The 'man mountain' takes on Asia

A year’s worth of training came down to three days of competition at the Pacific Regionals. Inside Sport was there to track the fortunes of our very own, Rob Forte.

You get an idea of the status of Rob Forte in the Crossfit universe when you sit in the stands at the Pacific Regionals: the packed-out crowd finds an extra decibel level to greet them when they are introduced for each of the seven events over these three gruelling days. They’ve each won the event several times before, which earns big respect in this sphere. But now they have to do it all again, as the  top 30 CrossFitters from around Australia, Asia and the Pacific go head-to-head to determine  the top five, who then get to qualify for the CrossFit Games (Worlds) in California in July.

CrossFit Central knows how to mix up a workout. Yes, they will test you for raw strength and technique under iron. Yes, they will test you for speed. Yes, they will test you for gymnastic strength and endurance against your body weight. Yes, they will test you for gymnastic skill. And yes, they will definitely test you for cardio endurance ...

Crucially, they also test for something else: what you might call courage. The ability to handle “failure.”

Rob Forte is a man mountain, impassive, focused. He crunches his way through the early routines, leading the rest of the field from the get-go, a picture of consistency all the way through to the final event on the Sunday afternoon, where he will take what should be an insurmountable lead into the final event. And so he launches into those muscle-ups, convulsing his way from fully hanging on the rings up until he is pressing himself a full arm’s length above them. He takes a break with just three to go, turns back, punches out the final three ...

But wait! The judge has ruled with a swipe of his arm a “no-rep”. His final extension wasn’t fully locked out at the top. He has one more to complete. He steadies the rings, catches them, heaves himself up – and fails again, dropping to the ground. The rest of the field is already moving on to the lift sequence. But Rob has one more to do. Again he catches the rings, somehow gets them under his armpits ... Now all he has to do is press to full extension ...

It seems to take an age for his quivering frame to raise itself. Finally, he gets the judge’s assent.

Now for the five lifts.

If Rob Forte has a “forte” it is moving heavy weights. But now he appears, for the first time all weekend, a tad flustered by that contentious call on the rings. The first of the lifts only gets there with a wobble. He is clearly rushing a bit here ... Lifts two and three he swallows whole, but now the fourth lift ... Did that just happen? He moved the weight to the squat position, but can’t hold it. He drops the bar and falls on his butt.

For a moment there is a look of utter miscomprehension on his face. What does he do? He climbs back to his feet and finishes those last two cleans with steely determination. He is on the plane bound for the Crossfit Games, but he will travel in the second seat, not the first. All down to one muscle-up in three days  of competition.

Don’t let anyone tell you that a gym workout like this isn’t sport. This is gripping, tragic, triumphant. The packed house leaves the stadium humming. Every athlete who turns out here “fails” at something – but everyone’s  a winner.