Avant Garde savors sweet taste of success

Tired of being second-best, Team Avant Garde Crossfit unleashed its best form and finally won the RX (Elite) division title in the 2nd leg of the 2018 Manila Throwdown Team Edition held over the weekend at the Vertis Tent in Quezon City.

Kristen Lim, Justine Hernandez and Odelon Simpao bested 67 squads by emerging as the fastest in the grueling workouts of the premier functional fitness competition.

“It’s a sweet, sweet victory,” said Lim, a full-time coach and crossfit athlete. “We’ve been competing for four years and we always (finish) second.”

Experience was vital in their victory and Lim even likened their maturity to a wine.

Simpao, a fashion designer who has been doing crossfit for almost five years, added the right combination of their teamwork in transitioning and performing the punishing workouts also played a crucial role.

“We have different strengths and weaknesses, so we worked on that and we’re happy that we were able to pull it off,” said Simpao.

Isabel Wolfe, Iñigo Dulay and Joshua Chabon of Proven Not Given squad came in second while Bangkok Beast’s Matt Cass, Miles Fineman and Jade George finished third.

Meanwhile, celebrity couple Drew Arellano and Iya VillaniaArellano, and triathlete Javy Olives, who carry the Hermanos Locos Inc flag, emerged as champions in the Scaled (New and Intermediate) Division.

“She’s our secret weapon,” said Arellano, referring to his wife of four years who had given birth to their second child last August.

“I’m over the moon. I don’t even know why I’m here. I’m just surprised that I made it here and we won,” said Villania-Arellano.