by Arnie R.
(Disclaimer: I can’t possibly know every story of every athlete. Most of the information below should be correct but it is possible I missed a fact or two as I wrote this very quickly and with very little research. If I missed a fact or even a cool story please share it in the comments and I will add it to this post.)
The 2014 CrossFit regionals in Jacksonville is going to be a blast to watch this year. What makes the Southeast regionals so fun is that the athletes at the top are so close to one another as far as abilities go. In some of the other regions you have about 3 – 5 men or women that you would say have a chance to win. In the Southeast there are about 12 guys with a good shot and probably about 10 women. In the final heat of the men’s competition last year there were around 10 athletes that still had a chance to make it to the games. In the previous year most spots were locked up by the final heat.
Looking at the competitors this year, I would only put my money on one athlete who is a lock to make it to the games. Talayna Fortunato is a standout in the SouthEast and is a complete package. She has been here many time before, and just like last year, she just needs to cruise through these workouts to earn her spot.
As far as the women go, there are a couple interesting storylines that I will cover briefly.
Emily Bridgers: Emily kills it every year in the open. She has finished top 10 in the world after the open for the past three years but has yet to make it to the games. For some reason there is always one workout that seems to get her. In 2012 she was inexperienced and finished 4th, in 2013 she had a rough deadlift/box jump workout in event 6 ultimately finishing in 5th place. Is this the year she rises to the top? If she makes it to Carson she has a shot at winning but for some reason she always struggles at regionals.
Lauren Brooks: Lauren Brooks is a very strong girl. Until Taylar Stallings came along, Lauren always dominated the strength workouts. She was always a little bit stockier than other athletes and didn’t perform as well in the body weight movements. However, all the changed in the off season this year. Lauren got shredded to say the least. She is still super strong but doesn’t have an ounce of fat to spare. This resulted in her best finish ever in the open. She is top 3 and has a great shot of going to the games.
Taylar Stallings: Taylar is the only girl in the world who can do the workout King Kong RX. As a former power lifter she has deadlifted 534 pounds in competition. Last year Taylar was very raw. She generally finished first or last in all the events (not really, but close). She killed all the strength workouts but struggled with skills and body weight. Now that she has a year under her it will interesting to see how she performs. Watching her at Crush six months ago, she looked much better skill wise. However, is she going to be too heavy for the strict handstand pushups? One finish in 25th place can knock you off the podium. Taylar is going to need a flawless Regionals to make it to the games. But, as a former power lifter myself I am rooting for her to make it.
