Jason Khalipa earned the 2009 Spirit of the Games Award!
CrossFit by Overload's video of the award ceremony ... [wmv] [mov]
By now, most people have heard about Jason's amazing recovery from his horrific run.
His ability to recover (both physically and mentally) and deliver world-class performances, combined with his attitude and support of fellow athletes made him the top choice for the award.
But the choice wasn't an easy one.
Nicole Gordon (left) smashed her finger on the stake during the fourth event. She finished the event in spite of the pain and blood, and was treated by medical. It appeared she had fractured the finger, so she was sent to the ER. X-rays revealed no fracture, so she raced back to compete in the final event of the day.
Annie Thorisdottir (right) and Sveinbjorn Sveinbjornsson from Iceland have only been doing CrossFit for a few months, but they came to Aromas to win. They are both amazing athletes and their bootcamp program incorporates all but the most technical functional movements. On Day 2, they found themselves having to learn the barbell snatch, parallette handstand push-ups, double-unders, and muscle-ups on the spot. They both got their first muscle-up ever during the final Chipper. They didn't win, but they both gave truly impressive displays of athleticism and competitive spirit. They'll be back next year with skills!
Sarah Dunsmore (left) was not able to complete a single non-kipping parallette handstand push-up during the Event 7 Triplet. As per the rules, this disqualified her from competing further for the championship. She opted to do the final Chipper to compete for 13th place (three other women were in the same position). It took her over 15min to complete the 10 muscle-ups, but she kept fighting. She fought all the way to the end, finishing just a minute before the 35min cap to the delight of the cheering crowd.
6 comments on this entry.
1. MB wrote...
July 19, 2009 8:12 AM
Videos are broken links.
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2. Tony Budding wrote...
July 19, 2009 8:34 AM
Videos should work now.
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3. gaucoin wrote...
July 19, 2009 9:51 AM
That's a nice feel good article! I love the picture of Chuck cheering Annie on, it captures what CrossFit is all about!
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4. silverback wrote...
July 19, 2009 11:19 AM
Getting movements for the first time under the lights of the CrossFit Games is simply incredible. While it's a shame they didn't establish them before, it shows true grit and determination. It shows what a cheering community can do! Every one of these athletes should be extrememly proud. I witnessed Chuck Carswell's enthusiasm while judging all competitors and it was awesome. Tony, sending you a pic of Chuck that I just love. Hope you can post it with an article on judging. Certainly they had a VERY difficult task.
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5. Becky N wrote...
July 19, 2009 6:54 PM
These folks are wonderful examples of the CrossFit community. Getting to watch all the competitors at The Games was amazing and inspirational.
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6. Tom Brose wrote...
July 19, 2009 7:52 PM
Amazing to see these athletes giving their all. Judging was an honor and more than enough motivation to last until 2010! Nothing was better than seeing athletes pick themselves up off the ground and race over to cheer on the competition. The spirit of the competitors, organizers and volunteers (some of whom didn't get to see a minute of the event, like the guys in the parking areas) is something very special.
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