On 28th June CrossFit All Out athlete Vicki Finn Smith, 35, competed in a 3 day CrossFit event in Northern France. Vicki qualified for The French Throwdown in the individual master’s category (35-39) back in April and was excited to compete against some top athletes from various other countries. On the first day she participated in 2 events, the first one being a 1.5KM run, 500M paddle board and 8KM run to finish; the final 100m (event 1B) was a timed sprint uphill, whereby Vicki was able to take the win for this in 16.1 seconds. She also took a second place finish in event 2 on the hottest day on record in France, which set her up nicely for the next 2 days of gruelling competition. Throughout the next 2 days Vicki battled her way through the heatwave, gaining two second place finishes in events 4 and 5, which involved calories on the bike erg, double kettlebell swings, sumo deadlift high pulls and shoulder to overhead with a 35KG loaded barbell. By the end of day 2 Vicki was sitting in first position and she knew she would have to keep her foot on the accelerator in order to maintain her points lead. Day 3 was undoubtedly no different; she was able to deliver a 70KG squat snatch, which was an equal personal best, earning her 100 points for first place in event 8. After 3 tough days of competition Vicki’s calf had flared up (a reoccurring injury aggravated by any running/jumping movements), and with one event left involving a 400m sprint, she knew she would have to dig deep in order to maintain her lead. The final event was for time: 400m assault runner, 30 toes to bar and 8 alternating dumbbell ground to overhead. Vicki finished this in a time of 3:54 which landed her in second place; enough to maintain her points lead and win The French Throwdown Masters (35-39) category. She earned a total of 604 points; second place finishing with 544 points. Vicki said “I never thought I would end up the weekend on the podium let alone take first place. This is an event I’ve always wanted to do and the support has been overwhelming.”
Not only did she win The French Throwdown, but Vicki was also able to qualify for The CrossFit Games Age Group Online Qualifiers earlier this year. Every year hundreds of thousands of Crossfitters of all different ages from around the globe participate in The CrossFit Open, which is the starting point for anyone wanting to qualify and compete at The CrossFit Games. In the master’s category Vicki completed 5 tough workouts over the space of 5 weeks (one WOD released each week) and after entering her scores online amongst thousands of other competitors, she finished in the top 200 worldwide for the age 35-39 category (151st place). This sent her through to the next stage, where she had to complete 5 workouts in the space of 4 days. She finished in 124th place overall, greatly improving on her 151st position. Vicki now has her eyes set on the next CrossFit Open, which begins again in October.
Vicki has been training at CrossFit All Out for just over 3 years now, her performance improving year on year as she puts in the hard work daily. Head Coach Terry Anderson said “Vicki is extremely committed to her sport, even quitting her job in order to be able to train twice a day, 6 days a week. At 32 she began her CrossFit journey, taking time to learn each movement like any new beginner and practise them religiously. Her husband and Coach Stewart Smith is her biggest support, helping ensure that she gets the right training, nutrition and recovery she needs in order to excel at CrossFit. Vicki’s work ethic is outstanding and it is clear that she has a very bright future ahead of her as she continues to compete in the master’s category. We are very proud to have her as a Coach.”
