Noah Ohlsen breaks Fran's record

by Joaquín Meroño

Noah Ohlsen , the nine-time CrossFit Games athlete has potentially set a new unofficial record for one of the most notoriously tough benchmark workouts in the sport, the Fran.

While recording videos of the TYR Wodapalooza Online Qualifier team workouts on August 19 at Downtown Strength and Conditioning in Miami, FL, Ohlsen ended up doing Fran's full workout, though he admits he wasn't in the best mental or physical shape that day.

"I remember saying something along the lines of 'Oh, I'm a little tired, I'm not sure I want to do this, and then everyone started cheering me up, saying 'You can do it, just do it! Ohlsen was accompanied during the recording by people like Travis Mayer and Emma Cary.

"So I said to myself: 'Okay, screw it, what's the worst that can happen, don't do the PR on me.' So I decided to go all out and put my foot down."

Ohlsen finished with a time of 1:49 , which surpasses his previous time of 1:57, which is the new unofficial world record (on video). 

One of the original six benchmark workouts, Fran has taken the soul of many a CrossFitter, mixing light and medium weight barbell thrusters with enough pull-ups to require you to break into smaller sets, or get the infamous "cough." de Fran" after going without breaking, or often ending up with both.

For someone new to CrossFit, completing Fran as written (Rx) is a major milestone.

Making Fran in less than five minutes means some time has been put into it. A time of less than three minutes is largely reserved for the "fittest in the box". Lastly, the best elite athletes are usually around 2:30 - 2 minutes.

Mat Fraser , a five-time Fittest Man on Earth, has a Fran time of 2:07.

Ohlsen said that although he was hesitant to start, after a few moments, he was ready for success. 

"Once I committed to doing it and warmed up properly, I was able to get to a point where I felt really motivated to do my best. And you can hear in the video that they created a really great atmosphere in the venue. Everyone everyone was screaming and cheering me on, so that cheered me up as well." 

Dylan Malitsky, from Loud & Live -the company that organizes the Wodapalooza-, was present and said that it was something very nice to witness.