This was one of the best weekends for a long time - spent training hard and seeing so many people achieve things that they did not think were possible.
The European Inferno is a brand new competition organised by the guys from Dragon Crossfit down in Wales. It is for pairs only and spaces sold out within a few days. Everyone competing could not wait to get there
This was one of the best weekends for a long time - spent training hard and seeing so many people achieve things that they did not think were possible.
The European Inferno is a brand new competition organised by the guys from Dragon Crossfit down in Wales. It is for pairs only and spaces sold out within a few days. Everyone competing could not wait to get there.
After the long drive down on Friday, we all met at the venue to check in and have a look. Even Chris Peel turned up as a very last minute replacement for an injured Clutterbuck!! For some, this was the first time they had competed and nerves were flowing thick and fast! Shaz and Sam, two of our Strong Mums, had entered and were looking a little scared, even after a swim and sauna they had at the hotel upon arrival!!! Off to bed for a good sleep and then to hit Day One hard.
Judges briefing on Day One went so fast and then it was time to go!
WOD 1 was a max effort clean and a max effort strict press. Jane and Teri were in the first heat and could not wait to get going. They started strong, both hitting PBs on both lifts and setting the standard for the rest of the guys. Huge PBs all round and so much motivation came from the first WOD for everyone that the nerves were very much settled. There were too many PBs to mention all of them, but with such difficult lifts in a short space of time everyone showed so much composure and perfect technique and realised what they were capable of. Comptetition does amazing things!
WOD 2 looked easy on paper but turned out to be horrific!8 x 150m shuttle sprints, alternating between partners...how hard can sprinting be? Evidently, very!Everyone walked away looking like they had been shot in the hamstrings! Alan and Knoxy showed us all how it was done with such speed! Everyone needed some TLC after that and spent a good ten mins on the bike or rower to try and recover...
WOD 3 was a test of strength and determination and to see how comfortable you are being uncomfortable. 6 mins to accumulate as many burpee bar jumps as possible whilst your partner holds 100/70kg at the top of a deadlift! This sounds easy, but once your heart rate is up and your forearms start to burn you are in a word of pain! Jess and Rudds showed huge commitment to both their partners as they struggled with shoulder injuries. Clare had to spend a long time with Rudds to get it back together again for the next WOD.
WOD 4 brought Buddy Carries and Kettlbell Swings. This was the one that no one was looking forward to at all and it turned out we had to do it at the end of Day One instead of the start of Day Two! What a way to finish a long, hard day! Some of us had missed match pairs and some lighter and some heavier than others that made it very interesting! The shout out for this WOD has to go to Sam and Shaz for an amazing effort. Shaz was very close to tears at the end of the WOD after an incredible effort and nearly doing all the swings unbroken. Sam had got them off to a flying start and never stopped encouraging. It was incredible to see.
After questionable food intake on the Saturday night and then a good sleep, we all gathered once more for the second day of competition. Only two more WODs to go and we could all relax!!
WOD 5 was the row and run combo! Row 1500m and run 800m as fast as possible! Ian and Ant put their height to very good use and smashed the row leaving the arena for the run in first place. They then put in a great run and managed to win their heat and finish 22nd overall in WOD 5. Louise and Clare put in a huge effort on this as neither of them are a fan of running! A huge team effort saw them sprint across the finish line with the whole crowd cheering them on. Dalby and Jacqui finished 10th in the field in this WOD after an immense row dominated by Jacqui then Dalby getting her running round that track faster than ever before!
The 6th and final WOD saw us getting after a 7 min amrap of 7 Thrusters and 7 Box Jumps. Everyone knows how much thrusters hurt, but the commitment from everyone was immense. Alan and Knoxy running at the top of the HG3 teams, with Tiff and Emma very close behind. Dalby and her partner Jacqui from IN2 in London had an amazing WOD and really climbed up the rankings. They were 10th at one point and actually finished the whole competition in 24th place.
The Final placings were as follows:
Men
JKAS (Alan and Knoxy) 64th
The Henderson Brothers 72nd
Firebullets (Chris Peel and JP) 90th
HG3 Bad Boys (Pete and Rudds) 100th
Women
Naked Apettes (Dalby and Jacqui) 24th
TiggerTrons (Emma Young and Tiff) 33rd
The Awkward Turtles (Jess and Bexx) 48th
Butterfly Assassins (Clare and Louise) 58h
AllKnightBender (Jane and Teri) 62nd
Strong Mums (Sam and Shaz) 65th
There were so many amazing moments of the weekend it is hard to get them all in. We just want to say that we are so proud of what everyone achieved and the way everyone supported each other. Thank you so much for representing yourself and the gym so well. You really did yourselves proud.
Also, a special mention must go to Jim Sefton for being the official photographer for the weekend. For all of the photos go to www.jamessefton.com and you can see all of them. They are amazing!
Review by Ant Henderson
