, what, what was it, uh, on the, uh,

Andrew Hiller (06:57):

Ski you’re right? That alone. Would’ve popped him up over tutor.

Taylor Self (07:01):

Yeah, a

Andrew Hiller (07:01):

Lot. If you lot hit that jerk

Taylor Self (07:03):

Hit the jerk and, and the other placement that the event went on, the, uh, Jr. What do you think

JR Howell (07:09):

There’s, there’s also a handful of no reps on GDS for, uh, hand width on the floor.

Taylor Self (07:15):

Oh yeah, yeah. A

JR Howell (07:16):

Lot. Yeah. So there were a handful of no reps there. And then obviously we know that James should have gone back and done that last handstand walk, but you know, that mattered a lot too.

Taylor Self (07:26):

I also say he mentioned, Jason texted me and mentioned he got a bunch of no reps on the, uh, wall ball too, for,

JR Howell (07:34):

For

Taylor Self (07:34):

He did the height.

JR Howell (07:35):

He did. Yep.

Taylor Self (07:36):

So you take those no reps out and that’s just, uh, that’s just

Andrew Hiller (07:40):

For the height of the ball.

Taylor Self (07:41):

Yeah. The height of the ball, that’s just execution stuff for him.

Andrew Hiller (07:44):

Could you tell whether or not that was consistent across the field or was he being

JR Howell (07:50):

A lot of guys were getting him in that last heat

Taylor Self (07:52):

Lot

Andrew Hiller (07:52):

Of guys and they all just, just for the height of the ball, you know, wasn’t clear in the 10 feet

Taylor Self (07:55):

They were riding the line with the center of the ball hit hitting

Andrew Hiller (07:58):

Well, that’s that’s standard for everybody, right? Yeah.

Taylor Self (08:01):

Yeah.

Andrew Hiller (08:01):

So, okay. As long as it was consistent,

Taylor Self (08:03):

It was consistent. And so were the JD reps, that’s, that’s something Jason’s gotta work on is his hand with, at the bottom of the JD, but I think, you know, just some mistakes and he cleans those mistakes up. The other thing I think is it’ll be really interesting to see. I, I feel like tutor’s gonna do really well on the final. He looks like a kid that’s really athletic. Um, and I think the final suits, people who are super athletic, being able to train.

JR Howell (08:29):

So, you know, going back to Jackie style, you know, you wondered, you know, who was gonna do better on that workout. And I definitely think at this point, it’s probably foolish unless there’s a movement we know is somewhat of a weakness in there to bet against Jason on a workout with two K of rowing. Because also because although the rowing in the beginning really is kind of a wash for everybody, I do think the workout comes down to managing the rest between sets on GDS and then who can row the last one K hard. And we know Jason can

Sevan Matossian (08:58):

Do that. What event is that? That’s event six.

Taylor Self (09:01):

You mean chess bar?

JR Howell (09:03):

Yeah. Chess, the bar. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.

Taylor Self (09:05):

I, I agree. And I was, you know, to add to that two K of rowing is the thing that makes, you know, not only his capacity on machines, like the echo bike, but what’s so frustrating when you’re, when you’re racing him in workouts or when you’re training next to him is how hard he can push a pace and then get off and not be fatigued. And I think that’s more than anything is the hard part about, about going against him in workouts to have so much machine is he can push such a hard pace and get off and just not be fatigued the way other people are.

JR Howell (09:34):

Yeah. And I mean, honestly, outside of just the nightmare of no reps that is potentially gonna happen with that empty barbell thruster, I, I think if we see Jay off the thruster and immediately rip like 15 chest bar and he’s able to go four sets of 15 with like a four to five second break, I think he’s setting himself up to win

Taylor Self (09:55):

That. I, I, I would hope to see him doing a dis setting rep scheme, but that’s just my personal preference.

JR Howell (10:01):

Yeah.

Sevan Matossian (10:02):

And as Taylor said, uh, he’s saying that this workout is going to, um, benefit those who are super athletic. I mean, there’s, Jason’s full of athleticism.

Taylor Self (10:11):

I think he meant that’ll work out seven. Right? That was the final. Yeah. I think this one’s much more raw capacity, but, um, event five, for sure. Jason’s super athletic too. There’s it’s not counting out. I’m just saying, I think watching tutor it’s, it’s evident that he’s, he’s naturally gifted physically. He’s got a lot of athleticism and, and clearly super fit.

Sevan Matossian (10:30):

Uh, quick, quick note. I’d like you guys all to comment on. If you have something to say, uh, Scott pan has been pulled out of the, um, uh, event. It was a, it was tragic. It was, uh, the ropes were too long. Uh, he landed on one, twisted his leg and, and damaged his good knee. You can go over and read all about it on Scott’s. Um, Instagram. Uh, I did a little texting around last night. It’s just, it’s just a bummer all around.

Taylor Self (10:54):

I have that pulled up. Can we actually, um,

Sevan Matossian (10:57):

You’re welcome to, I just wanted, you’re welcome to share it. Yep.

Taylor Self (11:00):

Yeah, I got it. Shared. Let’s pull this up. Okay. So the one thing I wanted to mention on this was man Scott in his Instagram post, this is the cash. And he says, after seeing the amount of rope left, laying on the competition floor, I verbally expressed concerns. I had for athletes safety in an event, as fast as this one, I felt I presented a strong case with various examples of why this could be unsafe, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. The other events had the rope cut and he was told, I was told nothing could be done to change the ropes. And this is what was provided to be used. I would like to say that as someone who manages an affiliate, um, my boss, you simply just, uh, rap the rope five times with a, with a roll of duct tape and then cut it with a box cutter. And then it’s so something for sure could have been done. He also says here, I made these, we have the technology. Yeah. We have the technology to cut a rope in about 30 seconds. I made the decision to withdraw something I’ve never had to do in this sport. And I feel it could have been prevented.

Andrew Hiller (12:03):

Oh, he’s fucking pissed.

Taylor Self (12:04):

The only

Andrew Hiller (12:06):

That’s about as pissed as an athlete gets when they can’t say anything, they wanna say

Taylor Self (12:10):

It’s. Yeah. I mean, not, you know, the only thing I’ll say about the Sy is that clearly was a huge mistake. What I, the rope itself. But I think the bigger mistake is when you have somebody with that level of experience providing feedback and you choose not to listen to it. And that’s all I’ll say about it. It’s just really frustrating. And it’s really sad to see on Scott’s part, the emotion that he’s going through. It’s when you’re battling with an injury like that, and you don’t know whether you’re going or you are it’s, uh, it’s a lot emotionally and then to have to have to end it that way. Is it fucking sucks? And it also sucks even more when it’s something you felt like was controllable and, and you weren’t listened to,

Sevan Matossian (12:48):

He, he, in that story, he says that, um, him and his wife decided that, um, he wasn’t gonna compete. Um, they had a good cry together, and yet he still went out to the corral. I mean, it’s a, it’s a really well written piece it’s touching. I, I don’t know, um, who to blame or if anyone needs to be blamed or, or what the deal is, that’s someone else’s job. But I, I do that event is beautiful and that floor is beautiful. Um, and, and I, and I’m really enjoying syndicate. It sucks that it’s got this, uh, this stain on it now, but I think Wilson’s done an amazing job. So

Andrew Hiller (13:18):

There’s a comment that says where’s, Kowski in the P F a and that’s a great, that’s a great point. Are they going to finally say something? I was talking to Halpin Halpin about it, Mike Halpin. And he was saying how the last post on the PFA account was in relation to the ring height. And that was like directly Atki thing. It’s like, oh, the rings are too high, are too short for certain athletes. They’re standardized, that’s all messed up, but this, and like the things like people talk about MERF and the heat stroke and yada, yada, whatever about that. But this is something that you would think that B should be taking into consideration and standing up for. Right?

Taylor Self (13:53):

Absolutely.

Sevan Matossian (13:54):

It’s still a little early, right? They haven’t had a chance. Right.

Andrew Hiller (13:57):

They don’t have a chance. Correct. It’s little will they, that’s the thing I like to do. So I don’t like to give people a chance. I like to talk about it before they have a chance.

Sevan Matossian (14:05):

Hell’s giving you guys an order, PFA, a, a C that’s right. P FK G L G B, go ahead

Andrew Hiller (14:10):

And redo your workout. PFA.

Taylor Self (14:12):

I

Andrew Hiller (14:12):

Will say this, you have the opportunity.

Taylor Self (14:14):

The one thing about allowing live that I really appreciated when I was at waap poo is how, you know, after that final event, OIF and Dylan Molinsky came up and, and had all the athletes together and made sure everyone had some input on how they could best change the final so that people weren’t, you know, slipping and sliding across the wet floor. So I would,

Sevan Matossian (14:34):

And, and rich took charge of that a little bit, too, from what we saw from our behind the scenes footage, rich was like, listen, I was

Andrew Hiller (14:39):

There. We were there, Taylor, right?

Taylor Self (14:41):

Yeah. I was standing right next to him. I think the key there is that O Keith and Linsky were open to feedback from someone with a lot of experience. So I think rich did the same thing. I’m sure Scott probably did in that point, but so I expect to see granite games. They probably will have cut ropes.

Sevan Matossian (14:55):

I, I heard those ropes have already been cut by the way I heard after that, before I heard those ropes that they used have already been cut. And although there’s no more rope climate events at the syndicate, uh, the speculation that I was reading was that, um, there’s gonna be ropes in, uh, in next week’s games in Knoxville, same venue. Why is that venue? Why is that venue? So O empty? How, what is going on that Justin Maderas and rich phoning and Jason Hopper and all these superstars are all in the same venue. And I mean,

Andrew Hiller (15:25):

Monkey PS,

Sevan Matossian (15:26):

I mean, Torian is good. Well maybe, um, Torian is going, Torian is nuts. <laugh> Torian and Lowlander nuts. Torian is a three Torian is arena and it’s packed. Torian.

Andrew Hiller (15:36):

Torian

Taylor Self (15:37):

Is

Andrew Hiller (15:37):

Packed. It’s completely lit. It’s,

Taylor Self (15:38):

It’s fucking amazing. Yeah.

Andrew Hiller (15:39):

The fire is, I love the fire.

Taylor Self (15:41):

It’s so cool. And their music, their music is sweet. They’re playing like ACD C and yep.

Andrew Hiller (15:45):

I agree. It’s awesome. Over there.

Sevan Matossian (15:48):

Any thoughts? Anything you wanted to add to this? Uh, Mr. How?

JR Howell (15:51):

No. I mean, I, you know, I agree with the sentiments of both the other gentlemen, for sure. Um, being there a lot of ALZA with Jason, cause I was actually his coach there. Um, it was interesting to see how they navigated that situation with a lot of the athletes saying they felt unsafe doing shuttle runs at a fast speed, and then they, you know, allowed for some feedback and whether or not there was a contingency plan in place, or they just did it on the fly. It seemed like it was handled as, as well as it could have been.

Sevan Matossian (16:20):

Uh, Ranata Novan suggest tours. Don’t only one semifinal there, meaning like we, we have four, four, you can go to in north America.

Andrew Hiller (16:29):

They also had a comment in there that says that the arena is packed, but they have less spots than the others, which is also pretty messed up. Right. There’s they, they get three spots and the others get five. And, but yeah, there’s way more people in attendance watching the three go. I was

Sevan Matossian (16:43):

Just, did you guys, did you guys watch the final heat of the women? Yep. Over there Torian, how is Maddie St not going to the CrossFit games

Andrew Hiller (16:52):

Because she lost by two points.

Sevan Matossian (16:54):

What a shame, but I mean, just what she brought to the table this weekend. I mean, she did everything she needed to do to, I mean, where did she end up falling? Have they updated the leaderboard? She, that I can’t, I, I never really cared when Brian would talk about that stuff. And now, like, I guess now that I’m marching four points

Andrew Hiller (17:11):

More closely, she’s four points out.

Sevan Matossian (17:12):

I believe that’s nuts.

Taylor Self (17:14):

Let’s on the leaderboard.

Sevan Matossian (17:16):

I’ll pull it up. I’ll pull it up

Andrew Hiller (17:18):

Last chance qualifier.

Taylor Self (17:20):

She had her worst finish on the interval and the legless. Oh no. Who

Sevan Matossian (17:26):

Are, who are you talking about?

Taylor Self (17:28):

Mattie start. Gosh, they were all

Andrew Hiller (17:30):

Wow. 5, 7, 5, 7, 4, 3.

Taylor Self (17:32):

Yeah.

Sevan Matossian (17:34):

And beating Jamie Simmons. And she’s, she doesn’t have a gifted frame. This, this, this young lady has, and she’s been to the CrossFit games three or four times. What

Taylor Self (17:43):

Does that mean?

Andrew Hiller (17:44):

She doesn’t have a gifted frame.

Sevan Matossian (17:46):

It doesn’t matter.

Andrew Hiller (17:47):

She’s in fourth, press the button. Have

Sevan Matossian (17:48):

I? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, she doesn’t meaning she she’s, uh, she’s tiny. She’s she’s freaking tiny. Let’s see. Let’s see.

Taylor Self (17:55):

Uh, I don’t, I don’t know that.

Sevan Matossian (17:56):

Yeah, they she’s so small. They measure her in centimeters.

Andrew Hiller (17:59):

<laugh> <laugh>

Taylor Self (18:02):

I, I think this, I was just saying this, watching this final is that whoever qualifies to the last chance, it’s gonna have a really, really hard time beating anyone out of Oceana because on the men’s and women’s side, they should be going to the games. But I will say, I think, yeah. I just think that, uh, those two spots, maybe not both, but one of them’s going to someone in Oceana, I think on both sides.

JR Howell (18:26):

Well, that’s kinda what I, we, I

Sevan Matossian (18:27):

Mean, it’s kinda say that again Jr. Sorry, say that again.

JR Howell (18:30):

So that’s kind of what we want, right? Like, you know, to support Brian’s and, and our arguments of them getting more spots. What we want is for Simmons and St to both take those spots, the last chance qualifier, it’s kinda like a wake up call.

Sevan Matossian (18:45):

I, It it’s just after watching that event and seeing how good those girls are and who they had to compete with. I just, I wanna throw this in the pile of just fucking another of 2022 fuckups.

Andrew Hiller (18:58):

Ooh.

Sevan Matossian (19:00):

It’s uh it’s um, yeah, just throw it it’s point for the wait

Andrew Hiller (19:04):

A minute. Should, should we say that? Because they made Tia go to the, to end that they actually stole Maddie shirts spot in how last year the brander thing at the Mac was the big issue. I’m kidding. Of course. This is a joke. No one Tia has an automatic spot. Oh, Harkins. Back to what? 2014, where they usually give the previous games, qualifiers and auto in, and then it would backfill at the regionals that why

Sevan Matossian (19:30):

I thought they stopped doing that long before 2014. No,

Andrew Hiller (19:33):

No, I think it was 14 was the last year there was home and Froning in that region. So they backfilled through sixth or fifth and sixth, I believe.

Sevan Matossian (19:41):

Uh, the, the, the big, the big story. I think also the, the fun thing to watch. The happy story is Jay crouch. Are you guys just blown away by this dude?

Taylor Self (19:49):

He killed it. It was like watching Cedric Diggory versus Victor crumb in the try wizard cup. I feel like that’s what I think.

Sevan Matossian (19:58):

What did the thumb just say? What’s he referencing

Andrew Hiller (20:01):

You, you Lord of the rings. Sit on. Oh,

Taylor Self (20:03):

<laugh> <laugh>.

Sevan Matossian (20:05):

I thought it was F1 auto racing.

Taylor Self (20:07):

Harry Potter. Dude. Ricky looks like crumb. It’s so funny. <laugh>

JR Howell (20:13):

Um, so yeah. Can we talk about, can we talk about workout five and what, what we hypothesized may have happened happened?

Sevan Matossian (20:20):

Well, I have one, uh, yes. Can we, will you tell us what workout five, uh, workout five at the Torian pro was 21 handstand pushups. It’s got some SA felt carry in it. Some farmer carry and some yolk carry.

Taylor Self (20:32):

I wanna say one thing,

JR Howell (20:34):

But at the, but at the end of the day, what was the deci? What was the determining movement and

Andrew Hiller (20:39):

The handstand pushups

JR Howell (20:40):

And who got 20th?

Taylor Self (20:42):

Matt McLeod. But it wasn’t the

JR Howell (20:44):

Hands. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Who got, who got on that workout?

Andrew Hiller (20:50):

Who 20th?

JR Howell (20:51):

Who was in third place?

Andrew Hiller (20:52):

Oh, Bailey Martin.

JR Howell (20:53):

Who was in and it was, and it was because of the strict pain stand pushups

Andrew Hiller (20:57):

Was indeed. I, I remember watching him.

Taylor Self (20:59):

The one thing I wanted to mention though, was the yolk played a huge role for Matt McCloud because it looked like they were all at a standard height. And whereas some guys had like six inches to the floor to run across the floor. Matt McCloud just spent boom,

Andrew Hiller (21:12):

Boom. Oh, that would be so messed.

Sevan Matossian (21:13):

Oh, is that why? Because of the height, I just thought the 6 0 5 was too heavy for him. And he was a pussy

Andrew Hiller (21:18):

To me. It looked like they were able to adjust him. No, they were, they ran out there and they were all like counting the holes on the side of the, the yolk. Maybe I thought maybe that was them allowing to adjust it. And he didn’t, or they weren’t allowed to, I’m not sure about that.

Taylor Self (21:30):

I, they might have been allowed to adjust it. I noted it. It seemed like his was on the lowest setting and it still was hitting the ground. And I’m like, man, you just, you just watch him try to pick it up. And it’s just the front skids are hitting the floor, the back skids hitting the floor. It’s

Andrew Hiller (21:44):

Just talk about, oh, Jr. Are you trying to say that before that event Bailey Martin was in the top three and that event kicked him out because I, it looks like that’s what you’re talking about.

JR Howell (21:53):

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Remember when we talked about, when we talked about how well Bailey was doing, and we were like, you know, how is, how is Royce or how is Badden gonna get back into a qualifying position? And we were saying, well, that event five is still looming. And we’re not sure if one of those guys in the top five or six have a weakness. So we didn’t really know even the, uh, the height of the deficit on the handstand pushup. And then when that workout started, I think he was the last one to the SA fell bag. And when that happened, I was like, oh, this might be it.

Andrew Hiller (22:26):

And if we’re looking at it, he finished 20th and 13th on the final two events. He would’ve had to have gone second and second. And then when you look at one, two and three, uh, being Jay CRO, rookie, and Badden, they didn’t have between the three of them placing out of the top

Taylor Self (22:41):

Five. Yeah. You can’t have, you can’t have a, a placing outside.

Andrew Hiller (22:45):

They killed it. 10

Taylor Self (22:46):

Here. You can’t have a

Andrew Hiller (22:47):

Fell off.

Sevan Matossian (22:47):

You can’t have a what tailor.

Taylor Self (22:49):

You can’t have a placement outside the top 10 in this I in, especially in three workouts in this region, there’s just, you’re you have no chance if you’re outside the top 10 and more than one workout.

Sevan Matossian (22:59):

Uh, and what, and for those of you who didn’t see the workout, Matt McLeod was destroying the pack. He was killing everybody. He was killing it. And he was at the final, uh, event, which was the yolk carry the final movement. And it, and it, it stopped him. It just stopped him. And so we don’t have confirmation if that’s because of the weight or the height, but you guys are all speculating. It was it’s, uh, it’s the height. And that’s not, that sounds like another subject for the FAA. AA,

Andrew Hiller (23:24):

AA, P F

Sevan Matossian (23:26):

<laugh>. Thank

Andrew Hiller (23:26):

You. And then there is 14 a, you were right.

Sevan Matossian (23:30):

What do you guys think? Does that fall under there? Uh, Hey man, the equipment doesn’t fit this guy and what’s gonna happen to Colton

Andrew Hiller (23:36):

This.

Taylor Self (23:38):

Yeah. You can’t shorten a flip sled, but I will say he built his own. So I think he’s got that taken care of.

Andrew Hiller (23:42):

Correct. He’s just getting better.

Sevan Matossian (23:45):

Uh, Jr. Does any part of you like shut the fuck up? It’s the same equipment for everyone. Get out there and work. It’s the CrossFit.

JR Howell (23:51):

Oh no, no, no, no. Like, you know, I, you know, I’ve always kind of said, you know, they can give people risers that are shorter, but they can’t dig a hole in the ground if the rings are too short. So, you know, to an extent it’s gotta usable, it’s gotta be usable for everybody.

Sevan Matossian (24:06):

I mean, I, I said to Rob Orlando in 2009, as he, um, did that hill sprint and he got to the top, I said, are there is this event fair? And he says, he says, it doesn’t matter. CrossFits not fair. And there, and there is that’s, what’s kind of cool about it, right? Yeah. But, but, but you’re saying where you can make it fair. You should make it fair if, if the equipment should fit.

JR Howell (24:27):

Yeah. I mean, I think, you know, we don’t know what happened in athlete briefing. We don’t know if they were sized for ’em when they went out there. So, you know,

Sevan Matossian (24:36):

Uh, they sung happy birthday de Torian pro to car. Uh Saunder’s daughter.

Andrew Hiller (24:41):

That’s cool.

Sevan Matossian (24:42):

Everyone’s like, it’s so cute. It’s so cute. People in my house. Like, it’s so cute. And like it’s fucking inappropriate.

Taylor Self (24:47):

No, you love the, you love the community atmosphere there. It’s amazing. That’s

Andrew Hiller (24:50):

Awesome. Would you say it’s why what’s inappropriate about it?

Sevan Matossian (24:54):

I’m just like, I don’t give a shit, like stop pretending. Like it’s cute. My wife’s like, no, if it was your son, you’d think it’s cute. I was like, yeah. If it was my son

Taylor Self (25:01):

<laugh>

Sevan Matossian (25:02):

Oh, it is. She does have a cute kid. And I will say this. I’d never seen that kid wear shoes and that’s that’s boss.

Andrew Hiller (25:09):

I thought you were about to make some sort of comment about her like age and it’s like, no, you can’t tell her what her age is. Not, not this day and age. I thought you were talking politically seven

Sevan Matossian (25:19):

She’s she’s three. Uh, Jacob crouch is this, uh, Jay’s brother?

Andrew Hiller (25:27):

Yes.

Sevan Matossian (25:28):

Is it?

Andrew Hiller (25:28):

I don’t

Sevan Matossian (25:29):

Know. I was gonna say, who would Nick, can you imagine naming one of your kids, Jay and the other one, Jacob, the best thing that happened to Matt Fraser’s career was Ricky Gerard being removed from the sport for four years. Wow.

Taylor Self (25:38):

I, I can’t, I’m trying to understand, he’s saying Ricky rod, would’ve been a threat to Matt cuz there’s no

Andrew Hiller (25:43):

Fucking threat. That’s not, that’s not true. He would not have been a threat at

Taylor Self (25:46):

All.

Sevan Matossian (25:47):

It’s actually probably the, but I like his post. I actually think it’s probably the worst thing though, because it would’ve been a great rivalry. Yeah.

Taylor Self (25:53):

It would’ve been a fun rivalry, but

Andrew Hiller (25:54):

Just like your tutor and uh, Jason Hopper sort of thing. It would’ve been the Ricky and Matt show don’t

Taylor Self (26:01):

Know that

Sevan Matossian (26:03):

Badden gives credit to, uh, mayhem. When they ask him, Hey, how did you do it? What did you do? And he just says, mayhem programming, thoughts on that.

Taylor Self (26:12):

Uh,

Andrew Hiller (26:14):

So you brought that up already. And I just basically said he was trying to throw out an advertisement for the mayhem program.

Sevan Matossian (26:21):

I mean, it just seems, so it seems so natural. Just the way it comes off his tongue. It’s not like, you know, uh, I don’t think, I don’t think rich in the gang are like, now listen, if you make the podium, make sure you give us credit and we’ll give

Andrew Hiller (26:33):

5% off of, but Royce is also on mayhem. Right?

Sevan Matossian (26:35):

Right.

Taylor Self (26:37):

So why didn’t Royce make it mayhem

Sevan Matossian (26:40):

Because he didn’t follow it. Close enough.

Taylor Self (26:42):

I will say this. I think Matt McCloud’s prob or sorry. I think, uh, Baen, Brown’s probably in a place where he is feeling a lot of gratitude right now. Um, so I’m sure it’s easy for him to throw credit to, to the others, but to, to put it short, you know, to qualify any of these regions, you gotta work really fucking hard and the programming plays a part, but it’s more about how hard you work.

Sevan Matossian (27:02):

Uh, and, and I, when I hear someone like him who has a fourth kid on the way, and his three kids are in the stand, I don’t wanna hear anyone talk about any dumb shit, like privilege or advantage or, or someone didn’t do the hard work. There’s there’s if you have fucking three kids and they’re with you at the, at the event and you still qualify, especially if you don’t have kids, keep your mouth shut like that. That is absolutely bat shit, crazy nuts to be spread

Andrew Hiller (27:29):

Out. Where’s three kids,

Sevan Matossian (27:30):

Baby, and his wife’s pregnant with his fourth and just the emotional and intellectual spread. The, the, the most negative way to say it is drain on a human being, um, and still do well. And he, he’s a pretty cool cat. I did like the, um, people making fun of him and the comments about his voice. They said, uh, when they heard Jay crouch and Badden, uh, talk, someone said, what do they do? Give these guys a hit of helium before they, uh, do their interview.

Taylor Self (27:56):

I hit a, he

Sevan Matossian (27:58):

Alpha men with beta voices. It, it was brutal. It’s brutal in the comments. It’s brutal.

Andrew Hiller (28:02):

They’re doing everything they can to make the sport more interesting. Just hit a helium now gonna get the fricking post game interview.

Sevan Matossian (28:10):

Um, what’s the deal with, with, uh, Roy dun? Is he just too big? Why can’t, why can’t he get it down in

Andrew Hiller (28:17):

Fourth? He’s not he qualified last year.

JR Howell (28:19):

This is interesting too, on that final, if you guys watch that last heat. So I, you know, one thing I will say about the way that was programmed, it was pretty cool is

Sevan Matossian (28:27):

Sorry, jar, hold that thought. Um, Jr. Is referencing the, uh, are you talking about event six?

JR Howell (28:32):

Yeah, the one he got 14th on.

Taylor Self (28:34):

Okay. Hundred ups.

Sevan Matossian (28:35):

It’s a, it’s a row double under, uh, deadlift. You would think that, um, Royce would kill it. Sorry, go ahead, Jr.

JR Howell (28:42):

Yeah. So, you know, the way it’s programmed out is actually pretty cool because although most of the workout is spent on the rower, the separation, there is just seconds, right? Like probably three to 10 seconds across. If you trip up on the double unders or if your cycle rate isn’t as fast, you’re gonna get to the barbell two to five seconds, right. Slower than the field. And then if you’re not able to cycle the 4 0 5 fluidly and or you have to break them you’re

Andrew Hiller (29:11):

Or you have to put a belt on,

JR Howell (29:12):

You’re gonna, yeah. Or you chalk you’re gonna lose by four to five seconds on that movement. So movement to movement, the separation was almost identical, which I thought was really cool. And I think Roy tripped up once or twice on the double unders

Sevan Matossian (29:27):

Three times. I think I saw him three times Jr. Wow.

JR Howell (29:29):

So that, that, that was huge. And you see the separation there. I mean 14th to like it’s, it’s crazy.

Taylor Self (29:36):

Yeah. I will say the one thing I wanted to note about this is with that event and strong man, Diane being so fast. The other thing I don’t like about CrossFit interjecting their two workouts, um, without it being standardized across all six, is that now four out of the six events at the semifinal are under six minutes for most people, which is just a shame. I.

The above transcript is generated using AI technology and therefore may contain errors.

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