The second day of the Marianas Trench Throwdown has completed and named Justin Kohn and Jocelyn Lamas as the top two super athletes in Guam’s newest fitness trend, Cross Fit.
The second day of the Marianas Trench Throwdown has completed and named Justin Kohn and Jocelyn Lamas as the top two super athletes in Guam’s newest fitness trend, CrossFit.
Both winners, who are not originally from the island, state how Guam’s close knit ties within the CrossFit community give them a sense of family since they are both so far away from home.
“You know, I just really like how everyone in CrossFit becomes, sort of, like a family. Everyone is always cheering you on because we all believe in each other. Even those who don’t know you personally cheer you on because of the love they have for the sport,” said Lamas, who is originally from Puerto Rico.
Kohn’s feelings towards CrossFit on Guam was just as similar. “The CrossFit community here is like family. I’m from Chicago and I’m here because of the Navy, I go to the gym everyday and it’s just like another family away from home, I love it.”
Jocelyn Lamas takes center stage after finishing first in the female division. (photo by Asha Robles)
The competitions final event required the top 10 contestants from Saturday’s preliminary rounds to do one turkish getup on each side, 12 kettle bell swings, 12 goblet squats and one rope climb three times each, which Kohn and Lamas both fell a little short. Kohn finished his heat at 6.03, putting him in 5th place as Lamas finished with a time of 7.51, leaving her in 3rd. However, because both placed higher in previous events, Kohn and Lamas ended up with the win as they both had the lowest scores overall.
Lamas sat in second place coming into Sunday’s finals, five points behind first-day leader Alicia Ferris. Lamas edged Ferris by one point to take first place overall.
“My performance today was good. I stayed steady and consistent and that was my goal,” stated Lamas. Kohn on the other hand believed he could have done a little better but was still pleased with his results, “My performance was good but that’s not how I wanted it to end. The last two events didn’t go as I wanted, but I still did the best that I could and it worked out fine.”
Both winners agree that CrossFit is not only for the extreme athletes. “Anyone can do it,” said Kohn, who started the sport two years ago after wanting a more exciting work out for himself. Lamas also wanted a fun way to workout and ditched the treadmill for the kettle bells, “I wanted something different. I started running on the treadmill and I wasn’t getting anywhere. I wanted something exciting and decided to give CrossFit a try.”