Two bronze and two gold medals - Czechoslovak athletes dominated the Athens Throwdown!
Author: Throwdowns are crossfit multi-day competitions that bring athletes from all over the world. They are held throughout the year in different but very interesting locations. For example, in May alone there will be twenty-one of them! One in Turkey, two in the USA and eighteen in the UK!
We went to the Athens Throwdown, which took place 12-14 April 2019.
The individual categories in which athletes could enter were Elite Man, Scaled Man, Masters Man 35+, Masters Man 40+, Masters Man 45+, Masters Man 50+, Teenage Boys, Elite Women, Scaled Women, Masters Women 35+, Masters Women 40+, Masters Women 45+, Masters Women 50+, Teenage Girls, Team Elite, Team Scaled
Athletes had to go through an online qualifier before the actual competition. We only look at the qualifying wods for the main categoies, but if anyone is interested in the other categories, they can check out the qualifying wods here.
Qualifiers Workouts for Elite Men / Women
WOD 1
Type.
Time cap: 12:00
Description:
For Time 12'
5 Rounds of
12 Shoulder to Overhead 60/45kg
12 Front Squat 60/45kg
12 Toes to Bar
WOD 2
Type: maximum repetitions
Time cap: 15:00
Description:
AMRAP 15'
10 Box Jumps Over (60/50cm)
15/12 calories Row
20 alternate Dumbbell Snatches 22.5/15kg
10 Box Jumps Over (60/50cm)
15/12 calories Row
40 Double Unders
WOD 3
Type.
Time cap: 06:00
Description:
For Time 6'
20 Deadlifts 110/75kg
20 Facing Burpees over Bar
10 Ring Muscle Up
20 Facing Burpees over Bar
20 Deadlifts 130/95kg
(2 barbells are allowed)
Qualifiers Workouts for Scaled Men/Women
WOD 1
Type.
Time cap: 12:00
Description:
For Time 12'
5 Rounds of
12 Shoulder to Overhead 40/25kg
12 Front Squat 40/25kg
12 Hanging Knee Raises
WOD 2
Type: maximum repetitions
Time cap: 15:00
Description:
AMRAP 15'
10 Box Jumps Over (60/50cm)
15/12 calories Row
20 alternate Dumbbell Snatches 15/10kg
10 Box Jumps Over (60/50cm)
15/12 calories Row
40 Single Unders
WOD 3
Type.
Time cap: 06:00
Description:
For Time 6'
20 Deadlifts 70/45kg
20 Facing Burpees over Bar
10 Pull Ups
20 Facing Burpees over Bar
20 Deadlifts 90/65kg
(2 barbells are allowed)
Czechoslovak athletes!
Czech and Slovak athletes also competed in these games, far from home! Even though the competition was great and the level of competition was high, our athletes fought bravely. We also asked them a few questions. We definitely have nothing to be ashamed of, because after the overall evaluation our athletes turned out like this:
Open Gym (Jiří Holub,Markéta Moudra, Filip Valouch -Czech Republic) 1st place - Scaled Team (77 teams) Facebook
Chauves, first of all we would like to congratulate you for the first place! When you went to Athens, did you expect to be on the box? Were you thinking gold?
We certainly didn't expect this, we came here to enjoy the races, of course we wanted the best result, but this surprised us.
How did the wods suit you? Did you expect them to be lighter?
After the first day we were very happy because after the worst thing that could have happened - the run, we still held fourth place! And today was absolutely fabulous, we won one wod and ended up taking gold, which we really didn't expect!
Are you planning any individual races?
Markéta: I just got to race in Rome, which is where I'm going, so I guess not otherwise.
Filip: I would like to race in Brno (Mad Games), otherwise I have a lot going on in my personal life right now, so we'll see.
Jiri: Since I turned thirty-five this year, I'm going to try to race in the thirty-five to thirty-nine category. We'll see how it goes.
Kara Frey (SK) 1st place - Elite Woman (39 competitors) Instagram / Facebook
This graceful Slovakian CrossFitter finished firstin her country at the Reebok Open CrossFit Gamesthis year , earning her a direct qualification to the Reebok CrossFit Games Preliminary Round! We have to mention that Kara is so "pumped" this year that she finished 12th overall in the Open in the Elite Women category in a global comparison! Make sure to remember Kara Frey's name because you will definitely be hearing it again!
Hi Kara, so how do you like the Athens Throwdown? Is this your first time here?
Hi. Hi. It's my fourth time at this competition, and it's my third win so far. I had a very hard training camp last weekend, unfortunately it was because I got sick, so it was the hardest competition for me so far.
How did the races and individual wods suit you?
At the beginning I thought it would be good, but some things surprised me. For example, the C&J where I lifted lower max than I should have, but on the other hand the wods that revolved around gymnastics were pretty good.
Is all of your training now going towards the Reebok CrossFit Games, or do you have anything else planned?
I was planning on doing a few competitions, but after this one I changed my mind pretty quickly. I'm just going to focus on preparing for the Games.
And what are your goals for the Games? Are you going in with the intention of doing your best, or do you have a goal you want to achieve?
I don't have a goal yet, but maybe to be in the top 20.
Finally, Kara, tell us how are you doing with your maxes on C&J and snatch?
Snatch 95kg and C&J at 111kg, but with me being sick now, it's gone down a bit..
Hey, Mark. It's the second day after the race, what are your feelings so far?
Hey, so far so good. The races are going pretty well, after the second day I'm in something like 20th to 22nd place. The atmosphere here is great and the races are very packed!
If you compare these races with the Czech level, is the level the same?
The level here is very high. The elite racers here are on a completely different level.
Tomorrow is Sunday, the last two wods, how would you like to place?
I'd like to finish in the final heats so I can compete with the best and hopefully place in the top 25.
You raced in Rome last year, when you compare these two races, do you find the level different as well?
As far as the elite category is concerned, I find it a lot better here. The atmosphere is also better here.
Hi Martin, could you introduce yourself a little bit?
Hi, I am 23 years old, I train at ALFA PRIME CrossFit in Bratislava under the guidance of coach Radoslav Ivan.
How do you feel about competitions?
I think I did relatively well. For the fact that there are about 100 competitors in my category.
Did you take these races as training or really as a race? A lot of athletes go to races during their training schedule to test themselves and see where they stand.
The highlight of the season for me was around the time the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games Open ended . I had been training for that since November with my coach. I finished second in that one in Slovakia . So now my season is just starting, so we'll see what happens.
Tell us your maxes for C&J and snatch?
Snatch during the Open 125kg and C&J 155kg, but separate squat clean 160kg and split jerk 160kg.
Petr Schlegel finished bronze at the Athens Throwdown, could you introduce yourself a bit to us Petr?
Hi, I'm Petr Schlegel from Hradec Kralove - CrossFit Steel Wings. I've been doing crossfit for a while now, currently in the older men 35+ category.
What are your feelings now - after the announcement and after the competition?
After two years I'm finally on the podium, the feelings are nice, it was hard earned, three hard days and I'm happy.
What about the wods, did they suit you or were they different than you expected?
I didn't really think about it... Anyway, they were varied, surprisingly there was no extra strength, maybe I was expecting something a bit different. I don't try to decide if something fits or doesn't fit, I just accept what is and try to do my best.
As for the Athens throwdown, did you like it?
Organisationally great, the judges worked well, it's a nice race with everything, there's not much to fault it.
Was there a moment during the competition when something didn't sit right with you? In the sense that the races showed you what you need to work on more, what is your weakness?
After all the years I've been training, I know where my weaknesses and strengths are. No less I know that I didn't enjoy running, I didn't get enough mileage and that punished me a bit.
Josef Tichý (CZ) 3rd place - Masters Man 40+ (23 competitors) Facebook
Hey, Pepa. Can you tell us about yourself?
Petr Tichý, I competed in the masters 40+ category, I'm from Most and I compete for CrossFit Praha. Zdeněk Weig has been coaching me for the fourth year and this medal is also thanks to him!
What are your feelings after the competition? Were you expecting to have a bronze medal around your neck?
I think I finished fourth or fifth in the qualification and the races are something different than the qualification, so I had a vision that the medal could be there.
How did the wods suit you?
I was a bit disappointed that the powerlifting - max on the C&J combined with ring muscle-ups, was only for the elite categories. I think that's a big shame. From my point of view, the race suffered a bit from that, it wasn't complete.
Did you enjoy the race?
I managed to win two wods. Those are the moments that feel indescribable. Every wod just hurts and if someone says to me, enjoy it, they probably don't know what the races are about, it's not about enjoying it during, it's about enjoying it after.
What are your racing plans for the future?
I'll be going to Budapest for the European Masters Throwdown, where I'll be racing in the same category. It's my fourth time going there and I have the same ambitions as here.
Racing WODS
The race consisted of five wods and also the so-called "Side Events", which were classic wods that counted towards the main race like any other wod, they just weren't run on a classic race course but at different venues. The first "Side Events" - running along the coast. Second "Side Events" - elite categories only. A) weightlifting B) ring muscle ups.
If you decide to visit the Athnes Throwdown you certainly won't go wrong. As far as the organizational aspect is concerned, the races went like clockwork. There were no or minimal delays. The judges worked great! Each heat (group of athletes) consisted of twenty-five athletes, with each athlete having a judge. There were also four head judges (head judges) who walked the course to check not only the athletes, but also the judges to correct the athletes correctly and fairly.
Judge the individual wods for yourself if you found them too challenging or vice versa. As CrossFit standards increase and everyone wants to see constant progression, higher performances and proper weights even wods at these events are subject to pressure from the outside, so they have no choice but to adapt..
Some athletes may also be motivated by the so-called "prize money" for the winners. In the individual categories they split 31,400€ and in the team categories 10,500€!!
Most of these big races (throwdowns), like these, are at venues that are very attractive to athletes. That is why most of them are associated with holidays. Definitely don't be afraid to travel, race and watch!
A big THANK YOU to the photographer Lence DrápalováWEB / Facebook, who took beautiful pictures of these races!
No posts have been made yet.
