Going into the third day of HYROX competition in Melbourne, the Elite 15 Pro Doubles Women field was stacked with top athletes such as Joanna Wietrzyk and Jess Pettrow, Seka Arning, Sophia Parvizi Wayne, Lauren Weeks, Lucy Proctor and Sinead Bent. 54:24 was the current WR.
In the first run Lauren Weeks went out in front, exactly the same as yesterday. The pack of athletes went hard into the first workout station. Only 10 seconds separated all the team times on the ski erg.
Aussies Jess Pettrow and Joanna Wietrzyk were the current world record holders, and went out into the lead on the second run after the completion of the ski erg. Once again, Wietrzyk had a fire in her eyes and her and Pettrow looked determined to win in front of their home Aussie crowd.
They were first to the sled push, and first off the sled push. Lauren and Lauren lost multiple places on the same workout station.
Onto the sled pull, Jess Pettrow received a yellow card for stepping on the line. Proctor and Bent were around 24 seconds behind them on the station.
On the next run, Wietrzyk took the lead and went into the burpee broad jumps first. Another yellow card for Pettrow for staggering and readjusting after one of her landings.
Race Tip: If you’re taking part in a doubles competition yourself, make sure to work with your partner beforehand about how to alternate on the burpee station. If you don’t complete the full burpee and jump before your partner takes over, then you will always need to repeat reps.
Following the burpee broad jumps Proctor and Bent made up a good chunk of time on the leaders Wietrzyk and Pettrow. However they were still unable to catch the Aussie out in front. Bent was looking strong after recovering from her previous injury.
The next station was the rowers. Only one second pace difference in the teams. 1:46 average pace by Wietrzyk and Pettrow (including change overs). Lauren and Lauren lost 20 seconds to the Aussies on the rower.
Race Tip: When you tackle this part of HYROX yourself, sure to keep the chain line as straight as possible in order to make the movement fluid and efficient.
Sinead Bent was extremely fast on the farmers walk. Her and Proctor Recovered ground on the leaders and finished the station in 1:13. They were 11 seconds behind going into the kettlebells.
Race Tip: With the farmers carry, make sure that your kettlebells don’t fall over at the end of the race. If they do you will be called back to sort them out.
The home crowd favorites were first onto the sandbag lunges. The South African team looked strong in third place. Many of the teams switched the sandbag without dropping it.
Race Tip: If you want to have more stability and lessen fatigue slightly on the sandbag lunges, touch your moving foot down at the top of full extension instead of swinging the foot right through. This will be very slightly slower, but you will be much less likely to stumble, fall or receive any penalties.
The Aussies were first onto the wall balls. They looked comfortably in control throughout the entire station. After sprinting across the finish line, arm in arm, they set a new WR of 00:53:56. Their next race will be in Phoenix.
The English team Proctor and Bent were second and the South Africans finished in third. MacIntosh from the team from the southern hemisphere competed at the CrossFit Games in 2018, demonstrating her exceptionally high fitness level.
After the race Bent told us all that she sang happy birthday to Proctor during the sandbag lunges. Proctor also said that “we want the success for each other, we want to help each other.”
Final Leaderboard
| Rank | Team / Athletes | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joanna Wietrzyk & Jess Pettrow | 53:56 |
| 2 | Sinéad Bent & Lucy Procter | 54:34 |
| 3 | Danél Louw & Vicky MacIntosh | 55:33 |
| 4 | Mollie Emond & Meg Martin | 55:58 |
| 5 | Manuela Garcia Caparros & Seka Arning | 55:58 |
| 6 | Lauren Griffith & Lauren Weeks | 56:16 |
| 7 | Kat Parnell & Jade Skillen | 56:17 |
| 8 | Melanie Maurer & Jennifer Nikolaus | 56:23 |
| 9 | Zara Piergianni & Gabriella Moriarty | 56:35 |
| 10 | Rachel O’Connor & Maire McGinley | 56:56 |
| 11 | Holly Archer & Sophia Parvizi Wayne | 57:33 |
| 12 | Charlotte Vandenlindenloof & Margot Vandenlindenloof | 58:55 |
| 13 | Gabrielle Nikora-Baker & Nicola-Georgia Macbeth | 59:42 |
| 14 | Alysha Martin & Elinor Thomas | 1:02:19 |
