wzamedia

Between the elite women’s and men’s heats of “Celebrate Ten” on Saturday night, fans and athletes came together to celebrate the history and present of Wodapalooza. Following an epic video of workouts and crowds from every year since 2012, Noah Ohlsen, who has competed in Bayfront Park every year and has become the face of WZA, took the stage to honor the creators and the community.

“This is incredible,” he said, “my heart is racing and it’s full of passion and energy and excitement.” 

After recounting some of his favorite memories from the past ten years on the competition floor, Ohlsen said “my favorite memories have been off the competition floor…Wodapalooza is about connection and community…none of any of this means anything without you guys, so thank you fans.” 

He thanked Matt O’Keefe (President, Loud and Live Sports) for taking over the event and continuing to build it. Then, he asked the crowd to give it up for  Dylan Malitsky (Vice President, Loud and Live Sports), and Stacey Konstantinov (Director of Community Event Relations, Loud and Live Sports), “the backbone of Wodapalooza.” 

Finally, he thanked Guido Trinidad (Founder of Wodapalooza), “the one that had the idea for the event and brought it to life, the reason that we’re all here tonight.”

The Wodapalooza creator came out to center stage next to a loud ovation. “I almost teared up there,” he started. “Every celebration has a purpose,” Trinidad said, “the purpose of this celebration since its inception has always been to acknowledge that we have a gift and the gift is fitness, community, and life.”  He continued, “this event was created by the community for the community.” 

He asked the crowd in the stands to turn to one another and say “thanks.” 

Finally, Matt O’Keefe took the microphone to bring the celebration to an end. “Wodapalooza is the sum of many, many, many parts–it’s partners, it’s volunteers, it’s athletes, it’s staff, and it’s you,” he said to the crowd. 

“All of you have your own Wodapalooza story. You bring this thing to life every year. You redefine it and you raise the bar. We love you. Thank you.”    

Day three opened clear and bright at Bayfront Park as athletes readied themselves to swim with the sharks and get inverted. The events on the docket included “Row, Swim, Run” and “Celebrate Ten” for athletes, while Mat Fraser autographed his new book “HWPO” and fans packed all four stages. The end-to-end free live stream continued for fans at home.

In “Row, Swim, Run,” competitors started at the Tina Hills stage for a spin on the Assault Air Rower before running to the bay and swimming to the Bayside where they finished on the Assault Air Runner. In a repeat performance of event one on Thursday, both Mayhem teams walked away with top podium spots. On the men’s side, Mayhem in Paradise (Rich Froning, Angelo Diciccio, and Luke Parker) edged out Blueprint (Will Kane, Felix Rehder, and Joshua Wichrup) by 17 seconds. The Boys (Noah Ohlsen, Chandler Smith, and Travis Mayer) grabbed third, three seconds later. The women were up next and MayFem (Andrea Nisler, Haley Adams, and Taylor Williamson) locked up an event win, their second of the competition. Team Kriger (Ingrid Hodemyr, Kristin Holte, and Lena Richter) took second with Team GOWOD (Mia Hesketh, Julie Hougard, and Solveig Sigurdardottir) close behind.

The elite individual women took on the cardio test next and it was Lucy Campbell who took the win with a strong swim and run in 21:28, followed by Emma Tall at 22:25 and Emily Rolfe at 22:45. On the men’s side, Taylor Self earned his first-ever WZA event, with a time of 22:30, while James Sprague finished second and Matt Poulin tooke third.

The final event of the day, “Celebrate Ten” featured ten rounds of work–the first five included handstand push-ups and heavy overhead squats and the second five included ring muscle-ups and lighter overhead squats. 

Again the teams were up first and on the men’s side, The Boys locked up first place with a time of 13:06, building a solid lead in the first half of the workout. Team Hercules (Logan Collins, Roy Gamboa, and Travis Williams) squeaked out second place, only a moment ahead of Samsarellemann (Tyler Eggimann, Phillip Muscarella, and Denis Samsonov). The women were up next and it was a tight battle for the top spot. When the dust settled, MayFem grabbed the event win two seconds ahead of Team Kriger. 3 Blind Mice took third eight seconds later.

The individuals took on “Celebrate Ten” next with the women on the floor first. The youngster, Anikha Greer, in her first elite, in-person competition nabbed her first event win, going unbroken the whole way through. Fee Saghafi finished second and Arielle Loewen came in third. On the men’s side, Colten Mertens went sub-ten minutes for the event win followed by Scott Panchik and Phil Toon.

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Day two at Wodapalooza 2022 dawned with a few clouds in the sky and a cool breeze off the bay. All divisions took on two events – “The MIA Bar Complex” and “The Bayside Chipper.” Spectators continued to run The Gauntlet and fans teemed through vendor village and filled the stands, enjoying the cool weather, while the free live stream broadcasted all the action, on all the stages, to fans at home.

Elite teams took on “The MIA Bar Complex” first, a descending rep scheme of hang cleans, front squats and shoulder-to-overheads with increasing load, and on the women’s side, Team GOWOD (Mia Hesketh, Julie Hougard, and Solveig Sigurdardottir) followed up third and second place finishes yesterday with an event win. MayFem (Andrea Nisler, Taylor Williamson, and Haley Adams) took second, while Team Kriger (Ingrid Hodemyr, Kristin Holte, and Lena Richter) took fourth, but all three teams remained tied with 291 total points.

On the men’s side, The Boys (Travis Mayer, Noah Ohlsen, and Chandler Smith) started the day off like they finished the previous evening–with an event win. Two and a Half men (Viktor Langsved, Ioannis Papadopoulos, and Kevin Winkens) took second, while Team Hercules (Logan Collins, Roy Gamboa, and Travis Williams) rounded out the event podium.

The elite men took the floor next for the barn-burner of a bar complex and when the dust settled, Anthony Davis took the event win in a scorching 1:46, 2 seconds ahead of second-place Phil Toon. Colten Mertens took third at 1:56.

The women put on a lifting clinic next, scorching through the complex faster than the men. Tayla Howe cleared the lane in 1:29 winning the event with Dani Speegle close behind at 1:33, while Emma Tall took third in 1:39.

“The Bayside Chipper” closed out day two and included box jump overs, front rack box step overs, rope climbs, burpee box jump overs, and kettlebell deadlifts. The teams were on the floor first and the top three teams battled it out once again. Team Kriger took first and ended the day in first overall, MayFem finished second, and Team GOWOD took third. At the end of day two, only 6 points separate all three.

The Boys maintained their overall first place position, taking third in the event, but it was Samsarellamann (Tyler Eggimann, Phillip Muscarella, and Denis Samsonov) who took the event win. Training Culture (Alexander Anasagasti, Pablo Cazalis, and Aniol Ekai) finished in third.

The elite women tackled the chipper next and the final heat featured a race between Emma McQuaid, Fee Saghafi, and Bethany Shadburne. The Fittest Woman in Ireland took the event, while Saghafi crossed the finish eight seconds later. Australian Ellie Turner maintained the overall lead at the end of the day with Emma McQuaid and Shadburne trailing.

Before a surprise fireworks show over the bay, the elite men displayed some fireworks of their own. Patrick Vellner regained the overall lead by taking the event win, while Alexandre Caron moved into second place. The youngster, James Sprague, took third. 

There’s a full slate of events for all divisions on Saturday, as well as a HWPO workout with Mat Fraser, a spectator workout with Kristi Eramo-O’Connell and Pat O’Connell, a swim clinic with Ryan Lochte, Amanda Barnhart and Annie Thorisdottir, and a CrossFit Affiliates seminar with Gary Gaines, GM of Global Affiliates