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Whistler athlete just shy of CrossFit Games

Steve Howell places fourth in Canada West Regional competition
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For three days, CrossFit athletes from across Western Canada went head-to-head in a series of six gruelling physical challenges, testing everything from strength to endurance to how much lactic acid you could load into your muscles before you're finished - one way or another.

For three years, Whistler's Steve Howell has competed for a chance to go to the international CrossFit Games in California, the last two years coming just short of qualifying. In 2010 he was seventh in Canada, with only the top six going to the finals. This year he placed fourth overall in Western Canada out of 43 competitors, with only the top-two advancing.

"Last year was frustrating because it was so close," said Howell. "This year I'm a little bummed out that I didn't make it, but I'm definitely pleased with my performance. I did what I wanted to do. My results were at the top, but just based on the scoring system I didn't make it.

"Otherwise, I think I could debate that I could have been one of the top-two fittest in the competition."

In the final analysis, Howell finished with 33 points, missing the top two by just three points.

Far from being discouraged, Howell said he's only more determined to get to the Games next year.

"It's my number one goal, to make the CrossFit Games," he said. "That's what motivates me to get to the gym five or six days a week.

"That's what I'm pushing for. I won't stop until I make it there."

Jordan Glasser, coach and owner of Whistler CrossFit, said that Howell is one of the most determined athletes he's ever worked with.

"It's insane," he said about the difficulty level of the competition. "The average person can't even complete the workout. Even a fit person couldn't do it. And out of the 60 males that were qualified to go, not all of them even went to the nationals because they were afraid or they couldn't do it. The top 60 have to be incredibly fit, just to make it, but even the top 40 through 60 are not at a level where they're ready to compete against the top guys. It's really challenging."

It's also potentially lucrative, with $1 million in cash prizes for the top athletes in every category.

To qualify, the CrossFit Games sends out a list of challenges to participating CrossFit gyms around the world, and athletes that want to go to the Games do the workout with their coaches timing and taking video. Up to 25,000 will take part in the qualifier and the top athletes after the qualifier are invited to compete in the regionals.

The competition itself featured two tests each day.

On day one, Friday, the first test was a combination event - a 1,000-metre run, followed by 30 handstand pushups with judges watching, followed by a 1,000-metre row. Athletes were ranked by time.

The second event was the "Thruster Ladder," a series of lifts that got progressively heavier as you went. You had 20 seconds to complete the 155-pound lift, then move on to the next bar with the weight going up 10 pounds. The furthest you progress is your score for the event.

Saturday started off with another timed combination event. Athletes had to do 21 deadlifts of 315 pounds, then jump on a 30-inch box 21 times. This was followed by 15 deadlifts and 15 box jumps, then nine lifts and nine jumps.

The second event that day was a series of "100s" - complete 100 pull-ups, then do 100 kettlebell swings of 24 kilograms (roughly 50 pounds), 100 double-unders - jumping rope and letting the rope pass underneath your feet twice per jump - and 100 overhead squats of 95 pounds.

It didn't let up on Sunday. The first event was the "Amanda," named after a former CrossFit competitor who died of cancer after competing in the 2009 CrossFit Games.

The competition involves jumping up on to a set of rings and pulling up all the way nine times, then squat snatching 135 pounds nine times, then doing the same again with seven reps and then five reps to finish. Again, it's a timed event.

Last, but not least, was the final individual workout - rowing 20 calories, doing 30 burpies, 40 two-arm dumbbell lifts (45 pounds) to overhead, hanging from a bar and touching your toes to the bar 50 times, a 100-foot overhead walking lunge with a 45 pound plate, and a 150-foot out-and-back sprint.

Howell finished fourth in the first two events, 20th on number three, third on number four, fourth on number five and first on the final two events.

"I can't straighten my arms today, that's for sure," said Howell on Tuesday.

While Howell won't make it to the Games, Susan Allen of Whistler CrossFit is heading to California to compete in the Masters category. There's no qualifying event like the regionals for masters, but athletes do have to complete the challenges sent out by CrossFit to be selected.

According to Glasser, competitive CrossFit is a great motivation for athletes enrolled in the training programs, with less intense competitions springing up for athletes that are considerably less intense than training for the CrossFit Games.

Having a competitive element is very motivating for athletes in Crossfit, he said.

"The Cross-Fit Games really do cater to elite athletes, but the competitions that come around yearly in Vancouver and Victoria draw a lot of our clients down," said Glasser. "You don't have to be the fittest person in the world, the average person with fitness goals can go and compete. It gets people excited about training and going out to the gym, just as the Whistler Half Marathon gets people excited about running. The competition gives it all a purpose."

For more, visit http://games.crossfit.com.