Opinion | CrossFit Games 2020: can Katrin Davidsdottir upset Tia-Clair Toomey in remarkable comeback push?
- The 27-year-old Icelandic star looks primed to play potential spoiler in Aromas, but is she up to the challenge?
- Davidsdottir knows what it takes to win it all, so can she return to past form?
Off to the side, underneath one of the beach umbrellas, was a furious looking Katrin Davidsdottir. Pegged as one of the medal contenders in the star-studded Sanctionals, Davidsdottir looked in top form heading into the competition.
However as the CrossFit world would later find out, Davidsdottir had been forced to pull out of the competition at the last second after injuring her back in training in the lead up to the competition. In a heartfelt Instagram post, she said “there has been a lot of stress in my life lately and things going on” but did not elaborate on what it was.
That morning, the look on her face was unmistakable: the anger and frustration palpable as she watched the women line up for the event. It typifies the type of competitor she is, raw emotional energy fuelling her every step, a winner’s mentality. Losing hurts her so much, she will do anything to avoid it.
Davidsdottir’s career has been an interesting one in the world of CrossFit. The 27-year-old is one of the three famed Icelandic CrossFit stars along with Sara Sigmundsdottir and Annie Thorisdottir. She built her career as a premier competitor in the sport right out of the gate, winning the 2015 and 2016 CrossFit Games. After that there was an impressive string of finishes in 2017 (fifth), 2018, (third) and 2019 (fourth).
She’s never won the online, five-week CrossFit Open, but it has never been her Achilles’ heel like it has for some elites. The worst she has finished since 2015 is 23rd in 2020. No matter, after all the dust settled on a controversial year for the sport, and unprecedented times, Davidsdottir is right back where she should be: competing for the crown.