17-year-old Mallory O’Brien had spectators on their feet last night during Individual Event 4, winning the event in Heat 2 and denying Tia-Clair Toomey a chance at a 4/4 first place streak on Day 1 of the 2021 CrossFit Games.
IE4 emulated the grueling workout from this year’s 21.1 Open, bringing back the infamous wall walks and combining them them another unpopular movement — thrusters.
Individual Event 4
For time:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of:
- Wall walks
- Thrusters 135 | 185 lb. (short bars)
Time cap: 20 min.
Following another hugely impressive performance by 17-year-old Emma Cary, who kicked off Heat 1 with a definitive win over a field of veterans, Mal O’Brien came out in Heat 2 with something to prove.
From the get-go Mal dominated the event, the first athlete to push Tia for the first time in any event so far, only occasionally giving up the lead early in the event. Her technique of long, unbroken thrusters helped her stay ahead of the field, and she had absolutely no issue with the wall walks, a movement which other athletes struggled with.
She won the event in 13:41; the only athlete with a sub 14-minute time, followed by Toomey (14:15) and Emma Cary in third (14:25).
At 17-years-old, Mal O’Brien is the youngest event Individual winner in CrossFit Games history. Both Mal and Emma’s strong performances in IE4 prove both of these teenagers deserve a place among the best in the sport. Heading into Day 2 of Indy events on Friday, there are still two podium spots that are anyone’s to claim.
Read More: Brave Veteran Kara Saunders Battles On Despite COVID-19 Complications
Image Sources
- malobrien: CrossFit Inc.