Iceland is best known for its remote location between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. Geologically, it is a young island, formed 20 million years ago on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
In the past few years Iceland made its way into the spotlight with the volcano eruptions, harsh financial collapse and community-driven recovery ever since. Most recently, the country is widely associated with the hit TV series Game Of Thrones – being the home of the White Walkers, hard-to-kill creatures with magical powers related to ice and cold. Along with the fantasy race from Beyond the Wall, Iceland is famous for the Viking explorers who settled the island back in 874 AD.
What Crossfit community knows best are the family names which end with “dóttir”. Icelanders are using the patronymic system: father’s name is combined with the term dóttir (means daughter, used for girls) or son (for boys).
You might have heard of family names like Thorisdóttir, Sigmundsdóttir and Davidsdóttir?
What is the secret: the climate, genetics, water or the food?
The land of fire and ice has a sub-polar climate. Based on the studies done by deCODE, a company for analyzing human genomes, Iceland also has the most homogenous population. Very well-known is the Icelandic water. Their cousine is based on dairy and fish, and includes dishes like Hákarl – rotten Greenland shark.
Or is it the fitness culture?
In 2014 VICE made a short documentary on their strongmen and fitness culture, labelling the country as “The Nest of Giants”. The film indicated that children grow up by engaging in sports and all kinds of physical activities.
“The thing is Iceland has a very big fitness culture. It’s not uncommon to find our gyms here packed out from 6am through to 8pm. People here just love it,” explained Ingunn in our interview with CrossFit Sport, last year’s fittest team in Europe.
Based on their Regional performances, all five Meridian women, who qualified for the CrossFit Games 2015, finished in top 11 worldwide. Four of them are from Iceland. Moreover, two of them hold an event record. Annie also won the Open 2015.
You might have heard of a two-time CrossFit Games champion Annie Thorisdóttir. But who are the other Icelandic Crossfit girls? See our list of top 7.
1. Annie Thorisdóttir
Meridian Regional finish: 3rd
Full name: Anníe Mist Þórisdóttir
Height/weight: 170cm/68kg
Box: Reebok CrossFit Reykjavík
Annie is the first name of Icelandic, and worldwide Crossfit. A two-time champion made her Games debut in 2009. Along with two wins, Annie also has two second finishes in 2010 and 2014 – a year which marks her comeback after a back injury.
Related: 5 Questions with Jami Tikkanen
Video: DT with 70 kg.
2. Sara Sigmundsdóttir
Meridian Regional finish: 1st
Full name: Ragnheidur Sara Sigmundsdóttir
Height/weight: 171cm/69kg
Box: CrossFit Sudurnes, Reykjanesbaer
If there is an athlete to be feared of, it is Sara. From June 2014 on, Sara won every event she attended. Including East Coast Championship in the States and the Meridian CrossFit Regional in Denmark. So far Annie won every Regionals she participated at, with one exception: in 2015 Sara took the top podium place.
Interview: Sara Sigmundsdottir – a rising Crossfit star from Iceland
Video: 100 kg clean and jerk for 2 reps.
Next: Katrin Tanja Davidsdóttir
3. Katrin Tanja Davidsdóttir
Meridian Regional finish: 2nd
Full name: Katrín Tanja Davíðsdóttir
Height/weight: 169cm/68kg
Box: Reebok CrossFit Reykjavík
Katrin’s first appearance at the CrossFit Games was in 2012 when she was only 19 years old. She finished 30th overall. A year later she placed on 24th. Katrin finished 2nd at the Meridian Regional, ahead of her training partner Annie Thorisdóttir. She also holds an event record for the handstand walk. 2x CrossFit Games Champion.
Video: 20-rep jerk with 70 kg.
Next: Thuridur Erla Helgadóttir
4. Thuridur Erla Helgadóttir
Meridian Regional finish: 5th
Full name: Þuríður Erla Helgadóttir
Age: 23
Height/weight: 164cm/59kg
Box: CrossFit Sport, Kopavogur
Like Katrin, Thuridur also made her CrossFit Games debut in 2012. That year she finished 35th overall. She competed in Carson on a team with CrossFit Sport. Her background is gymnastics and athletics.
Video: Strict muscle-ups for 9 reps.
5. Björk Odinsdóttir
Meridian Regional finish: 7th
Full name: Björk Óðinsdóttir
Height/weight: 160cm/62kg
Box: CrossFit Nordic, Sweden
In 2013 Björk had to skip the Regional due to back injury. She made a debut at the CrossFit Games, finishing 19th overall. In 2015 she placed 7th at the Meridian Regional. Björk’s background? 14 years of gymnastics.
Interview: Björk Odinsdottir on Training Tips and Her Athletic Background
6. Anna Hulda
Meridian Regional finish: 3rd (with a team)
Full name: Anna Hulda Ólafsdóttir
Height/weight: 165cm/60kg
Box: Reebok CrossFit Reykjavík
Anna took on a 2015 season with a team CrossFit Reykjavík. They became the third fittest team in the Meridian region with a guaranteed spot at the CrossFit Games. Anna is also a Crossfit mom, Nordic champion in weightlifting and a teacher at the Reykjavik University.
Video: Overhead squat with 75 kg for 15 reps
7. Hjördís Óskarsdóttir
Meridian Regional finish: 11thFull name: Hjördís Ósk Óskarsdóttir
Height/weight: 163cm/61kg
Box: CrossFit XY, GardabaerHjördís finished 11th at the Meridian Regional and recently placed 2nd at the French Throwdown 2015. Her background is football (soccer) and basketball.
Video: Rack jerk with 105 kg.
Sources: CrossFit Games, Wikipedia, Wired, decode.
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