On Episode 320 of CrossFit Radio, host Justin Judkins interviewed James Pattison, owner of CrossFit 13 in Essex, England; Craig Kenney, who was tied for second place overall in the Open after Workout 14.1; and Talayna Fortunato, who placed fifth at the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games and was preparing to do 14.2 live in Miami, Fla., as part of the announcement event. This episode was webcast on March 5, 2014.
2:20 James Pattison described how CrossFit 13 has grown in the year since he opened it, and he explained how CrossFit’s popularity is increasing in his part of the United Kingdom. Pattison talked about the thrill of having 43 members hit Workout 14.1, and he detailed why the Open is so much fun for his athletes. CrossFit 13 is also home to a successful CrossFit Kids program, which Pattison says is incredibly rewarding.
12:23 Craig Kenney finished 10 complete rounds in the couplet that kicked off the 2014 Open, good enough for a tie for second in the world. Kenney described his game plan and why he decided to do the workout twice. Aside from posting a monster score, he said he’ll always remember 14.1 because his wife gave birth to their first child during the weekend. Kenney also shared his hopes for the rest of the Open’s tests.
21:18 At the time of the interview, Talayna Fortunato was getting set to go head to head with Camille Leblanc-Bazinet in Open Workout 14.2. Fortunato spoke about the live format of the Open announcements and reflected on her performance in Week 1, which was good enough for a tie for 135th worldwide. Fortunato explained how she deals with the challenge of preparing to do a workout right after it’s announced, and she gave her requests for 14.2, which eventually turned out to be a couplet of overhead squats and chest-to-bar pull-ups.