The 2017 Crossfit Games is now less than one week away, so here is our rundown of UK athletes who are heading to Madison to test their fitness.
Samantha Briggs
The 2013 Crossfit Games champion needs no introduction. Sam is a Games veteran, who at the age of 35 managed to qualify to compete in the Rxd division and the Masters 35-39 category.
In a recent Q&A interview with GLC2000 (click here if you missed it), Sam admitted she seriously injured her shoulder just 2 weeks before the 2016 Games; severely restricting her ability to perform certain movements. Even with this injury she narrowly missed the podium finishing in 4th place.
“A fully fit Sam Briggs almost isn’t fair to the other competitors”
In the same Q&A interview Sam said that the shoulder she had operated on is now outperforming her non-surgery shoulder. So a fully fit Sam Briggs could well be in the running this year.
Catherine Wilson
Cathy finished 14th in the world in the 45-49 age group Crossfit masters online qualifiers to book her place to Madison. Since then she has started training in a greenhouse to prepare for the heat and humidity of Madison, as well as building up to 60 minute EMOMs to build her engine!
In 2015 Cathy was struggling with shoulder issues that meant she was not very confident with overhead lifts and volume. You can read how GLC2000 helped her here.
With strong finishes in workouts that involved high volume dumbbell snatches and shoulder to overheads, it looks like Cathy’s shoulders are stronger than ever.
Patrick Murray
A first place finish in the 50-54 category for workout 2 of Crossfit masters online qualifiers helped Patrick secure 9th place overall and a trip to the Crossfit Games.
Training out of Blitz Crossfit in Twickenham, as well as being a full time firefighter means Patrick will be well supported in Madison.
Len Dandridge
Having only started Crossfit in 2014, it is impressive to see Len qualify 16th in the world in the 55-59 age category of the online qualifiers.
Fitness has always been part of Len’s life, from gymnastics as a child to 10 years of BJJ as an adult.
He says he has always had a “passion for using my muscles, moving my body around, challenging my fitness, learning new techniques, working on becoming more mentally and physically robust, getting involved in competition.”
We look forward to watching Len in action next week in Madison.
Team JST
Crossfit JST have created a true super team, drafting experienced regional athletes and a former Crossfit Games athlete to train and compete together.
Their Meridian regionals performance was dominant, with a good buffer to second place. Many of these athletes have sacrificed a lot to make their dream of reaching the Crossfit Games a reality, and now they have qualified they are definitely not there to just make up the numbers. These guys are going to be well supported across the UK, and deservedly so. Good luck Team JST.
