Odda is standing in line for an acai bowl and carrying her daughter's laminated face on a stick. Just after leaving Annie's parents, I run into Odda Helgadottir, the mom of the best Icelandic CrossFitter in the world, Katrin Davidsdottir, who's a friend of Annie's and an inheritor of the tradition she created. People drawn to compete in these Games are all at least a little broken, he says: "You never know why they're here or who they're here for."
![the year one challenge for women: thinner, leaner, and stronger than ever in 12 months kat the year one challenge for women: thinner, leaner, and stronger than ever in 12 months kat](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81HVJj9p0XL._AC_UL116_SR116,116_.jpg)
Most athletes endure the pain of training to get to some beautiful flow state. We talked about the type of person who seeks this out. He owns a CrossFit gym and is a retired Navy SEAL. Annie points to Thorir and Agnes and shouts.Įveryone laughs, although her joke evokes the central question hovering over the Games: Where do these people come from, exactly? I'd met a friend for dinner the night before. Her parents stand to the side, her dad smiling. When the workout ends, she signs autographs and poses for pictures. The crowd roars when she takes off her shirt to reveal her abs. On the final day of this year's competition, with a disappointing 12th-place finish already assured, she is teaching a class to a small group lucky enough to have signed up. Two-time champion Annie Thorisdottir led a revolution back home after her 2011 CrossFit Games victory.
THE YEAR ONE CHALLENGE FOR WOMEN: THINNER, LEANER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER IN 12 MONTHS KAT FULL
BODY 2019įor more photos, videos and behind-the-scenes moments from the 2019 Body Issue, check out the full gallery. "That's Annie!" someone shouts, pointing.
![the year one challenge for women: thinner, leaner, and stronger than ever in 12 months kat the year one challenge for women: thinner, leaner, and stronger than ever in 12 months kat](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71hewksGSEL.jpg)
As I get my bearings, a loud cheer rises from the swelling crowd around the Reebok tent. It's a hot Sunday morning in August, and I'm in Madison, Wisconsin, for the 2019 competition's final day. The United States, with 330 million people, has six. Iceland, with 340,000 people, has four women in the top 20 at the CrossFit Games. The women of the tiny island nation are disproportionally great at CrossFit.
![the year one challenge for women: thinner, leaner, and stronger than ever in 12 months kat the year one challenge for women: thinner, leaner, and stronger than ever in 12 months kat](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386929003l/19440381._SX98_.jpg)
The Reebok store sells Iceland shirts, and so does the Rogue tent across the midway. Those who do manage to cover their wondrous gifts rep every ideology you can imagine: gay pride shirts with rainbow barbells, "Jesus Saves Bro" shirts and, less obviously, a lot of Iceland gear. Endless subcultures are on display: veterans raising awareness about PTSD and post-deployment reintegration, posers wearing MultiCam to the merch tent as if they might have to hide from the Taliban in the tank top aisle, butch lesbians and stroller moms, women with tattoos of wings on their shoulders and, of course, guys who didn't even bring a shirt. THE ANNUAL CROSSFIT Games is a revival meeting for all the various tribes who worship at the altar of self-improvement through pain. To see interviews, pictures, videos and more, visit our full 2019 gallery. Chris Paul, Liz Cambage, Brooks Koepka and NFL stars such as Myles Garrett and the Eagles offensive line are featured in ESPN's 2019 Body Issue.