My experience at the 2011 Games taught me that I need to push myself harder if I want to be at the top.
It’s all about the preparation for Jenny Jacobsen.
The defining moment at the 2011 CrossFit Games for Sweden’s Jenny Jacobsen was when the whole crowd got behind her when she missed her last lift in the Rope Climb/Clean and Jerk Event. At that moment she knew she wanted nothing more than to be back in Carson, Calif., competing in the 2012 Games. She determined that she was going to come back stronger.
Jacobsen qualified for the Games with a 3rd place finish at the 2011 Europe Regional, behind Samantha Briggs, backing up a very strong European female contingent, alongside Annie Thorisdottir and Helga Torfadottir.
“I have always been a competitive athlete, but my experience at the 2011 Games taught me that I need to push myself harder if I want to be at the top and I need to be more prepared,” she says.
Since then, Jacobsen has taken on a coach who is helping her to work on her strength and help with programming.
“I really enjoyed participating in last year’s Games, although I have to admit that the first event was definitely not my cup of tea, as I found the ocean swim a little scary, with the run in the sand making it worse,” Jacobsen admits. “It was a far cry from training in Stockholm, Sweden, and I was amongst the last to finish. I know that preparation is critical and that I will need to perform better this year to achieve my ambition of finishing in the top 10, or at least top 15.”
More to her taste were the Rope Climb/Clean and Jerk Event, where she was disappointed to fail the last lift. “If I had nailed that one, I might have been top 35 at least, but my favorite was the skills WOD, and particularly the handstand walk.”
Describing her overall performance at the Games as, “OK,” Jacobsen admits that it was not enough. She says she will have to work even harder in preparation for this year’s Games season. “There are a lot of strong girls out there and I really believe that this year’s Games will be tougher than ever.”
Jacobsen is gaining confidence by participating in a number of European competitions, including the Swedish CrossFit SM competition, where she finished 2nd, behind Briggs.
Jacobsen trains at CrossFit Nordic which she is also competing regularly with her training partners, Ellinor Rehnström and Louise Åkesson. She finds it beneficial that they are able to regularly push each other, whilst at the same time being very supportive of each other.
Jacobsen is a member of Team Reebok and is very excited about the sponsor’s involvement with CrossFit, she explained: “Reebok is helping to take CrossFit to another level, and it’s great that it is so committed to ensure that the sport expands without losing the original values, which make it so special.”
With her eyes now focused on the Open, Jacobsen is keen to put down her mark and quality for Regionals. “My heart and training is set on me making the top three at the Regional, so that I can go to L.A. and this summer, stronger and more prepared than ever.”
