All language subtitles for Fittest.On.Earth.A.Decade.of.Fitness.2017.1080p.WEBRip.x264-RARBG

[narrator] In 2007,
a handful of friends

got together on a small
Northern California ranch

to determine who among them
was the most fit.

The event was known
as the CrossFit Games.

A decade of fitness later,
the sport has outgrown
the ranch

and expanded its reach
worldwide,

further validating the title
of Fittest on Earth.

In sport, the margin
between winning and losing

can be traced back
to fractions of a second.

A slip on the blocks
or a flick of the wrist

could be the difference
between victory and defeat.

The sport of fitness
is no different.

[crowd cheering]

[Sean Woodland] This is it,
to close out

the 2015 Reebok CrossFit Games.

I can still get him.
He's right there.

[Sean]
Smith with a no-rep!

And here comes Mat Fraser!

[Mat] I swear, if I
have to get introduced

as the second fittest man,
I want that [bleep] now.

[Sean] Second last year
to Rich Froning,

and Fraser will have to wait
at least another year

before he stands
on top of the podium.

Today, Superman
does not wear a red cape,

he wears a CrossFit Games jersey
and a gold medal!

Ben Smith is
the Fittest Man on Earth!

[Ben Smith]
It wasn't a fluke last year.

I trained, if not harder
than anybody else out there,

every single day, all year.

I feel like I have a shot to win
anytime I go to the game,

so that's why I've always
thought that in the past.

You know, this year is
absolutely no different.

I'm feeling better than
I've ever felt.

[Sean] Your 2015
Reebok CrossFit Games champion

is Katrin Davidsdottir!

[cheering]

[Katrin] Back-to-back wins
is a huge statement.

It proves what I've done
is no fluke.

I'm fitter than I've ever been.

I'm stronger
than I've ever been.

Where I am right now is enough
to win the CrossFit Games.

[Sara] I think about it
every single day.

[Sean]
Here's Sara Sigmundsdottir

who could be seeing the title
of Fittest Woman on Earth

slipping through her fingers.

[Sara] I was like,
I'm gonna think
about that moment

every day now
when I want to give up.

I don't ever want to feel
like that again.

The CrossFit Games
are fun to watch,

and they are frickin' cool.

The misconception is that
the CrossFit Games
are a CrossFit.

It's not the case.

In a typical affiliate,
you walk in

and you're gonna see
people just like you
in a local community.

You're gonna
see your soccer mom,

high-powered CEOs
working out next to janitors,

people from all walks of life,
all trying to pursue

a better version
of who they can be.

What we're trying to accomplish
through CrossFit.com programming

and our affiliates is getting
people good at life.

[Justin Bergh] So CrossFit's
really a lifestyle.

It's a philosophy,
it's a belief.

It's a way of taking care
of your body

and preparing yourself
for anything

that the world throws at you.

[woman] Go, go, go!

[Justin] We're fighting
chronic disease,
getting people better.

It's life goals, it's,
"I wanna be a better person.

I want to have more discipline,
I want to lose
a little bit of weight,"

or just be better, period.

[Pat Sherwood] Regular folks
that have a job, have a family,

have other things going on.

We're not trying to be
the fittest person in the world.

We just want to be
in great shape

and have a high quality
of life and avoid

all the metabolic diseases
hitting the world.

You can go to the gym,
hit one workout,

hit it super hard,
stretch a little bit,

go home, eat clean--
you're great.

[Justin] And the CrossFit Games
is very different,

and then it's a test
to determine the number-one man,

number-one woman
in the entire world

who is the fittest.

A CrossFit athlete does
one workout, rests,

does another, rests,
does another.

[Justin]
So when a CrossFit Games
athlete walks into the gym,

they're doing the same thing
that those people are doing,

but they're doing
so much more.

You look at some
of the top athletes,

they've gone beyond controlling
every single lifestyle factor--

sleep, what passes their lips
and goes into their bellies.

Some of them are talking
to sports psychologists

just trying to get
that one extra edge
to visualize performance

in order to maximize
their abilities

on the competition floor.

I think that you can move
the needle outside the walls
of the gym.

I don't know what's gonna do it.

I don't know if it's gonna be
from self-reflection and diary.

I don't know if it's gonna be
from recording your macros.

I don't know if it's
gonna be from, make sure you
don't have any processed foods.

But we're gonna do all of it
and hope that some of it works.

Our athletes now
are professional athletes.

-Ow! Ow! Ow!
-[Ben Bergeron] They're
committing their lives to this.

They suffer really hard.

Very few people in any sport
in the world outwork them.

Being a CrossFit Games athlete
is basically a mental illness.

[Katrin] All I want to do
every single day is
wake up and train

and become better.

[Josh Bridges] I don't think
about much else right now.

You know, I think about
working out, preparing myself,

how I'm eating, and then I go
to bed at nine o'clock,

and then I wake up
and I do it again.

[Sara] You can't have
anything else.

That's just how it is.

You can't work,
you can't go to school.

[Ben Smith] I do train all year,
and I think I train

almost just as hard
in the off-season
as I do in-season.

I don't really think
there's an "off-season."

[Sara] I love the pain
and I love the suffering.

[Mat] The more and more
I keep training,

the more and more I realize

there's so many more things
that I need to get better at.

[Ben Smith] It's kind of like
a continuous process

of learning, failing, growing,

and then going and repeating
that over and over.

[Katrin] Champions
don't have balance,

and the reason that they are
exceptional at what they do

is because they focus all
their time and energy on it.

Could my nutrition be better?
Can my sleep be better?

You always want to maximize
everything.

I want to be a tiger,
so I don't think I, like...

We used to talk about this
with my grandma.

I think we're like a deer.
That's like our animal.

Like inside, we're a deer,
but I wanna be a tiger.

And I...
I'm gonna be a tiger.

I don't know, deer are
so like, I don't know,
like, light and hopping,

and it's got light
inside of it.

It's what we want.
We want to... We want to have
light inside of us.

But tigers are like so fierce

and like, you know, they want
to be out in the field,

and they, you know...

"Put me in, Coach."

That's the tiger.

[laughs]

Since winning the games in 2015,
my life has changed.

There is so much more
attention, and...

They'll look at my arm,
and it looks like...

[laughter]

I get to go to Reebok
and build shoes

and my own tank top.

Inside of my shoes,
it's kind of cool.

Like inside of one sole,
I have my signature,

and then the other one,
it has, "Be the best me."

And the same thing on my shirt.

So it has like "Dottir" going
across the shirt

and then "Be the best me."
It means a lot to me.

Everyone's talking
about competing against others.

You're put against others,
you're put in a line

and told who can go the fastest,
and they think that, you know,

to be the fastest
that you can be
or to be the best athlete,

you have to go faster
than other athletes.

No, you have to go
as fast as you can go,

and that has nothing
to do with anyone else.

It's only to do with
what's inside of myself.

I want to be the best me.

[Ben Smith]
I always have thought,
why can't somebody compete

in multiple sports, why can't
somebody be good at everything?

Why is everybody just focused
on one specific thing?

Kind of like a superhero,
you know what I mean,
like they can do everything.

It's just that cool
like super-athlete,

just wanting to be able
to be athletic

in every possible realm
that you can have,

and CrossFit popped up,
and it was like, yeah, you got
to be good at everything,

not great at any one thing,
and I was like, that's pretty
awesome, that's pretty cool.

I thought it was--
I just was attracted to it
right off the bat.

Just kind of where
I pointed my energy
in the last seven years.

We are at First Landing
State Park,

hanging out,
playing some spike ball,
getting some sunburn.

[man] When was the last time
you were tan?

What? What does that even mean?

No, I wasn't-- I'm never tan.
I've never been tan.

I remember the first time
he really kind of started
getting into fitness was

he was doing
push-ups outside

and he wanted to take his mind
off of his arms hurting,

so he gives me
this plastic golf club

and says, "Alec, hit me in
the legs as hard as you can,"

while he's doing push-ups.

And so... [laughs]
I take this plastic golf club

and just, I'm whacking him
in the legs and he's like
still doing his push-ups,

trying to take his mind
off of his arms hurting.

I really legitimately
don't remember that.

Did he actually tell
a story like that?

Did he dream of that?

Because I have never heard
of that in my entire life.

Besides being extremely gifted
and having a huge work ethic

and having years of CrossFit
underneath your belt,

you have to completely commit
to changing your life

to that is your sole existence
and goal.

And even then, you're probably
not going to make it.

[Sean] You don't know
how good you have to be

just to suck
at the CrossFit Games.

[Tommy Marquez]
Once upon a time,
the CrossFit Games

was more backyard barbecue
than it was sporting event.

So the CrossFit Games started
in 2007.

It basically started
as a backyard barbecue

on Dave Castro's family's ranch.

This is the Woodstock
of fitness right here.

[Dave] It went from a small
event on my family's ranch

with, you know,
50, 60 competitors,
a hundred spectators.

And some competitors even drank
beers in between events.

Now, in the modern area,
we actually have
a qualification process.

We have the worldwide open.

[Dave] This year we had

over 300,000 people competing

in the first stages.

[Sean] Out of
those 320,000 people,

in eight regionals,

we had 40 men and 40 women

make it from there,

so right away, you can see
how much we pared it down.

And those 40 men and 40 women
that went to those eight
regional competitions

are absolute, total ninjas who,
if you took any of them
back to 2007,

probably would've won the game,
so that's how good they are.

To give you an idea how much
fitter these athletes are now,

in 2009, we tested the snatch
at the CrossFit Games,

and the winning lift
for the women was 145 pounds.

This year
at the regional level,

athletes had to snatch
135 pounds 10 times

at the beginning of a workout
just to be able to remain
in contention.

And if you get
to the CrossFit Games,

it means that you're
in the top one percent
of the world's

best athletes, bar none.

[Dave] So it evolved
from this little get-together
and gathering

into this legitimate sport.

[man] There is nothing else
like what we put
these athletes through

at the CrossFit Games.

[Ben Bergeron]
What the CrossFit Games is,

is truly who's the world's
fittest athlete.

Not the best CrossFitter,
the world's fittest athlete.

It's man-made event, crafted
inside some very devious minds

to exceed the challenges
you would ever run into

in the world, period.

And so what you face
at the games,

it's almost like something
you'd see in a silly movie.

You're like,
"That's over the top,"

and they do it.

The games is what this sport
is supposed to be--

unknown, unknowable, varying,
everything goes.

Right from other sports like
Strongman or paddleboard
or throw a softball,

and you don't know if we're
going to the mountains,
to the beach.

[man] We've always, every year,
introduced an object

that people have never touched
before the competition

and don't get to touch until
on the competition floor

and "three-two-one-go"
has been called.

Nothing is off the table,
I mean, from...

taking this athletes to
a military base in the past,

taking them to the ocean.

You wake up in the morning,
the rig's different.

And now,
everything's fair game, man.

You better be ready if you
show up to the games.

[Katrin]
I'm always so excited for like--
Monday is like the day

when you feel like
it starts.

Monday night's
the athlete dinner,

and Dave always comes in
and he tells us something.

Welcome to the 2016
Reebok CrossFit Games.

Give yourselves a hand
for making it this far.

This year I gave them
a little speech

to put a little fear,
to take a different angle.

This year is going to be
the most challenging,

physically and mentally,

that you guys will ever
encounter at the CrossFit Games.

This ten-year anniversary
is going to push you guys

to limits you will never know
you could go.

We are going to ask
a lot of you guys.

You guys are going to have
to step up to the plate.

Kind of just telling
everyone, like,

"Hey, this is
about to hurt, a lot."

There's going to be times where
you're gonna get really scared,

where you're gonna not wanna be
doing some stuff we're doing.

You're gonna question
what we're doing,

You're gonna
question why you're here.

He was scaring everybody
so much.

I was like, wow, he's gonna make
us jump out of a helicopter.

What is he gonna make us do
this year?

If at any point you are scared
or questioning those moments,

please, feel free to come up
to me or any of our staff

and say, "I don't want
to do this anymore,"

and we'll gladly pull you out,
make you comfortable,

take you to the bus, and you'll
be done with the competition.

[laughing] Yes.

This is about crushing
the people next to you,

and this is about trying to win
the [bleep] CrossFit Games.

If you're not coming
for that reason,
you should quit now.

And then he leaves!
[laughs]

And we're all just sitting there
like, "Wait, what?"

It is what it is.

Everyone's making their guesses
of what we're going to do.

And who gives a shit, you know?

We're gonna do whatever
he wants.

[Josh]
If you want to be nice and
warm and fuzzy and comfortable,

just come on over here and we'll
take care of that for you

and remove you
from the CrossFit Games.

That was pretty great.

I definitely, maybe,
overloaded that message.

Maybe even said it too--

it was a little too strong,
but that's okay.

[Mat] Tuesday night,
we had an athlete briefing
at the hotel.

We think we're about to get
some of the workouts

to find out what we're doing
on Wednesday.

[Dave] I need all you
individual athletes,

so you can leave
and go to sleep, so we can meet
tomorrow morning

in the lobby at 3:30 a.m.

If you are not there
at that time,

the bus is leaving without you,
and listen,

your CrossFit Games are over.

I still feel we know nothing
about the individuals.

I have no idea what's happening.

I just know that I'm waking up
after seven hours.

"Report to your assigned judge
at 3:30 a.m.

Bring valid
photo identification."

In case we die.

Bring these pants,
bring this, this, this.

He said don't bring food?
No food?

Is it true we can't bring food?

Does it say swimsuit? Are
we going to the swim tomorrow?

Where are we going?
Why do we have to bring this?
When are we coming back?

And so the rumors
just started flying around.

He's gonna leave us
somewhere on the mountain.

I'm gonna get next to Josh,
do whatever he does.

I have no idea, I'm lost.
See you in the morning.

Hey. Oh!

It's 3:17.

[man] We need to be walking
out the door in 60 seconds.

[quietly] Brush your teeth.

[Katrin]
If you're late, you're out
of the CrossFit Games.

And I'm known for being
fashionably a few minutes late.

[laughs]

I was not gonna be late
that morning.

Are you guys excited?
Are you guys nervous?

I'm both,
I'm excited and nervous.

Prep your bags for a flight,
so no liquids, carry-on only.

You're not going to have
the opportunity to check
anything on.

That's what's happening next.

Take the next few minutes
to make your bags flight-ready.

Thank you, guys.

[woman] Whoo!

We got a flight?
What the [bleep], man!

Oh, my God, this is exciting!

[Ben Smith]
As soon as they
said the airport,

I was like, uh-oh,
we can go anywhere.

[Mat] Once again everyone
was like,

"What do you think we're doing?"
Everyone's giving their guesses.

And we're all going together,
so it's not like

some people are getting
the good destination

and some of us are getting
the short end of the stick.

If we're going to Vegas,
I'm not scared.

Free drinks, right?
As long as you're playing.

Dave is like,
"I really like you guys.

You're gonna go see
a cool show."

Samantha Briggs!

Katrin Davidsdottir.

[Katrin] We get our boarding
passes and we're going to...

San Jose, California.

The Ranch.

Hey, Katrin, where does it say
we're going?

She's like...
[whispering] "San Jose!"

I was like,
"Everyone got one, Katrin.

It's not a secret."

We knew that we were going
to Aromas at that point,

but we didn't know
what we were going to do.

[Mat] You know when you see
kindergartners

walking down the side
of the street and there's
the rope with 40 handles on it

and every kid has to hang on
to the handle,

that's pretty much what we were
like going through the airport.

[Sam] Eighty athletes,
all sleep-deprived,

going through the airport,
trying to get on one flight.

It must've just looked crazy.

Second part of the charade.

Aw, he's adorable.
He's like a little angel.

[chuckles]

You know, this was something
so off-the-wall

that I didn't want anyone
to have any idea
that it was happening.

People always try to guess
what we're going to do.

People always try to predict
where we're going or how
we're going to run something,

and to catch everyone off-guard,
that we're taking them
to the ranch,

that was a success.

Hopefully, we're here.

[stewardess]
Welcome to San Jose.

[Sara] Came from the airport,
went straight to a bus,

and I fell asleep, woke up,
and I was at the ranch,

and I was like,
"Wow, this is so cool."

[woman] Whoo, baby!

[man] Go!

[man 2] The Olympics
were born in Greece.

CrossFit Games were born
in Aromas.

Taking it home was
as special as things could get.

[man 3] It gave people
that hadn't been to the games,

in earlier years,
a chance to see
this iconic mecca,

birthplace of our sport,

so that's really cool
for those athletes.

[Dave] That was really special
to be able to,

at the 10-year anniversary,
celebrate and compete

at the original home
of the games.

I hadn't been back since 2009
to the ranch.

It looked the same,
everything was the same.

No coaches, no crowd,
no pump-up music.

It was just throwing down
in a warehouse with some
of your buddies.

[Katrin] We've seen the videos,
we've seen all the cool events,

like the Hell Sprints-- that's
the heart of the CrossFit Games.

[Dave] The first two events
are a repeat

of the 2009 CrossFit Games'
first two events:

7K run, followed immediately
by the Deadlift Ladder.

I was like, "Oh, great.
I remember that year."

'Cause until that point,

that was the toughest
CrossFit Games

that I had ever been to,

and I only competed
in four events.

The run is slightly different.
I made it more difficult.

And the Deadlift Ladder
is much heavier.

Last place on the run,

ten minutes later,
you're deadlifting.

First place on the run,
you have a long rest.

Let's talk about some
of the dangers of the ranch.

Typical, tried
to scare everyone.

Like there were no sharks,
but he's like,

"Hey, there's mountain lions
and hogs out there."

Recently they've been active,
killed three of my dogs.

Huge blood streak. There's
a lot of snakes out there.

Poison oak and jagged rocks.

There's poison oak right next
to the trail everywhere.

What is poison ivy?

Wear your Kevlar pants
and work boots.

I like to run.

Deadlifts, whatever, I mean...

I kind of figured it would
come at some point.

[bleep] I don't think

there's anything else going
through my mind.

It's gonna be awesome.
I'm excited.

[Dave] It's special to be able
to share this

with so many people,
and not just here, but globally.

A lot of people watch this
from all over the world

and a lot of people
participating from
all over the world.

So, to think back on where
it started ten years ago,

to where it is now, it's insane.

I like seeing
the athletes suffer.

There's general themes

that CrossFit athletes
don't like to do.

Everybody wants to deadlift,
slap each other on the ass,

and congratulate themselves
on their PR.

Nobody wants to go to the track
and run 400s or 800s

until they vomit or black out.

Nobody wants to do
the run-a-10K day
and things like that,

so when we go to the games
and they're forced to do,

in general, things that they
usually dislike...

it warms my soul.

And the 7K trail run
was the perfect epitome of that.

[air horn blows]

[Sam] They do a muster

and everybody's sprinting
and pushing each other.

[Josh] I think everyone
came out pretty hot.

[Sam] Let the crazy people
do their little sprinting
and fighting bit

and then just kind of
pick people off.

[Tia]
I was just so excited
to run with the boys,

but then I was like, oh, my God,
they're gonna trample us.

It's the kickoff of the games.
You know, the nerves
are all there,

you're a little juiced up.

[man] From the bird's-eye view
that you might be afforded
when you're watching

the CrossFit games,
this is an arroyo
that you go down into.

What you can't see is
how incredibly steep it is

and the fairly slippery slope.

[man 2] For me, I was like,
"I gotta get out to the front."

I don't want to get caught
in a channel and not
be able to pass people.

-All right, up?
-Yep. Come on, guys.

[man] The dust is so fine
and thick

and the effect of that, as soon
as one person goes through it,

it's in the air.

As soon as two people
go through it,
it's all over the place,

and as soon as you
got a herd of people
going through it,

you're basically
breathing smoke.

Early on,
there was a handful of athletes

that kind of separated
themselves towards the front.

Josh Bridges, Mat Fraser,
Brent Fikowski,

Sam Briggs for the women
in particular.

[man] Slow down,
slow down, slow down.

Take it easy going here,
you gotta go left, slow down.

[Mat] We both know we can
pull away right now.

Let's leave these guys behind.

[Josh] Mat took off
and I was like, okay.

I let him go, let his lungs
burn up a little bit,

and then I'll catch up to him,
which is not the case.

All of the sudden, that dude
was just gone, so...

[Ben Smith] It was not
an easy run, by any means.

Some of those hills were,
you know, you're on all fours,

using your hands,
you're crawling up.

[Sara] I went down a little bit
and then up again

and then down, then up again,
and I was like, "Wow.
When does this stop?"

Like, "When am I done
with this?"

[Mat] I was just by myself,
kind of like,

"Man, I hope I'm on
the right path."

[Pat] You could see who said,
"I don't like this crap either,

"but I know I need to do it,
I need to be well-rounded,

"so I don't avoid it
in my training.

Hey, I'm glad you threw it
at me, watch this."

[Mat] You're always looking
behind you,

just constantly have that fear
of someone chasing you.

You just feel it
on the back of your neck.

So it's like, just keep going,
keep going, keep going.

Poof! All the dirt
off the ground,
you couldn't see anything.

I think I slid
all the way down.

It was the fastest, safest way.

-Ow! [bleep]
-Here he comes!

[Mat] If you're running faster
than you can fall,
you're not gonna fall.

Try to keep those legs pumping.

[man] How was it?

It was good.

[Sean] Not a barbell in sight,

and Mat Fraser's got
100 points on the board.

The guy wasn't
even breathing hard.

He just did a 7k trail run
through treacherous terrain
and walked off.

Josh Bridges comes in
a 1:20 behind him.

And then, as more and more
people filtered in,

that's when you started
to see the effects.

That was [bleep] awesome.

What a way to kick
the games off.

Whoo! Yes!

Here's what I like
about Sam Briggs.

She's running,
there's not a female in sight.

She could walk it in.

Brent Fikowski is
about 10 or 15 feet
in front of Sam Briggs,

and solely to establish
dominance,

Sam Briggs dusts Brent Fikowski
just to say,

"Welcome aboard, rookie,
this is my event."

Not necessary to do at all,

that's just how
Sam Briggs rolls,
and I love it.

Sam Briggs beat me in the run.

[man] Did she beat you
on the run?

Yeah, I was the first dude
she beat.

-[bleep] I know she was.
-She was right behind you.

I was like, oh, Briggs-- Yeah.

How close were you to Brent?

I took him on the last corner.

I'm not the first dude!

Yeah, no, I, uh...
I don't feel good.

So you took fourth overall,
I took fifth overall?

Oh, yeah, 'cause of her.

I kept slipping
and I was going so slow

that I just went on my butt
and literally just like...

So, I probably have
poison ivy... all over.

[Rory] Seeing some of the women
of the CrossFit Games

who are sweethearts
and beautiful women...

Do I look good?

[Rory] ...just with
like dirt mustaches?

And like dirt beards,
you know.

And they didn't know it while
having the interviews done.

Have I been looking
like this the whole time?

Like mud everywhere, like
between my teeth and everything.

It was fine,
and you're like, "Ohh!"

[Pat] Looking like they were
coming back from war.

I mean, just covered
in dust.

Looking like
they've been up for days.

It's the very first event
of the CrossFit Games.

People just hunched over,
dousing themselves with water

and then thinking,
"I have everything left to do."

Two minutes!

In theory, the fastest runner

would not have
the highest deadlift,

and the slowest runner would
have the highest deadlift.

So Sam didn't warm up
for the deadlift either.

I was like, "Dude,
you gonna like warm up?"

He's like, "I just ran seven
kilometers-- I'm warm."

[Dave] So in 2009, we did not
get the loading right

on the deadlift.

I said, one or two people
are gonna get the deadlift.

And in that year, I think it was
17 people cleared the deadlift.

I was like, this is
the opportunity to get it right,

the event right,
the loading right,

and the combination right.

[Josh] You didn't even know
what was happening out there

because no one was cheering--
you heard your name called out.

Now it's just you and a barbell.

[Pat] Sam Dancer,
he's like a cartoon character.

He, I think, almost checked out
of life on the trail run,

but then when he got back in

and there was
a Deadlift Ladder there,

he cleared the entire thing
and pulled that last barbell

of 615 pounds.

[Josh] My spine would have
shot out my back

if I tried to do
something like that.

[Pat] And then I watch
Brooke Wells

pull 415 pounds from the ground.

[Ben Smith]
Pulled 505 at the games.

That's the heaviest I've pulled
in a long time.

I was really happy with my 505.
That's right at my PR deadlift.

[Ben Smith] 505 ended up being
like 20-something place.

23rd? Oh, my God.

Which was crazy 'cause
that's where the ladder
finished in 2009.

Oh, wait, look,
there's Tia Toomey again.
Where did she come from?

It's amazing,
given that Tia Toomey
finished second in 2015,

that we still overlooked her.

[Tia] Yeah,
I wouldn't look at it like,

"Oh, I can't do this
in any given day,"

and I've just done
the 7k workout.

Whatever it is,
I just have to try
and get to the end of it.

[Sean] What happened to Tia
in 2015,

that's a really good question
'cause I remember going back

and looking at everything
we did, we barely showed her.

[Pat] There's rumors, there's
a mysterious fog about her.

You overhear something
in a bar.

You're like, no, that's a myth,
that didn't happen.

Damn it, how did she
catch us by surprise like that?

[Tanya Wagner] Tia-Clair Toomey,
she flew under the radar,

and she was so consistent.

It's because she wasn't flashy,
didn't win an event in 2015.

[Tanya] You look at the women
she beat to get on that podium,

it's like, "Who is she?" and
that's incredible as a rookie.

[announcer] Tia-Clair Toomey!

It surprised the [bleep]
out of me.

[Sean] We knew she was going to
be in the mix again in 2016.

[Pat] But just very quietly
in the background, saying,

"Yeah, I can do this
and I can do the next event.

I can probably do
the next event, too."

[Tia] This year I qualified
for the Rio Olympics,

for the weight-lifting spot,

and now I'll be heading
over to Rio

ten days after
the CrossFit Games.

And I can call myself
an Olympian.

You guys enjoy
your introduction

to the tenth anniversary
of the CrossFit Games?

[athletes] Yeah!

Good. Eat some food,
drink some water, relax.

[man] Whoo!

[man] Any part of you think that
you made the event too hard?

None whatsoever.

-[man] You ever thought that?
-Yes.

We're pretty well conditioned,
comparatively,

to like a power lifter,
so those short rest periods

aren't the worst thing
in the world for us.

But we're taking
just really nice jumps

and CrossFitters
simply don't do that.

And they typically
don't deadlift.

[Rory] The Ranch Mini Chipper
brought to life

one of the most notorious phases
at the ranch.

There was an event,
the Sandbag Sprint,
face up the hill.

Run back, grab your sandbags,
throw them over your neck,

and haul ass uphill.

Thorisdottir was this raw
athlete with no technical skill.

She didn't know how to snatch,
she didn't know a GHD sit-up.

She didn't know how to do
a muscle-up, and regardless,

in 2009,
she crushes the Sandbag Sprint

and takes first place overall.

This wasn't bad, it was easy.

[man] Easy?

Yeah.

Stand by!

[air horn blows]

[man] It was just
the right amount of rep range

for athletes to try
and go for broke

and do the set unbroken,

but if you do so,
you're burning up your legs,

you have to get on a GHD
that's gonna tear up your quads

as your midline breaks down.

[Sam] I was next to Annie
who just went out of the gates.

[Sean] Thorisdottir had
the fastest pace going uphill

and I went, "This isn't gonna
last, this is a bad choice."

And she kept going.

[man] Fikowski in front of me,
tried to chase him down.

[Mat] Trying to run
with Brent is a challenge
at the best of times.

They were just slow, they were
making the choice to be slow.

Every single guy there
could have been faster.

[Sara] Like, Sara, you have
to run the whole time,
you can't stop.

One-third of the run,
"Okay, I have to walk."

[Katrin] Go-time,
it's time to really run.

[man] That face of the hill is
gonna rip up your legs

and your heartrate's
gonna go through the roof.

[man 2] Run as much as you can,
until you can't run anymore.

you walk a couple steps
and then you run again.

[man 3] It was the type of burn
that it's hard to put yourself
there in training.

[Brent] I was like,
this is my event to win.

If I don't win, it's my fault.

[Sam] You crossed
the finish line

and everybody
was just collapsing.

Nothing left in you when you
finally got off that hill.

Boom, you're on the floor.

[man] You gotta get out
of the finish line.

[gasping]

[Mat] It's just like flopping
around on the ground,

trying to find that position
to make the pain go away.

It doesn't matter how you sit,
it's gonna hurt.

[man] Damn!

Did I... [muttering]

[man] What?

[man] You've won your heat
for sure.

Good.

[man] If I understood
your question correctly.

I hated that event 2009,
I hated that event there.

That was hard.

Oh, that was a blast.
I'd like to do that again.

[man] Seriously?

Yeah, it was so much fun.

All right, me and this hill,
we bonded today.

How cool is that, we just jumped
on a plane this morning
and we're here.

-That was good.
-That was great.

Good finish for both of us.

[Brent] I felt that was my event

to lose, or to win.

And I did just that, so I'm...

really happy.

It was hard, man.
It was a grind.

The last event was like... hard.

But afterwards you're like,

"I should have pushed
a bit harder."

But like... I maybe did not
think that when I was doing it,

I was sighing, but afterwards,
I was like,

"I should have pushed harder,
dang it!"

But... first day done.

Four days left.

No problem.

[cheering]

[Josh] Maybe do a little hoo-yah
and say goodbye to Aromas,

and head back onto a bus
for an hour, hour and a half,

and then get to the airport

to be told that our flights
were delayed.

[chuckles]

Which for me
is pretty typical.

We got to the airport
five hours early, first of all,

and then our flight was delayed.

So it was like, "Okay, we're
just sitting here forever."

[Sam] We're trying to find
somewhere to sleep.

There were bodies everywhere.

[woman] We were just holed up
outside the gate

and just fell asleep.

If we circle back
to what I said previously,

which is that I enjoy
human suffering

and when people are totally
thrown off their game,

the ocean does that
almost like nothing else.

[Sara] The ocean was amazing.

It was like, as soon as you
arrived, you were like,

wow, this is so awesome.

And then Dave announces
that the girls and the guys

are all starting
at the same time.

We were like, say what, now?

[Tia] I actually freaked out
a little bit because

those boys are not
going to hold back

and we're going to fall flat
on our faces in the sand

and they're
going to trample us.

Cole Sager was sort of
behind me to the side of me

and he sort of said like,
"Brent, I want to let you know

like I might run you over."

I'm a powerful athlete.

I was a football player
in my past.

So, having just quick spurts
of power can pay off for me,

and I think it did.

You want to start
in front of me, Cole?

I was like, "Why don't you
like lead the charge,

and I'll take the football
and kind of stand behind you?"

Foot off the line,
foot off the line.

Stand by!

The thing is with CrossFit
everybody wants to win.

And even if they're not
a good swimmer,

they want to be
the first in the water.

[Ben Smith] The swim was
more like a fistfight and a run

more than a swim.

That was the most fearful I've
ever been for myself in water.

That was very scary.

[Katrin] Seriously war zone
over there.

People are scratching,
pulling on your legs.

[Sam] You've got guys
swimming over the top of you.

And you've got no chance
when somebody's twice
the weight of you

and you're getting
pushed down and under.

[Ben Smith] I'm very comfortable
in the water,

and at a couple points turning
around the buoy, I was like,

"I'm gonna drown right here.
Somebody's gonna pull me under."

[Josh] It was getting very
irritating, to say the least.

I was almost to the point
where I wanted to grab someone

and pull them to the bottom
of the ocean and tell them,

"Hey, stop swimming
on top of me.

I can hold my breath
longer than you."

And then we got hit.

[Tia] And Ben and I got
smashed by this wave.

[Ben Smith]
I didn't even see it.
I got pulled under and tumbled.

I'm like, "Just relax,
you won't drown, relax."

[Sam] I got up on a wave,
I'm like, "I'm doing it,"

And then, "Oh, I'm spinning,
I'm spinning!"

All three of us were
taking a breath

and then just...

[Tia] Got up and got
like a gasp for air.

Looked at each other and was,
"Where's the shore?!"

And then we started
running for the shore.

I only seen one girl,
so I was like, "I gotta go!

This is the time to go,
you gotta go now!"

I managed to hold on
for a little bit longer
and come over the line,

but I had no idea
if I'd come first or not.

It was just like, I knew
I'd beaten someone, so...

When they said I came first,
I was really happy with that.

There was a wave,
I didn't see it coming.

And it dumped
right on me and Ben Smith.

[burps]

Oh!

Oh! I swall--

I got crushed!

It was... brutal!

I think I got 15 kicks
in my mouth.

People were ruthless out there.

-[man] Really?
-Yeah.

I got some scratch marks
and stuff.

[man] That's scratching there?

Yeah, people were
pulling on you.

I knew a little bit would
happen, but people weren't
messing around, so...

Got me a little angry.

It's really hot in the sun,
isn't it?

Thank you so much.

Showering you.

-What?
-It's what whales do.

She squirted all over me.

Revenge.

[Mat] I'm not gonna name
any names.

I remember after the event,

one girl came up to me

and she was pissed.

She was like, "Someone grabbed

my [bleep] ankle

and just yanked me back,
like swam over me,"

and I was like,
"Yeah, that sucks."

And she was like,
"And I know it was a man,

because how strong they were."

Next day in the athlete area--
not going to name names--

that man came up to me like,
"My God, that swim was ruthless.

At one point I just
grabbed an ankle
and pulled them back."

I'm like, "Shh!

Don't tell anyone that."

Like that is a bad story.

[Sean] Murph--
it is a Hero workout

that's done in thousands of
CrossFit gyms across the world.

And for the first time,

the fittest athletes
in the world

will be doing it here
at the CrossFit Games.

[Dave] Two years ago, I knew we
were going to come to the ranch.

One year ago, I knew we were
going to do Murph again.

I say that because as soon as
we did Murph last year

and all the commentary,

everything that happened
with it happened,

I said,
"We're binging that back."

[Sean] Kara Webb collapsing

into the arms
of Anna Tunnicliffe,

who's trying to get her water.

They're calling
for medical staff

to come over
and check out Kara Webb.

I didn't want my story
to end like last year,

overheated, and that was
the last time you did Murph.

I kind of wanted
to rewrite that a little bit.

[Sean] This is more
than an event today.

[man]
It absolutely is.

It's one of the most famous
Hero workouts that we have,

and everyone has done this.

I'm not gonna lie, not having
an American win it in 2015

was a bit of a bummer.

[Sean] From Iceland,
Gudmundsson will take

event number three, Murph!

[Pat] Murph is a Hero workout

named after a SEAL
who was killed in action.

Josh Bridges, well-known
games athlete, former SEAL,

didn't compete at the games
in 2015,

so couldn't give BKG
a run for his money.

[Josh] He crushed it,
so you can't take
anything away from him.

He went out there
and destroyed that workout.

When it's a Hero workout named
after a former Navy SEAL,

you know, who, for me,
it's just something

near and dear to my heart
where, like,

all right, an American
should win this workout.

Yeah, he did well, but in 2016,

I wasn't going to allow him
to do that again. [chuckles]

[cheering, indistinct shouting]

[Josh] I'm not here
to take second
in this workout.

I'm not here to take third.
I'm not here to take top five.

I want to win this workout.

I want it to be
a dominant performance.

But, of course, first mile,

guys are going out
like a six-minute pace.

You can't win in the first run,
but you sure as shit
can lose it.

[Mat] Jacob Anderson
before the workout said,

"I'm gonna win
that first mile."

I'm like...
"You get it, man."

And sure enough,
coming to the stadium,

he passes me, and he's like,
"I'm gonna win this first mile."

"Get it, man. Get it."

[chuckles]

[Tommy] You could see
the dividing line
where the shade was.

As the sun started to come up,

more of the field would be
covered in sunlight.

Half the field is in the sun,
half the field had shade.

And it was first come,
first serve for the lanes.

[Ben Smith] I ran as fast
as I could on that first mile

just to get a good spot
in the shade.

I'm gonna play it smart,
I'm gonna go three lanes in.

The shadow's not going to move
15 feet in the next 20 minutes.

It did.

And when he announced
that it was like partitions,

I was like, great, there was
even more fitness to it.

You just got to go faster.

[Tia] All the other girls
were like,

"Oh, this is going to be
so much harder

'cause we're going to have
to go so much faster."

In my head I was like, "We don't
have to go faster, okay?"

We can just take our time
if you really want

'cause I'm up for that
if you want to do that.

We can do it
but just do it slowly.

Some of those guys like
Josh and Mat, they smoked it.

You couldn't watch them.

If you tried to see
whereabouts they were

and keep up with them,
you'd kill yourself.

[Sean] Bridges
done with round one

and back for round two,
and if he read the description

that we just had on the screen,

I'm sure that would have
motivated him as well.

He doesn't like to be told he's
the oldest and the shortest.

He's gonna use that as fire,
had he seen it.

[Josh] The best part about being
an older athlete,

being around for a while, is
that you know yourself so well.

You have the data,
you have experience.

You know when you should break
and when you shouldn't break.

[Sean] The thing
that stood out the most
about Josh Bridges in Murph

was he kept going back
to the pull-up bar

and did every set
of 20 unbroken, which

he makes look easy,
but when you try that

at that fatigue level,
that was incredible.

[Sean]
Josh Bridges is done

and he is on to his second
and final one-mile run,

and he looks like he is
well on his way

towards his eighth career
event win at the CrossFit Games.

[Josh] I never got to meet
Michael Murphy,

but when you become a SEAL,
you form a brotherhood
with these people.

Just knowing that
we'd been through some
of the same things together,

and then knowing his story
and what he did

was super special for me.

You can watch it,
you can hear other people

say how tough it's gonna be
all you want,

but until you actually
experience it,

you don't know what
those athletes go through.

And just last year I remember
telling myself

that I just gained so much more
respect for the athletes

that come here year after year.

It's a lot more demanding than
anyone can ever imagine.

[Katrin] I remember I was just
like in my own world.

I didn't know where anyone was,
I didn't care.

I just wanted to go
as fast as I could.

And as I ran down that runway,
everyone was cheering for me

and I could hear them, like,
they were so elated for me.

Because it was more than
the placing, it was the effort

and overcoming
what happened the year before.

And I just couldn't get
the smile off my face.

[Rory] There's nothing better
than watching Josh Bridges
win an event,

just for the celebration
that comes out of it.

It is a tremendous thing
to watch

because there's nothing
fabricated about it,

there's nothing planned
about it.

It is raw emotion
just from his heart and soul

that is pouring
out of his face and mouth

and you can feel it.

[Josh] Just coming into
the stadium felt really good.

You know, knowing that I did
what I needed to do.

You know, there was no way,
like I said,

I could let anyone else
win that workout.

[Tia] I was excited

about the Squat Clean Ladder,

but in the same time,

I was also very nervous
because I knew that

even though
I really like squat cleans,

compared to some
of the other girls,

it's not a strength of mine.

Dave's scalp is gonna burn
with those braids.

The next event, you guys
all know what it is.

It's the Squat Clean Pyramid.

Who thinks Ben Smith's
gonna win?

Who thinks Fraser's gonna win?

[cheering]

Hey, what the hell, man?!

[man] How about
Josh Bridges?

Yeah, thanks, there we go!

[Dave] Who thinks Josh Bridges
is gonna win?

-[cheering]
-There it is.

No pressure.

Yeah, you know, you know.

-Teams and shit.
-That's right!

[Pat] Reps go down,
weight goes up,

and, man,
look at those weights.

We're ending up with
325 squat cleans

at the end of doing
all these reps.

This is gonna be a big one
for these strong guys.

If you made a pact
with the devil,

and you're like,
"I want to come back

"as just the strongest,
most handsome man

you can come up with,"

he would make you Alex Anderson.

[Mat] Alex Anderson
crushed that workout.

[Sean] What's cool about the
Squat Clean Ladder for the men

is that it gives-- I don't want
to use the term "specialist"--

but it gives guys who like
to throw around heavy weight

an opportunity to shine
on a really cool stage,

and that guy
was Alex Anderson.

He is strikingly handsome.

Looks like a Ken doll.

And he's so strong.

It is almost offensive.

[Sean] First event win
for Alex Anderson!

-[Pat] Wow!
-[Sean] Kara Webb, one to go,

who's looking to make
a charge up the leaderboard.

[Pat] I couldn't keep up
with her and that thing,
same weights.

And I don't know if you think
you could,

but I'm here to tell you,
you can't.

Not even close.

We'll set it up after this.

And then we'll play it
on a monitor

and you can try to race her
on the monitor.

It ain't gonna go well.

[Sean] Kara Webb
hearing it from the crowd

as she will win event
number six!

Katrin Davidsdottir,
the defending champion,

still on the floor,
as is Sara Sigmundsdottir,

two women you would have
expected to be pushing
for the lead here

at this point
in the event.

[Sara] I tried to follow
Kara Webb

instead of going
in my own pace,

and just lost my head
and lost focus

and it was like wow,
"What's happening to you, Sara?

Where is the Sara that I know?"

It's like my head just,
I don't know.

I don't know what happened,
but it was like okay,

stop thinking about it,
next event.

[Pat] And once again,
Tia Toomey,

just like a thief creeping
in the night,

just takes third.

Again, you know, like,

all eyes on Kara Webb,

and there's Tia Toomey

doing amazing once again.

I was extremely nervous
at Double DG.

But that was just
a confidence booster.

Like, okay,
I can [bleep] with this.

You put me next to like

Alex Anderson,

that's a big guy.

I ain't as big as Mat Fraser.

They breed
those Anderson boys big.

When in doubt, sparkle.

Anything, and it doesn't
just apply to nails.

It's eye shadow.
It's headbands.

Leotards.

Special leotards.

I used to always have
sparkly earrings,

but my grandma
always wore pearls.

So I changed, I wear pearls now.

I failed like four rafters

and I never fail
in these squat cleans.

I don't know what's happening.
I have to bring it in DT.

[man] You excited about DT?

I am, I'm very excited.

[man] Real house workout?

Yeah, it's gonna be group,
just group, yeah.

My coach decided that we
should go do Stockton

for training camp
before the games.

We're teasing them.

They think we're
giving them food.

It's like a small farm
or something

and walking distance
from the gym.

It was just awesome.
It was so quiet.

It's warmer than in L.A.
Yeah, and no distractions.

[coach] No breaks!
Back to the bar!

Back to the bar, let's go!

[coach shouts indistinctly]

Back to the bar!

[coach shouts indistinctly]

Come again!

Fight to the end, Sara!

Come on!

Come on! Go, go, go, go, go!

Let's go! Let's go!

Come on!

Of course, I thought, you won
Heavy DT last year,

you have to win Double DT, too.

[Pat] Double DT,
put my money on Sara,

beyond a shadow of a doubt,
right?

[Sean] All eyes were on here.
This is her event.

This is where
Sara Sigmundsdottir
is gonna make her move.

[man] Sean, all eyes
on Katrin Davidsdottir.

I talked to her coach,
Ben Bergeron, backstage,

and he said she's
going to smash this workout.

We go into other workouts,
you cannot back off.

This one is everything
you've got.

Okay, show me you're smart,
show me you're strong.

Show me smart, show me strong.
Let's go.

[Sean] Mat Fraser comes in

with a 104-point lead
over Alex Anderson.

Mat Fraser could
sit this event out

and he would have the lead
going into Saturday.

[Tanya] Sara Sigmundsdottir,
if there's one thing

we've learned about her,
she will not quit.

Whatever Davidsdottir
is gonna do,

Sigmundsdottir's gonna see
if she can do better.

[Sean]
It's Friday Night Lights,

CrossFit-style, and we're
doing it with Double DT.

This is where Ben Smith
can start making a move
on Mat Fraser.

[man] This is an event that
is very, very good for him.

He's extremely good
with the barbell,

he's short range of motion,
so the deadlifts
are gonna be great.

If the range of motion
is shorter, the reps
will be faster.

He doesn't like being
talked about, one
of the shorter athletes.

"He's gonna be good at this
workout 'cause he's short."

Find something different to say
other than I'm short.

I've heard [bleep] enough
of that.

Maybe it's because I did ten
years of Olympic weightlifting.

[growls]

[Sean] It is
an Icelandic civil war

between Katrin Davidsdottir
and Sara Sigmundsdottir

who right now has the lead.

Toomey is currently
ninth place in the heat.

[Ben Smith] You win it
in rounds 8, 9, 10.

Rounds 1 through 7
are just to get there.

Hey, I got to round 6.
My grip was already going out.

I was like, hang on there
as long as you can.

That last round, I think I broke
up the hang cleans three times.

[Sean] Katrin was more
on her game plan.

Sara was starting
to rest longer,

the barbell spending
more time on the ground.

Katrin clearly had a strategy
and was able to stick to it.

You get to round 8 and 9,
and now Katrin's pace

looks basically the same
as it did in rounds 1 and 2.

She might not be the most
physically gifted athlete,

but what's between her ears
made the difference
in that event.

[Tanya] Katrin's speed
on these cleans

is just so much faster
than Sara's.

[Katrin] You always have a plan,
and if the plan doesn't work,

you've just got to work
with what you've got.

[Sean] Mat Fraser
is an unstoppable force!

[man] He is on fire.

[Sean] Katrin Davidsdottir
has moved into first place

'cause Sara Sigmundsdottir
got hit with a costly no-rep.

[Sara] I think I failed
one hang clean,

it like flew out of my hands,
and after that, I knew I lost.

[Sean] Last year, round 1,

Heavy DT went
to Sara Sigmundsdottir.

Round 2, Double DT,

and this one goes
to Katrin Davidsdottir.

I knew that I could win
that workout.

[announcer] Put your hands
together,

how about Katrin Davidsdottir!

[Katrin] My grandma has always
been my biggest fan,

and my best friend,
she is amazing.

In the stands,
she was always standing.

Everyone else might have
been sitting,

and she was standing,
cheering her head off,

and you could always hear her,
I always knew where she was.

And everyone always knew
that that was my grandma.

[Katrin's mother] My mom was
Katrin's biggest fan.

Embarrassingly so.

She would be at competitions
and she would be so loud

that we would move away

and it would just be my mom
in the bleachers.

Very suddenly,
she died in April.

[Odda] It was devastating
for everybody,

but it was particularly
devastating for Katrin.

[Katrin] Every morning,
I light a candle.

She loved candles,
and she would light a candle

every morning over breakfast.

And she had these little Moomin
elf cups she used to collect.

So these things are like
the Moomin elves.
They're such little cute things.

It's a Finnish thing.

And I love them so much.

I have...

my grandma collected them.

They're so cute.

These are all the Moomin elves.

I have two at home now
and I always light a candle

and I always say
good morning to her.

And I have coffee out of that.

I think I'll miss her

every single day
for the rest of my life.

I don't understand
how it happened
so you can be mad.

You can quit everything,
I can put everything on hold

and I can go get a tub
of ice cream and cry.

If I would do that
and imagine her looking at me...

[chuckles]

...she wouldn't want that.

What she would want is for me
to keep doing what I'm doing.

If anything,
it made me do things better.

We were always together,
that's what we always said
on the phone.

That's what we always said
when I was leaving,

"We're always together,"
and I still believe that.

She was always in the stands.

And now I feel like she's
with me on the floor.

Which is cool for her.

She has more energy
than anyone else.

And that she can now get to
experience being on the floor,

I want her to be
so proud of me.

They said you have to
touch steel.

I was planning on getting
all the way to the top
and just going like that.

-That's good.
-And then dropping.

So, what you have to do
is like double tap.

-Double tap.
-And you're good to go.

They also said touch the V.

so I was gonna just
slide myself down here.

[Rory] We talk about the unknown
and the unknowable a lot.

It's a silly phrase, I think,
except to say that

what it represents is critical
to the CrossFit Games.

People have to be able
to show up,

learn something in a very
short amount of time,
what the task is,

and be able to accomplish it
in order to say they're
the fittest on Earth.

The Climbing Snail was by far
my favorite event of the games,

by far!

That wonderful combination

of fun,

miserable,

and...

unknown.

[Sean] It is Climbing Snail,

the first new challenge,
a rope climb with a rope

that dangles five feet
above the floor.

The other is the Snail.

The Climbing Snail
is an interesting workout

because you had two
new kind of elements thrown in.

You had the shortened rope,
so they had to do

a legless rope climb
and then transition

into using their legs once they
got high enough on the rope.

Then a completely new element
in the Snail,

which athletes had never
really touched before

and most athletes didn't
even know what it was.

[Sean] We threw this big
cylinder out, filled with sand,

so when you roll it,
it's not like you
can build momentum.

And they didn't have practice,
you wanted to see how they
were going to adapt to that.

[Brent] Yeah, when that one
was released again,

I thought, "I think
this is mine to win."

That berm run
is just... it sucks.

It's like just long enough
that you start losing hope

by the time you get to the top,
and then it flattens out.

So you just had to remember
that you're strong enough

to make it up those stairs
and you got to run the stairs.

[Tommy] The Climbing Snail
for the men was
a cool battle to watch

because you had two athletes
in Patrick Vellner
and Brent Fikowski,

and you could see them battle
and it looked like no one

was really going
to give an inch there.

It was one of those things
where they see in their eyes,

"We're in this thing
for the battle."

[Sean] As Brent Fikowski
is coming down the steps first,

he and Patrick Vellner have both
passed Cole Sager on the run.

I've been trying
to get with Brent all weekend.

I knew that coming down,
he was a little ahead of me,

but his lane was farther down,

so I knew we were
a little bit close coming in.

[Brent] I was far enough
ahead of Vellner

and confident enough
in my rope times

that I was just up and down it.

Then as I came off,
I could hear the announcer

that I was the first one off.

[Sean] Brent Fikowski,
the rookie,

battling another Canadian,
Patrick Vellner,

who's trying to catch up
with Fikowski.

And Brent Fikowski
is gonna lock up 100 points

as he wins Climbing Snail!

Doesn't look like anybody's
gonna catch Sam Briggs here.

She just has 40 feet to go
with that 400-pound snail.

And it's gonna be
event win number two

for Samantha Briggs,

the ninth event win
of her CrossFit Games career,

and she will earn 100 points.

So like Sam Briggs always does,

she just goes out
and hits a home run,

and while she was doing that,
Tia Toomey

is busy struggling a little bit,
and I was actually surprised

at how much trouble
that event gave her.

I think that workout kind of
went downhill from there.

It feels like everyone's
overtaking you.

[Sean]
Toomey just looks gassed,

just resting her head
on the snail right there.

Katrin Davidsdottir
is on the left.

She has passed
Sara Sigmundsdottir.

Davidsdottir will get in.

She only trails Sigmundsdottir
by 10 points.

Sigmundsdottir needs to hurry up
and cross the finish line.

Kirstin Holte is gonna
beat her there,

and that's gonna cost
Sara Sigmundsdottir.

Tia Toomey has yet to finish,

and that means that
Samantha Briggs

is gonna be your overall leader
after eight events.

Sam Briggs wins and Tia Toomey

is back in the middle
of the pack

and falls off
the overall lead.

[man] How was that?

So good. That was
my rope climb workout.

So happy. So, so, so happy.

Gotta do what you gotta do, man.
That was good.

Just trusted the other guys
would die off,

and then my pace would be
fast enough, and it was.

Again, I felt this was
mine to win or lose.

It was kind of my call.

Brent and Patrick were
very impressive to me.

The mantle in Canada was passed,
and those two took it
and ran with it.

They're going to be a challenge
for these top guys

for years to come.

Brent Fikowski is an odd bird.

And that doesn't mean
he's a bad bird,

but he's just not
your normal bird.

He is different
than everybody else,

from just how
he said he prepared

to, you know, that
sensory deprivation tank

that he would go into.

For how many years
he had been grinding,

how much a student of the game
he was.

It was just,
a little flag went up,

and I didn't know if it would
pan out, but he wasn't normal.

If I wasn't doing this,
I'd be doing something else.

I'd try to be the best
accountant in the world,

or I would try to be the best
rower or swimmer.

I have that drive,
and it's just hard-wired

into how I've always been
since a kid before my parents
told me to work hard.

It's just what I wanted
to do.

When I retired from gymnastics,

I sort of had a big gap
in my week.

So when I finished that,
I had a lot of time on my hands.

I needed an outlet probably
for my competitiveness

and CrossFit allows me to
compete every day.

I'm a student, full-time.

I study to be a chiropractor
right now.

So pursuing a health field is
something that's important to me

and I'm passionate about.

Not just a capable athlete,

but another one that
when I spoke to on the phone,

he was just fun to talk to.

Laughing, joking around,
he had some good personality.

Took the event and what he
wanted to do seriously

but didn't take himself
too seriously.

Kind of had
a light-hearted approach

while working hard
at the same time.

I appreciated that.

And he, with Fikowski
right on his heels,

there could be
some Canadian athletes

making a serious run
at the CrossFit Games,

and that's pretty exciting.

[Josh] Gonna be a good workout.

Definitely a separator.

-The Separator!
-The Separator!

How do you feel about
those friends of ours, bro?

[bleep] great, man.

-I'll be passed out.
-Huh?

-I'll be passed out.
-[bleep]

Oh, see, that's what happened!

Oh, boy!

Holy shit!

This is [bleep]!

What the [bleep]!

So practice went well.

Every year at the games,

we always throw
a movement out there that...

the object is to test
the athletes, not showcase them.

And this was definitely
gonna test them.

Oh, my God, that workout was...
it was terrible.

[Sean] Final heat
of the Separator,

everyone chasing Mat Fraser.

[man] You do as much as you can
on the rings

and you don't have to worry
about anything

with your shoulders,
you just back squat.

Try not to use your shoulders
at all on the burpees,

just belly-flop it,
and then go back, do it again.

You bring your shoulders out
on the front squat,

try to belly-flop
your burpees again.

And then you just try
to survive that last push

on the handstand push-up
and the overhead squat,

and then just ride it out,
if you get there.

[Sean] Josh Bridges
is pulling farther ahead here.

[man] So, the whole workout,
Josh and Mat are neck-and-neck.

[Mat] Okay, like he's got
this one.

There's no point killing myself
to get to him.

And I don't know what happened,
but all of the sudden,

I was getting no-repped
on my handstand push-ups.

[Mat] So she started
just no-repping me galore.

I'm trying my damnedest,
and I'm like,

I just did a set of 12 and now I
can't even string two together.

[Sean] No-rep again
for Mat Fraser.
No-rep there for Fraser.

[man] I don't know
what happens in no-rep, Sean.

[Sean] Fraser gets hit
with another no-rep

and clearly disagrees
with what his judge is saying,

shakes his head and walks back
to collect his thoughts.

Tia Toomey is past
the halfway point.

Katrin Davidsdottir has moved
into second

in front of Sara Sigmundsdottir.

Gets to the final 185-pound
barbell for the overhead squats.

Mat Fraser's
creeping up on him.

[man] Josh gets it overhead
and he's working his tail off,

and he's a scrappy guy, but he's
not known for his strength.

You've got a former Junior
National weightlifter
right behind you.

He's bearing down on him
with these last couple reps.

[man 2] Oh, yeah,
that's what I wanted--

He is attacking.

[Mat] I have never heard
the tennis stadium crowd

just like you've rocked--

every single person
in here is screaming.

And I was like,
"Oh, yeah! Yeah!"

And then like I did one
and, ehhh!

[Sean] Davidsdottir's done!

And she's gonna lock up
what looks to be

a second place finish
in this event.

That will be worth 94 points.

Now Tia Toomey is in.

Mat Fraser once again
continues to be

the unstoppable force.

[announcer] ...Josh Bridges
at the finish line...

Nice work, bro.

Ah, I had you!

One stupid [bleep] lift.

Dude, I walked my bar forward,
did one rep and missed it.

I was like Josh is away.
And then you missed it.

I was like, what the [bleep].

Uh, we're moving.

Mat went in this year's games
way more mentally dialed in.

The ring handstand push-ups
was a really good example

of something that in years past
might have derailed him.

Mat wasn't Mat versus the world,
Mat was Mat versus Mat.

[Mat] Heavy DT last year.

I was ahead
by a very good margin.

It was Ben and I going
into the last round in a race

and me kind of shrugging up
like, whatever,

I've got enough points.

I'll let him get
like these six points.

Then come the end
of the weekend,

those six points would have
been nice to have.

[Ben Bergeron] Mat has
this mentality, which is
why he's so good,

that he has to prove something
to everyone else, right?

He has this thing where it's,

"I'm gonna be the very best
at everything."

It's why he's so good.

If he finds a weakness,
he's gonna train

so he's the best in the world
at that.

It's one thing
to be gifted at a couple
of things in life.

But then you have to do
something with that.

You have to have the mentality
to go with it.

You have to have
the drive and the focus.

It can be a detriment,
though, as well.

He's the best in the world
at parallel handstand push-ups.

If I'm the best, I should be
able to get these unbroken.

He got them unbroken,
I'm better than him.

I can kick back up right now.
I should be able to go now.

When you erase that this year,
you kind of figure out,

it's not Mat versus
the rest of the world,

it's Mat versus Mat's best,
it changes the approach.

And so that ate at me all year,

just like, don't let--
don't ever give up.

Don't ever get comfortable.

2014, I was full-time
in school at UVM.

2015, full-time student
for one semester,

went part-time
for the other semester.

2016, just CrossFit.

Late last year,

I was always competing
with the guy next to me.

but the whole 2016 season,
for the most part,

I was training by myself,
and when I'm training by myself,

I'm imagining training next
to Katrin and telling myself,

"Katrin wouldn't be putting
the bar down right now.

Katrin would be taking
shorter breaks than you."

He's pretty rough and tough
on the exterior

and he's got a potty mouth,
but when you dig into it,

he has got one
of the strongest mindsets.

And nothing can
really shake him.

[Mat] Just imagining
your competitor

right next to you
and always imagining

that they're doing
one step better than you.

I think that
was my biggest change

going into the 2016 season
was just my mental game.

Ohh!

[Dave] Whip it forward after
every ten, just like a regional.

Okay?

[cheering]

[Dave] ...because it's a streak.
You just need to go, go, go.

You guys excited
about this one?

-Yeah.
-[Dave] Let's have some fun.

[bleep] yeah.

[bleep] yeah, that's fitness.

I thought it was gonna
be some bullshit.

The one thing I need you
to remember

is it's not over till you cross
the red line.

So you have to sprint to it
and sprint after it.

This will be fun.

Probably gonna be totally shit
at it and be last in my heat,

but...

It'll be all right.

[Tommy] The workout, 100%,
is the last

Saturday Night Lights event
that we're gonna get to have

at the StubHub Center
with the games moving locations.

For the women at that point,
Katrin had beaten Tia

in three consecutive events.

So it was starting to look
like Katrin maybe

was gonna put some distance
between her and Tia.

That was really the start for me
of what felt like

this championship prize fight
boxing-style

between Tia and Katrin
to close out the CrossFit Games.

[Tanya] Earlier in the week,

Dave Castro said these games
would test you

physically and mentally,
and he wanted to see

who came here really
to take the title,

and this event's gonna show you
who's in it to play.

[Tia] Everyone that's going
to go to the CrossFit Games

is going to be
the biggest threat.

I don't think that there is
one particular person.

I think that you can't
underestimate anyone.

[Katrin] There are
a lot of contenders.

There are a lot of very fit,
very strong girls out there.

So when I'm out there
on the floor,

the only thing I can worry about
is myself.

[Mat] All those guys
showing up to the games,

they're there to win.

And to win, they've got to beat
everyone else,

and I'm one of those people
that they have to beat.

So I look at it like they're
trying to take it from me.

[Sean] This event
is pretty simple.

Just stop the gas and see
how long you can hold on.

The woman who currently has
the overall lead,

the defending CrossFit Games
champion, Katrin Davidsdottir,

but only by 12 points
over Sara Sigmundsdottir.

[Tanya] Look out though,
Katrin is gonna smash this one.

[Sean] We're underway, and
the crowd already on its feet

knowing what
they're gonna see here,

if they blink,
they're gonna miss it.

[Sara] I was like, okay,
this is pure CrossFit.

I love this.

This is like,
you can't make any mistakes

because then you're just
screwed.

[Mat] Stop for a second
on that workout,

and it's gonna cost you
a couple places.

[man] It's one where you're just
gonna set yourself on fire.

The pace is go, and the pace is,
if you slow down,

these people around me are
so good, they're gonna pass me.

And a lot are gonna pass me,

so you need to go for broke,
go berserk.

[man 2] It was crazy,
it was a street fight out there.

[Sean] Everyone on their feet
here, Sager five to go.

He's back in the lead.
Now here's Fikowski!

[man] The crowd
was just going nuts

because everyone was so close.

[Sean] The man they call
"The Professor"

gets across the finish line

in dramatic fashion
to win the event!

[Ben Smith]
It's like a cartoon slip
and your feet are up in the air.

If you didn't slip,
you weren't running
hard enough to the finish.

[Sean] Davidsdottir
and Sigmundsdottir,

these two heavyweights are
trading some big punches here.

Katrin and Sara battling it out.
One is gonna win the event.

Everyone was going crazy
and saying their name.

This is the workout
where you can't look around.

Tear and go, just like
pick it up over the shoulder.

I started realizing, "Come on,
Tia, you've got to go."

[Sean] This is a battle
that started last year,

and this war is gonna
carry over into Sunday

as Tia Toomey finishes ahead,
Brooke Welles is in,

and there's Sara Sigmundsdottir.

[man] Tia, when the lights
were kind of brightest,

really, really,
really shone

and really kind of announced
to everyone,

"No, I'm not going to go
quietly into the night."

[Tanya]
Where did she come from?

Toomey just does that.

[Sean] Katrin Davidsdottir

will finish seventh
in the event.

so Tia Toomey looks like she's
gonna have the overall lead

heading into Sunday.

All right? Yeah.

It's like you can't make
any mistakes.

Think I got three no-reps
in the D-Ball.

They cost me a lot.

All we're doing now is we
turn the page again,

now we look forward.

It's what can you do
in this moment right now

to prep yourself for tomorrow.

Anything we do in the past
does not help that.

Yeah, ask me about
the start of Sunday, bro.

-[off-screen laughter]
-Let's talk about this one.

So, like,
when it's Sunday morning,

I'm almost like sad
that it's over.

Last day.
It's the last day, man!

It's the last day.

I'm excited!

Almost over,
my year's almost over.

[woman] You're in the lead.

Yeah. Not for long after
those handstand walks.

I'm gonna be so happy not to eat
after this weekend.

Oh, my God,
I'm so over this shit.

Just have to see
what Dave brings.

I was dreaming about
all the exercises that are left.

Thrusters, bar muscle-ups,
ring muscle-ups, pistols.

So the big question is,
what is Dave gonna bring?

Pretty much a nail-biter.

Me and Fraser,

nail-biter right now.

[bleep] get past today.

My wife this morning goes...

"Jacob, you can still

do really well today."

She's like, "Except for Fraser."

She goes, "You can win
every event

and you still
will not even come close."

I was like, ah,
thanks for the encouragement.

[Sean] The biggest question
we had was,

by how much was
Mat Fraser going to win?

[Mat] Just like you want before

like the biggest day
of competition of your life,

I didn't get a wink of sleep.

[Katrin] You wake up,
and you're like,

you got to make
the most of this day.

It's the last time
you're gonna get to work out

at the 2016 CrossFit Games,
you better make the most of it.

And this handstand walk's
gonna be fun.

Sunday, it just rolls on
and I just wanted it to be over

because it's actually
quite painful,

because you're putting yourself
under so much strain, really.

I've held on for so long.

And then it just gets
like I just lose it

towards the end, like, you know.

All of the fun stuff is left.

So this day will be really good.

Let's stop filming now
'cause there's other athletes.

Awesome.

You'll probably want to
delete that after today.

No way, man.

It'll be like, "This bitch is
not worth my photo."

[woman] Did you bring
your leader jersey?

They gave me
that bloody leader jersey,

and I was like, "Ugggh, great."

I hate it, Angel.
I think it's so cursed.

It's not cursed.
What are you talking about?

How long have you been
wearing it?

-[Tia] After this
first workout--
-Don't get it in your head.

-No, it's already in my head.
-No. That's part of the fun.

Can you just merge
into everyone else

so I can pretend you're filming
everyone else and not just me?

[woman] Yes.

[Tommy] Sunday morning,

the mixed competition

was extremely tense.

First through third was only
separated by 12 points.

Tia in first place,
Katrin second,

and then Sara Sigmundsdottir
in third.

[Sean] The fifth and final day
of competition for individuals

at the 2016

Reebok CrossFit Games

and it's time to decide

whose skills will pay the bills.

Day number 5 starts

with a brisk walk
on their hands.

[Sara] It was hard because
there were like holes.

You went into a hole,
you're like, "Oh, no!"
trying to balance again.

[Ben Smith] When I kicked down,
I was in first in that heat,

and then I got called back and
it was a fight to the finish

because my arms went out.

[Katrin] I hit
the little red guy.

Can't fall down,
you have to back up,

so trying to stay on my hands
and trying to walk

and I kept it up there.

[Sean] And Davidsdottir
gets there just ahead

of Kari Pearce, and she

is gonna pick up 50 points.

And Tia Toomey is towards
the back of the pack,

and she's gonna watch
her overall lead disappear
after this event.

Right next to her
is Sara Sigmundsdottir.

[Justin]
Katrin was the only woman

to finish the entire
handstand walk unbroken.

-[Sean] There goes Mat Fraser...
-[man] Oh, my goodness!

[Sean] ...who's catching up
with Jacob Heppner,

and Jacob Heppner
will take this heat.

Now, Mat Fraser,
he will finish second.

We were pretty dumbfounded

by what he did in
the Handstand Walk,

but that paled in comparison

to what he did
in the Suicide Sprint.

[Mat] Last year
there's two runs,

and I think I got
dead last on both of them.

That sucked.
I [bleep] up.

[man] What happened?

[Mat] I'm not a good sprinter,
and it was the type of thing

like everyone said,
"Ah, Suicide Sprint.

What are you gonna do?"

I'm like,
"No, I wanna win that."

[Sean] So you're thinking,
okay, this is where Mat Fraser

finally finishes
in the middle of the pack,

and all order is restored.

And Katrin Davidsdottir
unofficially has

the overall lead thanks to
her win in the Handstand Walk.

But this is the event where
Tia Toomey could regain it.

[Tia] By that time, I think I
heard that Katrin was leading.

Instantly, when you hear that,
you put out more effort,

because you're fighting
for that position again,

and I think more adrenaline
kicks in or something.

It's just a mental thing.

[Sean] And Toomey
is gonna take it.

So Tia Toomey answers back
here in the sprint

and she will win the event.

Now I'm not sure who has
the overall lead.

[Tanya] And Katrin's face,
she is not happy with that.

[Sean] Look who is there
in the red shorts.

Now Fraser and Ben Smith
in a foot race.

[Mat] Going around the corner,
he'd get a couple meters ahead.

By the time we got back,
we'd be even again.

Then on that last one, he was
a couple meters ahead of me.

I had so much adrenaline going.

If I don't do this now,

that whole year of training
was useless.

If I'm not going to die before
crossing that finish line,

what was the point
of that whole year of running?

[Sean] Are you kidding me?

What can't this guy do?!

Mat Fraser
is gonna win his heat!

[Mat] I was
so pumped up of like...

just...

Whew!

Goosebumps again.

That was the proudest
I've ever been of myself.

Like that was like the moment
of the games for me.

[Katrin] I'm lucky that I get
to do what I do.

I'm lucky that I get to be
at the CrossFit Games.

This is what I love doing.

You're going to have
ups and downs

and things aren't always
going to go your way,

but make the best of it,
like make it a good memory.

[Bne Bergeron]
That's a different Katrin
than last year.

It's something that she
struggles on a lot

in previous was what I call
horizontal movement.

Move things from here to there.

She's a gymnast
and she moves well

and she's good at this really
long conditioning stuff,

but odd object brunt work force,
not so good.

And when she went out
for that event,

which was the most just like
get work done,

and annihilated it,

that's when I turned
to my friend and was like,

"She can repeat as the champ."

[Tanya] More importantly
for Davidsdottir,

if she was to be crowned
the champ two years in a row,

she has to stay ahead
of Tia Toomey.

[Sean] Briggs putting on
a last-ditch effort
to beat Davidsdottir.

[Sam] Damn you, Katrin.
I was ready to overtake her.

She cut into my lane
and blocked me.

I was like,
what a strategic move.

[Sean] Katrin Davidsdottir
is your overall leader,

another 50 points as she wins
two of the three events here

in the soccer stadium.

Fraser is gonna be
in the top four once again.

[man] What the heck
is going on?

[Sean] Domination.

Tia Toomey had the lead,
lost the lead,

had the lead,
and now has lost the lead again.

My legs hurt so much.

I can't walk right now.

Can someone help me, please?

Literally just going until
my legs don't work anymore.

Like, if I have
a drop of energy, use it.

I don't need to come across
the line

with any extra energy.

[fans cheering Ben]

[man] Hell yeah! Hell yeah, Ben!

[Ben Smith]
I thought I could pace it

on the first one
and sprint the second one.

Didn't have it, bad strategy.

That doesn't look fun.

[Dave] Your next event,

we call it the Rope Chipper.

Heavy-handled ropes

with a heavy cable, feel it.

Can I feel it, too?

Nah, you're good, you're good.
You'll see it out there.

[Dave] Your final event

is gonna start with

three pegboard ascents,

and we call this event

Redemption,

because we're gonna see

who practiced and trained

on something like this

over the previous year.

-[bleep] yeah.
-I think it's cool.

I really like the Chipper.
I love workouts and Chippers.

I love workouts that's just
go, go, go, go,

and I just like
a cool rope pull.

Couldn't have picked like
the worst movements for me.

No, just... nah.

I'm not that great with
all the friggin' rowing

and the assault bike.

Sometimes you surprise yourself
against certain athletes,

but I know where I want
to measure up

against certain people
in certain events,

and when you get a good win
over the right people,

it's reassuring
and it makes you feel like

you belong there
a little bit, right?

As soon as you think
you can't beat someone,

you're definitely not
gonna beat them,

and you're definitely not gonna
beat another ten guys

that are just as good as them.

I just go out there
and do my thing.

It's kind of like what he said,

I was able to win three events
at the CrossFit Games.

I think you're gonna go faster
than you think you can.

Okay.

'Cause skier, rower, bike--
we live on that shit.

Right.

And then the pull is just,

get that pump
for the finish line.

Right. Ahh! [giggles]

[Mat] When he announced
the workouts,

I almost did backflips

because when
I'm pressed on time,

I just do an EMOM

of 200-meter row,
200-meter ski,

200-meter assault bike,

with 50 double-unders
in between.

So when he announced it,
I'm like, oh, my God!

Throwing me a nice slow pitch,
let me crank this one out.

Meanwhile I get on the field,
not the same as home.

At all.

[Sean] Event 14
of competition here

at the 2016
Reebok CrossFit Games,

and as always we close out
at the tennis stadium

at the StubHub Center
in Carson, California.

[announcer] Here we go,
ladies and gentlemen!

[Sean] Mat Fraser will be
right in the middle.

He has a gigantic lead
over Ben Smith,

and then the two Canadians
fighting for third place.

That's Patrick Vellner
and Brent Fikowski.

[Tanya] It's been like
a Ping-Pong match-up

between 1 and 2,
Davidsdottir and Toomey.

Will she take it back
after this event?

[Sean] Josh Bridges is
the first man to the rower.

He seemed to get to the next
movement right before I would.

It was good to have him
and Ben Smith to my right.

It seemed like we were all
holding the same pace.

[Sean] And it's
Australia out front,

Kara Webb and Tia Toomey, the
first women to the jump-rope.

This is good for Tia Toomey.

[Tia] I'm shocking myself,
like this is awesome!

And then it came to pulling.

[Sean] The crowd coming
to its feet

as both Davidsdottir
and Sigmundsdottir

have gotten to the SkiErg
at the same time.

Tia Toomey is onto the sled pull
as is Kara Webb.

Kara Webb accidentally stepped
across the finish line.

She is not done yet,
she has to pull that sled

standing in that red box.

There was confusion with her
and the judge.

Toomey needs to make up
11 points in order to overtake

the top spot on the leaderboard.

Josh Bridges gets
to the sled first.

Brent Fikowski's behind him,

and I remember looking
at the sleds,

and Josh's was creeping
and Brent Fikowski

was taking these giant chunks.

[man] Look at him crushing this!

[Sean] Toomey still ahead
but Davidsdottir

threatening to pass her.

Kara Webb is the leader.

Brent Fikowski is destroying
this sled

and Brent Fikowski destroys
the time to beat!

Another win
for the impressive rookie!

I expected it to be heavy,
but I didn't think

it was gonna stop me
in my tracks.

This is [bleep] not moving.
What is going on?!

[Sean] Kara Webb has her sled
across the finish line.

She will win the event.

Katrin Davidsdottir
will finish second,
and she will take the lead

into the final event.

Now Tia Toomey is in trouble.

[Tia] I was a bit disappointed
because I was killing that

until that pull.

[Sean] Here comes Cole Sager

across the finish line.

Ben Smith will be done.

Mat Fraser is pulling.

Here comes his sled.

[announcer] ...three, two, one!

[air horn blows]

[announcer]
Ladies and gentlemen,

what a finish!

Put your hands together

and make some noise...

[Sean] She leads Tia Toomey
by 23 points.

Sara Sigmundsdottir 53 back,
and Sam Briggs

on the outside looking in
when it comes to the podium.

Sara Sigmundsdottir
and Tia Toomey will try

to chase down that woman.

They have one event left
in which to catch her.

[man] Finish it up strong.

[Sean] Brent Fikowski quickly
becoming a crowd favorite.

He's still in fourth place
but only 26 points

behind Patrick Vellner
for the third and final spot

on the podium,
Ben Smith solidly in second.

I'm not being negative,
just realistic.

Maybe the podium isn't
in the cards,

so it would be silly for me,
I think, to chase that

and then finish in like
tenth or whatever,

when maybe fourth
is where I belong.

I'm not being negative,

I completely believe
I can be on the podium,

but that's how I see it.

No!

[man laughs]

-[man] One second too late.
-One second too late.

Uggggh!

Gosh!

There's one more,
and that's your one more.

Just gonna leave
everything [bleep] out there.

The whole of 2016 is being
left on that floor

for the next one, yeah?

Yeah?

I'm... [bleep].

Let's go cool down properly
and get ready for the next one.

Ice me.

[man] Last year,
when the pegboard showed up,

she was unable to climb
any pegboards.

She didn't get one.

[Sean] And Katrin Davidsdottir
has decided

that she's not gonna
go after this thing again

and rest up
for the second event.

[Ben Bergeron]
We practiced pegboards
a lot this past year.

We built up a lot of
upper-body pulling strength.

Having said that, for as much
as we worked it--

we did, we worked it a lot--

between last year's games where
she did not finish a pegboard

and this year's games,
she did one.

I just kept saying, "I don't
know how to do this workout."

And I was worried that I'd get
my emotions all mixed up

and I would go out too hot
and I'd fatigue

and then everyone would
overtake me.

[Katrin] Sometimes
it's honestly better

to take yourself out
of the CrossFit Games.

Like I said, if you're thinking
too much about it,

if you're like this moment
and these pegboards

are gonna come down to whether
I win the CrossFit Games or not,

it's easy to get caught up
in like going too fast

and blowing yourself up,
and it's a short workout,
there's no time for that.

Then Shane goes, "All you need
to do is beat Katrin.

Okay? That's all you need
to focus on."

I was like, "All right, that's
all I'm going to focus on."

You knew that Toomey had
to beat Davidsdottir

but she also needed some help.

She needed to get as many people
between herself and Katrin

in order to make up
the point deficit

and get herself on top.

[Tia] And also I said,
"Shane, I need to see you."

So like if there's a workout

that I want
a bit more support in,

he'll position himself
in the crowd

where I can see him
so he can tell me what to do

whenever I sit back and I'll be,
"Okay, three seconds,
I'm gonna go."

-You about to go hard?
-Hmm?

-You about to go hard?
-I think we have to.

You don't have to.

Dare you to do the minimum
work requirement, Mat.

I'm just gonna do the workout.

-My hair, is it all right?
-It's doing good.

-Cool. It's a little wet.
-Mine's a [bleep] disaster.

[Brent] That's basically how
it always is, so...

that's what you're looking for,
then that's what you got.

[man] Going into
that last event,

like you have to go for it.

We're in a points battle
for the podium,

and I knew Brent was really good
on the pegboard,

and I talked to him
about it before

and he was like,
"I'm going to go fast enough

"that I'm going to risk burning
out because it does matter.

"If I can go all out
and potentially get third,

"that's great.

"If I go all out and miss it
and get sixth instead of fourth,

"that doesn't matter,
but if you have the chance

for the podium,
you've got to go for it."

[indistinct]

-Oh! Who is that?
-Oh, who is that?

[Tia] I'm really proud
that I had the confidence

to say that, yeah, I really want
to go to the Olympics

and the CrossFit Games
in the same year

and I managed to do that.

I'm really trying hard not
to put pressure on myself

for the games.

I think this year, it's more
about me just making sure

I don't mentally break down.

I think that has to do
with a little confidence.

I need to have more confidence
in myself,

so if I can improve anything,
it would be

believing in myself
a little bit more.

[woman] Do you think you can
win the games?

I don't know.

[woman shouting]

[Tanya] She posted on social
media, "This one's for you,"

a tribute to her grandmother
who she lost earlier this year.

She posted "Together forever
and always."

Her grandmother was
her biggest fan.

[Katrin] My grandma was
with me that week.

The shoes with "Amma,"
I was like wearing those.

I need to be able to look down
and see her

and I had a necklace on.

We both had the same one
after she passed away,

but like a protection angel
on hers.

That's buried with her,
and then I have mine,

and I have a protection angel
on that,

so I always feel like she's
with me when I wear that.

I put it on, and I was like,
"We're doing this one together."

-[woman] Davidsdottir!
-[man] Let's go, girl!

[speaking foreign language]

[man] Let's go!

You're ready for this, Sara,
come on!

[Pat] We first saw
the pegboard in 2015.

That was a monkey wrench

that director of the games
Dave Castro

inserted directly into the anus

of most of the game's athletes.

And they didn't enjoy
the experience,

and I don't know if he did.

[Dave] The first minute,
minute and a half,

however long it took you
to get up three ascents,

was exactly the same
as what she did last year.

[Sean] Katrin Davidsdottir just
needs to finish in fifth place

or better in order
to guarantee herself

another CrossFit Games
championship.

He doesn't have to do anything
in this event.

That's how far ahead he is,
but that's not gonna happen.

Last year it stopped
the majority of the field

dead in their tracks, this year
the pegboard is back.

[Tanya] Many women were just
staring at it,

but this year's gonna be
a different ball game.

[announcer]
Ladies and gentlemen,

if you're not on your feet,
you should be

because this is gonna be
a battle royale!

[Sean] The final heat
of the final event

of what has been a five-day
full test of fitness.

[Tanya] There is so much
on the line right now.

[man] The amount that these guys
have had to deal with

and how they are responding
all the way into this last test

of this gigantic test
of fitness

is super impressive.

[Mat] I just saunter up
to my pegboard,

I'm in no rush.

I want to pace it,
not embarrass myself,

and just finish.

Not only fatigue but you're also
a little bit nervous

about falling off
at that height.

[Tanya] Look at how composed

and relaxed
Katrin Davidsdottir is.

[Katrin] There was no reason
for me to go out really hard

because it was just gonna
come down

to how many pegboards
I was gonna make.

I did my first three pegboards,
and I'm not gonna lie,

that third one, I was like,
oh, my gosh.

Like, my arms
are already toasted.

[Tia] So I finally got down,
looked at Shane,

and he's like, "You've got
seven seconds."

[Sean] There goes Tia Toomey
to the barbell.

Toomey and Pearce trading
first place in this heat.

Sara Sigmundsdottir
is on to the barbell.

[Mat] Ben Smith was ahead of me,

and I saw him on his set
of 21 thrusters.

He had put the bar down,
and that was the moment

that I was like,
"I wanna win this."

So I just went, grabbed the bar
and just started cranking them.

[Sean] Tia Toomey is done,
will roll her barbell forward.

Katrin Davidsdottir
is just finishing

her third pegboard ascent.

[man] On each, I was gonna pause
at the top of the thruster

and try to rush the transition
as much as I could

and take small breaks
between the pegs.

Every part of that event,
if he was going up,

I had to start moving.

[Sean] Katrin Davidsdottir is
resting on the thrusters.

[Tanya] She's been pushing
herself to her limits

and it looks like it might be
catching up to her, Sean.

[Sean] Tia Toomey continues to
lead along with Kari Pearce.

[Ben Bergeron] She takes a quick
peek, has that thought process,
"I've got to keep up with her?"

She tries to go up
a little too quick

and doesn't take
the rest she needs to.

If she fails one
of those pegboards, she's done.

You can take a chance now.

This is the time when you
have to take a chance.

[Sean] Sara Sigmundsdottir
just fell off the pegboard,

so now she's got to go to
the other end of the floor.

[Sara] Like just stay calm
and get your new pegs

and then wait 20 to 40 seconds
and then you go up again

and you can still like,
still a possibility.

[Sean] So that opens the door
for Katrin Davidsdottir.

Tia Toomey is back
on the barbell.

[Dave] Tia, I thought she was
looking at someone,

and she was getting coached
to slow down.

[Sean] Sara Sigmundsdottir
for the second straight year

is running into trouble
on the pegboard.

And then I failed again,
and then I failed again.

Oh, my gosh, is this how
my CrossFit Games
are gonna end again?

Like, what is happening?

[Sean] Brent Fikowski
and Ben Smith are your leaders,

but Mat Fraser has moved himself
towards the top here.

[Mat] I don't want to be
remembered as the guy
who paced it

but had done well enough
in the weekend before.

I want to crush all of them.

[Sean] Mat Fraser
back to the barbell

to put the finishing touches
on his championship performance.

The dream is becoming reality!
Second no more!

Mat Fraser
is the Fittest Man on Earth!

[Tanya] Katrin just
went methodically
one hole at a time.

[Katrin] Somewhere halfway up,
I start falling.

I was not letting go.

Katrin utilized
the center peg holes

which no one at the time
was using.

So I just start like
gap retracting my way up,

and I was like, okay,
at least I'm moving.

And then I started going down.
Don't fall, do not fall.

Do not fall, Katrin, and I
make it back down, like, cool.

[Sean] Katrin Davidsdottir
fighting for her life here.

Toomey is back
for her final nine reps.

So Tia Toomey is getting closer
to being crowned

the Fittest Woman on Earth.

Tia Toomey will
wait and see what happens.

She will place eighth
in the event.

Brent Fikowski
is across the finish line.

[Tommy] Everyone's eyes just
immediately turned to Vellner.

Where is Vellner at,
how many spots

are going to get chewed up
between them,

and is it going to be enough
to give Fikowski a podium spot?

[Sean] As Vellner comes
across the finish line.

Vellner will finish in ninth,
and that's gonna do it.

Now we need to see
how this shakes out.

[Katrin] I made five pegboards,
that was huge.

I couldn't be happier,
but Tia finished the workout.

She got a time and...

I didn't know where I placed,
I didn't know where she placed,

I didn't know
her point distribution.

It felt like forever

that they were gonna
announce it.

[Rory] Mat Fraser's dominance
was astounding,

there's just no other way
to put it.

He did great
at a lot of things

that I didn't expect him to.

I expected there to be
a closer race.

But it seems like, if you were
in a heat with him,

you probably weren't
gonna win.

[Sean] And the celebration can
begin for Mat Fraser.

[Dave] You already know

who your 2016
CrossFit Games champion is!

Mat Fraser!

[Mat] Everyone sees that little
glimpse, that five days.

They don't see me
in the basement doing
rowing intervals by myself.

They don't see me squatting
by myself.

They don't see that work
getting put in.

Just think about all
those nights at the track

where I pull out my flashlight
on my phone to get to my car.

I feel like
this year's finish reflected

what people didn't see,
all that time training,

doing stuff
that I didn't want to do.

That's what stepping
on that podium meant to me, was,

it paid off.

[Tanya] And this is just where
all you can do is wait

and it feels like
an eternity.

[announcer] Now we're gonna get
those scores tabulated.

[Sean] But the question is,
did Toomey do enough

to jump over
Katrin Davidsdottir?

These are some nerve-wracking
minutes for these women.

When, just before I left,
someone said to me,

"If you beat Katrin
in this last workout,

you will win," and so I was
like, "Oh, my God, I beat her."

[crowd cheering]

But then I'm never someone
to assume something

before I actually know
the end result.

They took so long.

It was the longest ten minutes
of my life.

I could see Katrin,
and she looked really gutted,

and I was like, "Does she feel
like she's lost?"

[Katrin] I really wanted to win
for my grandma.

It was more for her that I
wanted to win than for myself.

[grandmother] We do have
a lot of fun together.

We like to go shopping.

I like to go and cheer her
when she is competing.

We both do.

Grandma and Grandpa.

That's us.

[Katrin] She was gonna come
to the games this year.

And, I mean, she did.

Just maybe not
in the stands section.

So she got to be out
on the floor with me this time.

All I wanted to do
was make her proud.

And I looked up at Shane
and I seen him again,
and he goes like this.

Then I started bawling
and crying.

And I walked over to Katrin,
I was like, "Good job."

It takes so much for an athlete
to get through that

and for her to come on top,
I was really happy for her,

but at the same time,
I was so gutted.

[Dave] Ladies and gentlemen,

your 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games
champion is...

once again Katrin Davidsdottir!

[Katrin] I felt like my grandma
was with me this year.

She believed in me more
than anyone in this world.

-Thank you.
-Nice work.

[Tia] It was
a big disappointment

that I let him down.

Um...

He did everything
that he needed to do,

and I didn't do my part, so...

and that was to execute
each workout

to the best that I could.

No, that's okay.

You needed more
than 15 seconds.

[Tia] He blames himself
for me not coming first,

and that's really heartbreaking

because...

as far as I'm concerned,
he did everything that he could

and it was me who kind of
let the team down.

You did well.

Next year.

[indistinct conversation]

[indistinct conversation]

Thank you.

Results at the CrossFit Games
often come down

to just a couple seconds,
or even less than a second.

[Rory] Every little input
that you have control over

in these competitive events
absolutely matter.

It goes so far
as to even go beyond

the way that you do the actual
work as it's written on paper,

but it's how you get
from one element to the next.

It's your transitions, it's
how you cross the finish line

that could mean the difference
between first and second,

podium and not podium--
every single little bit matters.

[Patrick] Again, at the end
of that event,

I toed Bjorgvin across the line
by a tenth of a second

and that put me over.

Trying to just sprint across
in that last bit,

that last ditch effort
of my last one second
of the CrossFit Games

made the difference for me
to make it to the podium.

Like that was it.

I love you, man.

I got a good friendship
out of you, man.

[indistinct]
I love it.

[Brent] To finish it,
I was overwhelmed with joy,

just because I was proud
of the way I attacked an event.

Like the big finale,
I didn't choke or anything.

I just did my best,
it was sweet.

[Sara] I'm not satisfied with
this year or last year.

It's already begun.

[Sara] I'm so much more
hungry for next year.

Of course my goal
for next year is to win.

I'm the fittest person over 30
two years in a row.

[Ben] You felt like you were
playing really good golf,

but the guy you were playing
against was playing better,

so, that's kind of how I felt.
[chuckles]

I'm gonna need to work to get
better next year.

That's on me, that's not on
anybody else, you know.

[Rory] Even before the games,

CrossFit was blowing up
worldwide.

And the increase in fitness
that we were seeing

was already colossal.

Then enter the CrossFit Games

and the increase
in performance we've seen

in just one decade
has made quantum leaps.

In the next 10 years,
I just can't wait to see

how much further
that can be pushed.

I've got a taste of it.
I want more.

I mean, if one is good...

two's gotta be awesome, right?

Duh!

♪ ♪