Mat Fraser showed grace and courage under pressure as he beat Scott Panchik in an exhilarating final showdown during the last event on Saturday.
CLEAN EVENT
For load:
1-rep clean
*Tiebreak with 5 reps for time
215-220-225-230-235-240-245-250-255-260 lb. with 195 lb. tiebreak
315-325-335-345-355-365-370-375-380-385 with 295 lb. tiebreak
Athletes will lift in order of their placing (10th-1st), with the weight increasing each round. Each round, those who fail the lift will race through 5 reps at the tiebreak bar.
THE ACTION
Adrian Mundwiler attacked every lift, looking pumped and focused. BK Gudmundsson was clinical, technically excellent and calm. Fraser was focused. Both Panchik brothers lifted with exceptional confidence and poise.
Mundwiler and Newbury even looked like they were having fun, smiling and laughing after lifts. There was also an intriguing atmosphere between the athletes, a shared camaraderie.
BK was pumped, acknowledging and saluting to his Icelandic retinue of friends and family in the audience.
Finally, the field narrowed down until only Mat Fraser and Scott Panchik remained. It went like this.
- 370 lb completed by both Panchik and Fraser.
- 375 lb completed by Scott Panchik and Fraser.
- 380 lb failed by Scott Panchik. 380 is completed by Mat Fraser.
Mat Fraser wins the event.
Asked about it afterwards, Fraser said.
“I did not wanna race Scott on power cleans. I was nervous about this. The most I’ve cleaned this year is 345 lb”
When asked about how he is feeling about being in second place, Mat replied:
“It is what it is. I had a couple of shit events and now I’m putting all the chips on the table.”
