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The second stage of the CrossFit Games season turns neighbors into nemeses as the best athletes from each region compete for a chance to test their mettle on the world stage. In 2017, each Regional’s competitors put on a hell of a show every time they took the floor, but what went on behind the scenes was also fit for prime time, and CrossFit Media Director Sevan Matossian was there to capture it all. This year’s Meridian Regional took place at the Caja Mágica in Madrid, Spain. The event was stacked with top veteran athletes including 2013 Games champion Sam Briggs, and two-time Games victor Annie Thorisdottir on the women’s side. In the men’s field, 2015 third-place Games finisher Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson would battle against 2015 Meridian Regional champion Jonne Koski, who was looking to reclaim his title after being forced to withdraw from the Games due to injury in 2016.

On the competition floor, it was all business, but on the sidelines athletes experienced every emotion imaginable throughout their quests to get to the CrossFit Games.

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