We love CrossFit as it enables the everyday Guys and Girls Next Door to compete with Elite athletes such as Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, Annie Thorisdottir, Mat Fraser, Ben Smith, and Rich Froning. It also gives you the chance to beat them at their own game, and that’s exactly what Jamie Greene and Kyle Frankenfeld from the Southern Hemisphere, have done. Incidentally, they have never made it past regionals, but that didn’t stop them either.
While these names may be new to us, this is not a story of overnight success.
Jamie Greene, a New Zealander with a background in gymnastics and rugby, has beaten the likes of 2013 Fittest Woman on Earth and two-time Open winner, Samantha Briggs in the CrossFit Open 16.3 workout.
Greene competed as an Individual at the 2014 Australia Regional (21st) before relocating to Abu Dhabi, UAE, to take a coaching job at CrossFit Yas. The following year, she and other ex-pat trainers formed a team that would go on to take 2nd place at the Meridian Regional, only to be disqualified when it came to light that a teammate had moved to the UAE after the January 1, 2015 cutoff.
Greene’s success is reminiscent of Sara Sigmundsdottir’s rise to worldwide acclaim with her third-place overall 2015 Open finish, which would be followed by a bronze medal at the Games. Greene, however, has no intention of becoming 2016’s Sigmundsdottir.
“We decided straight away (after disqualification) that we were going team, regardless of how any of us did in the off-season or the (2016) Open. I’m not one to let my mates down. Plus it’s so fun going team. The pressure is shared —but because we are all so close we just have a laugh,” Greene said.
Catch her interview with Pat Sherwood on the Update Show courtesy of CrossFit.com
Frankenfeld, an Australian three-time regional Individual competitor, came two spots shy of qualifying for the Games in 2015, a career best finish after 13th- and 24th-place finishes the previous two years.
“I honestly didn’t feel like last year was the year for me to be going to the Games. There were still major flaws in my performance that needed to be addressed. That being said, being that close sparked a massive fire in me!,” Frankenfeld said.
After the regional, Frankenfeld took three months to rehab injuries and work on weaknesses revealed by the regional events, among which were his one-rep-max snatch (Event 5, 206 lb., 36th place), 250-ft. handstand walk (Event 4, 2:35.5, 15th), and the ability to withstand workouts with rowing, chest-to-bar pull-ups, and strict deficit handstand push-ups (Event 6, 15:50, 19th).
“I have had two shoulder reconstructions. I have been battling to recover for quite some time. I then had a massive strength focus to help build up on those weaknesses I had identified,” Frankenfeld said.
Get some inspiration with Kyle Frankenfeld on the Update Show courtesy of CrossFit.com.
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