29 TRAINING : HYROX N.A. Leading into the lunges, Magida built enough of a gap for a stop at the water table before entering the station 6 to 7 paces ahead of Scott and Sandbach. Sandbach’s early effort to break the field appeared to cost him here, he lost 10s to both Scott and Magida, and his chances at the title, Scott looking determined, battled hard to stay in contention reaching the final station only 10 seconds after Magida. The Wall Ball station, the final challenge of a HYROX proved the differentiator between the 3 athletes, Magida produced an impressive 3:55 split, more than 20s faster than his competitors and more than enough to earn him his win and his qualification to the World Championships. A distinctive performance from a fierce competitor who wasn’t a favourite coming into this race and has set a huge statement for the rest of the field. Women’s Race: After strong performances at the European Championships, the challenge for a new athlete to break into the top of the women’s field was huge. With WC qualification slots available Alandra Greenlee (USA), Linda Meier (GER), Terra Jackson (USA) and the other hopefuls needed to put in season-best performances to disrupt Lauren Weeks (USA), Mikaela Norman (CH) and Megan Jacoby (USA). From the start, the 3 favourites distanced themselves from the chasing pack, Norman who fell early in the race made up time to stay in the leading athlete group and chipped away with consistent sub 4 min run times alongside fast workouts. Weeks started strong winning the first run (3.45) and the ski erg (4.14) as well as fast sled push (2.55) and burpees (3.00) to enter the second half of the race in a comfortable lead. Norman, having recovered from her early fall, began to close the gap with ultra-consistent run times and relentless pressure in the workouts, including the farmers carry (1.55) and lunges (3.15) that saw her take the lead. Meanwhile, Jacoby quietly moved into 2nd with a strong second-half showing, reeling in Weeks and setting her sights on Norman. Despite a faster lunge station (3.11) in the penultimate workout Jacoby wasn’t able to close on the final run and entered the wall balls over 30s behind Norman. Finishing the wall balls unbroken, Norman crossed the finish line in 1.02.04, 40 seconds ahead of Jacoby to claim 1st place and the American Open Champion title, an impressive performance following a disappointing race for her in Maastricht. All 3 of the podium women (a repeat in a different order) are clearly capable of winning on their day and have set the scene for a thrilling final race at the World Championships in Manchester this year. In a notable achievement, Lauren Weeks won two medals in the day; she raced the Go Ruck doubles with CrossFit Games on-field reporter Niki Brazier which they won only 2 hours after the elite race to add to her bronze medal. See Final Rankings THE WORLD SERIES OF FITNESS RACING
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