May 27-29
Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge (MACC): Knoxville, Tennessee.
You WILL NOT want to miss this week’s commentary of the MACC, hosted by the Sevan Podcast. Just pull up a live stream of the MACC and press mute. On a separate tab or device, pull up the Sevan Podcast on YouTube to enjoy Taylor Self, Brian Friend, J.R. Howell, and Andrew Hiller give you the insight that you deserve.
Who’s in the MACC and why should you care?
Our friend of the show, Noah Ohlsen, will be competing at the MACC this weekend. Last year, he finished 10th at the Games and 2nd at the West Coast Classic. With a 4th place finish in North America this year for Quarterfinals, we can expect to see Mr. Consistent do what he does, and most likely be on the podium by the end of the weekend.
Keep your eyes on the younger Panchik-Bros. Saxon, who placed 5th in the Games last year and 1st at the Granite Games, has also placed 6th in North America for 2022 Quarterfinals. While his brother, Spencer Panchik, placed 7th last year at the West Coast Classic, and had an 11th place finish this year in North America for Quarterfinals. Will this be the year that Spencer can finally carry on the family tradition and break through for a Games appearance?
On the other side, expect to see DBE, better known as Sevan’s favorite female CrossFitter, get herself on top of the women’s podium. Danielle Brandon finished 11th at last year’s Games, and this year we see her coming off a 3rd place finish in North America for Quarterfinals.
Expect to see some improvement this season with Baylee Rayl, who last year, finished 18th at the Games and 2nd at the Atlas Games. This year, she finished Quarterfinals in an unassuming 38th place in North America, but training at the Mayhem Empire, we can expect to see some re-tooling.
Brooke Wells finished in 20th place last year at the Games, and in the process, suffered a devastating elbow injury which later required surgery. This year, after a seemingly full recovery, she was able to finish 5th in the Open, and 7th in North America for Quarterfinals. This weekend will be a good test for her. Find out just how far she has come and what is still needed for her to earn the crown of Fittest Woman on Earth.
CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town: Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Sadly, there are fewer stories less compelling than the Fittest in Cape Town. On the men’s side, we have Jason Smith, who finished 26th at the Games last season, and 1st a year ago at Fittest in Cape Town. He took 1st this year in Africa for Quarterfinals, and no one would be surprised to see him qualify again.
For the Women we have Michelle Basnett. Last year, she was 32nd at the Games and finished 1st at Fittest in Cape town. This year she finished 2nd in Africa for the Quarterfinals.
There just isn’t a lot happening in Africa. No major implications for the Games are on the line. But with that comes a huge opportunity for some of the younger athletes to step forward and make a name for themselves. If someone can earn a spot to the Games because that region is relatively weaker, than they might get themselves some experience that could likely get their career to the next level.
