History Rewritten: Records Fall at the West Coast Classic – Morning Chalk Up

History Rewritten: Records Fall at the West Coast Classic - Morning Chalk Up

Credit: West Coast Classic (instagram.com/thewestcoastclassic/)

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CrossFits ability to continuously measure our progress is one of its undeniable traits that gets so many of us hooked. So for those of us who get particularly stoked about comparing performances and measuring improvement, nothing was more exciting than the West Coast Classic in Las Vegas, NV this weekend.

Remind me: The West Coast Classic Semifinal featured seven workouts that had previously been tested at either Regionals competitions, the CrossFit Invitationals or the Games between 2013 and 2019, making it the quintessential chance to assess how some of the top athletes in the world have progressed in recent years, both as individuals and as a community as a whole.

A Closer Look

Event 1: 2016 Regionals Snatch Ladder10 squat snatches (185/135 pounds)8 squat snatches (205/145 pounds)6 squat snatches (225/155 pounds)4 squat snatches (245/165 pounds)2 squat snatches (265 pounds/175 pounds)

In 2016, the top mens time across all eight regions was Mat Frasers time of 6:05.29, while the top female time was 5:29.82 by Kara Saunders. Both times were taken down in Las Vegas: Tola Morakinyo had the top mens time with 5:49.53, and Kloie Wilson posted the top female time of 5:28.26.

Worth noting: Whats even more impressive than Morakinyo and Wilsons times was the depth of the field on the weekend. In 2016, only 33 percent of the mens field of 321 athletes across all regions completed the event under the time cap, while only 20.7 percent of the womens field finished. At the time, just finishing the workout was seen as a major accomplishment.

Notable individual improvements: In the competition against themselves, Noah Ohlsen, Cole Sager, Regan Huckaby and Kari Pearce all boasted huge personal bests from 2016.

Event 2: 2014 CrossFIt Games Legless27 thrusters (95/65 pounds)4 legless rope climbs21 thrusters3 legless rope climbs15 thrusters2 legless rope climbs9 thrusters1 legless rope climb

Legless in 2013 was the first time legless rope climbs were introduced in competition, and to say athletes struggled with the movement, especially on the womens side, is an understatement. In fact, only two women completed the workout under the 10 minute time cap that year: Alessandra Pichelli and Christy Adkins.

Worth noting: Twenty women on the weekend completed Legless before the time cap, 19 of whom bested Pichellis top time of 9:33.7 from 2013. Further, the fastest time on the weekend put up by Pearce (6:21.2) was more than three minutes faster than Pichellis in 2013.

Event 3: 2019 CrossFit Games Ruck Ruck6K Ruck Run with increasing weight each lap(10, 30, 40, 50 pounds for the women, 20, 40, 50, 60 for the men)

Though the event on the weekend was similar to the 2019 CrossFit Games, it was much more challenging at the West Coast Classic, and not just because of the hot desert sun that caused Kristine Best to withdraw from the competition and Dani Speegle to stop after the third lap.

Event 4: 2017 CrossFit Games Triple-G Chipper100 pull-ups80 GHD sit-ups60 one-legged squats40 calorie row20 single arm dumbbell push press (100/70 pounds)

In 2017, the Triple-G Chipper at the Games was won by Saunders in a time of 10:45.72 and Fraser in a time of 10:46.46. Both times were bested at the West Coast Classic.

Notable individual improvements: Shadburne crushed her time from 2017 by more than two and a half minutes, while Pearce shed more than a minute off her 2017 performance. On the mens side, Ohlsen improved his score by a minute and 39 seconds, while Sager crushed his 2017 time by more than two minutes.

Event 5: 2017 Regionals Finale30/25 calorie bike20 burpee box jump overs (30/24 inch)10 D-ball cleans (150, 100 pounds)

While the event in Las Vegas was similar to the 2017 Regionals event, there was one major difference: In 2017, athletes cleaned a sandbag at the end of the event, and on the weekend they used a D-ball. So a direct comparison is likely not 100 percent accurate.

But just for fun: Both the winning times from the 2017 Regionals competitions Sara Sigmundsdottir (3:26.92) and Andrey Ganin (2:54.39) were, once again, beaten at the West Coast Classic.

Event 6: 2014 CrossFit Games Push Pull9 strict deficit handstand push-ups18 toes-to-bar60-foot sled pull60-foot sled push10 handstand push-ups20 toes-to-bar60-foot sled pull60-foot sled push11 handstand push-ups22 toes-to-bar60-foot sled pull60-foot sled push12 handstand push-up24 toes-to-bar60-foot sled pull60-foot sled push

The Push Pull event on the weekend was the most different from its original form. The original event didnt include the 84 toes-to-bar, nor did it include sled (Torque Tank in this case) pushing. Further, the handstand push-ups repetitions were lower in 2014, and the pull portion of the workout involved pulling a weighted sled as opposed to a Torque Tank. Thus, the 2014 event was more of a sprint, while the event on the weekend had a 17-minute time cap.

Event 7: 2015 Regionals Closer15 ring muscle-ups1 squat clean (235/150 pounds)1 squat clean (255/165 pounds)1 squat clean (275/180 pounds)1 squat clean (285/190 pounds)1 squat clean (295/200 pounds)

Again, this final workout on the weekend in Las Vegas was similar to, but not the exact same as the 2015 regionals event.

Worth noting: Considering the barbells were considerably heavier at the West Coast Classic, a direct comparison doesnt seem fair. However, leave it to the athletes to boast comparable scores to 2015 even when the final barbell was 30 pounds heavier for the men and 25 pounds heavier for the women than it was six years ago.

Notable individual improvements: Despite the significantly heavier barbells, Pearce actually beat her time from 2015 by almost 30 seconds 2:32.0 in 2015 and 2:03.21 on the weekend while Noah Ohlsen posted the exact same time from 2015 (1:24)

The bottom line: As impressive as Pichelli was in 2014 when she showed the world how to kip a legless rope climb and finish Legless before the time cap, or as great as Fraser was on the Snatch Ladder in 2016, the athletes from the West Coast Classic proved just how much fitter they are today. The questions then become: What is the limit of human fitness? Is there a limit?

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History Rewritten: Records Fall at the West Coast Classic - Morning Chalk Up