Death By Episode 49 - Is Jonne Koski Going to Dominate Semifinals and the Games?

We have our first group of individual Games qualifiers as both the Europe and Asia Semifinal have wrapped up three days of competition. Sean and Tommy recap all the top stories and performances, talk about who stood out, the chaos that unfolded for the European men in event 6 and what conclusions we can draw from the Far East and French Throwdowns. This episode is presented by Northern Spirit. Head to northernspirit-sport.com to shop their line of CrossFit branded apparel.

One day of competition remains in France and South Korea. We know the first 9 teams that are going to be making their ways to Fort Worth, Texas to compete in the CrossFit Games. With 3 events remaining for the individuals, plenty can happen on Sunday. In Europe, it's tight on top of the women's leaderboard while there are some major surprises on the men's side. Over in Asia, Veterans are leading the way on the women's side while the two top men are hoping to hold on for their first trips to the Games. This episode is presented by Northern Spirit. Head to northernspirit-sport.com to shop their line of CrossFit branded apparel. 

We are through the first of three days of competition at the Europe and Asia Semifinals. Sean, Tommy and Lauren recap the first three events for the teams and the opening event for the individuals. We had a couple big surprises in Europe as a pair of favorites have dug themselves an early hole. Who has the best chance of climbing out? A team in Asia is threatening to run away with the competition after winning the first three events and a close race in the opening event for the Europen women has a potential Games rookie thinking this may finally be the year she breaks through. This episode is presented by Northern Spirit. Head to northernspirit-spot.com to shop their latest CrossFit branded line of apparel. 

Another Icelandic star is sitting out the season. Sara Sigmundsdottir is calling it a season after being diagnosed with Reactive Arthritis. CrossFit's coverage of Semifinals on Friday has been called an "appetizer." But what exactly can we expect them to serve up? CrossFit Games Podcast host Chase Ingraham sheds some light on that. Speaking of Semifinals, competion gets started this weekend in Europe and Asia. Sean, Tommy and Lauren talk about the top storylines they will be following. This episode is presented by Garmin. Head to garmin.com to shop all of their smartwatches so you can get advanced training metrics and recovery insights. This episode is sponsored by Thirdzy. Use the link below and the code "TEF" to save 20% and improve your sleep and recovery. https://thirdzy.com/TEF?utm_source=talking_elite_fitness&utm_medium=podcast&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=tef

On this episode of Death By, Lauren Kalil and the contestants discuss whether the allocation of Games spots is a cause for alarm or just growing pains of a new process, whether livestreaming the final two heats all three days is a better option than the current broadcast option and if it matters what a livestream looks like. Our contestants include James Hobart, Cooper Marsh and Tommy Marquez. Want to maximize your recovery while you sleep? Use code "Deathby" to save 20% on all Thirdzy purchases through link below: https://thirdzy.com/DEATHBY?utm_source=talking_elite_fitness&utm_medium=youtube&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=death_by

Semifinals are one week away and we finally have an idea of how many Games spots will be available at each competition. Sean and Tommy take a closer look at Mike Halpin's projections for the men and the women. Age Group Semifinals are officialy underway. Will we have a repeat of what happened during the Quarterfinals when it comes to judging? The TYR Cup was unveiled this week and it looks to put an exciting new spin on the team competition. Katrin Davidsdottir is our guest this week. She talks with Sean about the back injury that is forcing her out of competition this season, why she felt she couldn't push through it and what the future might hold for her. This episode is presented by Vuori. Head to vuoriclothing.com/TEF to save 20% on the best and most comfortable performance apparel on the market.

On this episode of Death By, Lauren Kalil and the contestants discuss the biggest advantages TYR WZA SoCal has to the off-season, whether they love or hate going back to classic CrossFit style workouts for Semifinals and which male and female will make the biggest waves at Semifinals. Our contestants include Chase Ingraham, Matt O'Keefe, and Justin Cotler. Get your Garmin today! https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/894067/pn/010-02803-10

If you were keeping a close eye on everything going on with Quarterfinals, odds are you were looking at Mike Halpin's spreadsheet. He joins Sean, Tommy and Lauren to take closer look at some of the numbers, what those numbers can tell us and why the penalties this time around are stirring up more controversy than past years. Following that, CrossFit Coach Kenny Johnson joins the show to talk about why he thinks this could be a watershed moment for the sport of fitness and what can be done to help make things better. This episode is presented by Garmin. Use the link below to check out their latest smartwatches that can help you get the most out of your training. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/894067/pn/010-02803-10

On this episode of Death By, Lauren Kalil and the contestants discuss whether we're at a turning point where the CrossFit sport and HQ break off, solutions for future years on how to best approach this stage in the season, and if the season schedule should change for age groups. Our contestants include James Hobart, Tim Paulson and Adrian Conway. This episode is presented by Garmin. Use the link below to shop their smartwatches. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/894067/pn/010-02803-10 

Well, that escalated quickly. Penalties are wreaking havoc on the Quarterfinals leaderboards. Masters Champion Jason Grubb joins the show to talk about why this keeps happening and what athletes can and need to do to give themselves the best chances of emerging unscathed. Plus, there are going to be uniforms at semifinals, Katrin Davidsdottir is out, one of America's best Strongmen is calling it quits and what we learned from Taylor vs. The World. This episode is presented by Garmin. Head to garmin.com to shop their smartwatches and know the real you with personalized health and fitness insights.