"I didn't know I had won until Don King came over and told me that I was going to Carson."
In true CrossFit fashion, it was the generalist and not the specialist who was rewarded in Seoul, South Korea in May, with the solo female athlete’s ticket going to Marlene Andersson.
While it was evident many of the returning female competitors had made significant progress over the last year, ultimately it came down to just three who were in tight contention for the No. 1 spot: former gymnast and 2011 Games competitor Candice Ford, competitive powerlifter Yuko Sakuyama, and Andersson.
The Swedish athlete was put to the test right up to the final event of pull-ups and overhead squats. After being unable to complete the workout within the 6-minute time cap, she was left staring across the competition floor at the finish line, where Ford and Sakuyama stood.
"I didn't know I had won until (Regional Director) Don King came over and told me that I was going to Carson,” Andersson said. “It's amazing. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Every time I think about it, it's like I'm reliving the same emotions again."
Games Prep
Since regionals ended, Andersson’s weekly training regimen has been fine-tuned and tailored toward the Games by her long-distance coach Rob Silver. A typical week will see one or two 45- to 60-minute workouts, two to three Olympic lifting or squat sessions and separate skills practice, plus some outdoors conditioning.
“I've been able to split up my training throughout the day, doing multiple shorter sessions, rather than one long one,” she said. “I've never been able to do that before and it's really improved the results I’m seeing. I’m trying handstand walks in workouts, parallette handstand push-ups, triple-unders and muscle-ups, as well as maintaining pull-ups and chest-to-bars. I still need to nail my gymnastics, but it’s a work in progress and I’m getting better.”
Andersson admitted her lack of athletic background initially made her feel she was at a disadvantage against much of the competition.
“She was never an athlete before she started training,” Silver said. “So every PR, every new skill, has been fought for tooth and nail, and she always comes back asking for more. She truly is a special kind of athlete now.”
Despite this being her first trip to the Games, Andersson is no stranger to rubbing shoulders with some of the most elite in the sport. She most recently shared a podium with repeat Games champion, Annie Thorisdottir and Games veteran, Lindsey Valenzuela, where she finished in third place in the Dubai Fitness Competition in 2013.
“Marlene can be competitive against top women,” Silver said. “She has beaten Thorisdottir and Valenzuela on individual workouts head-to-head. However, the whole package still needs work.”
Andersson’s coach is ambitious, yet realistic with goals and objectives for his athlete.
“We are not expecting to win the Games,” he said. “However, we do want to have at least one great finish on a workout, and be well rounded on the remaining ones.”
The Games Events
With the recent announcements of some of the events she’ll face in Carson, California, Andersson is figuring out which of them might give her the “great finish” that Silver is pushing for.
“I want to play my training smart, so my body can last for many more years to come, rather than rushing my results and recovery from injuries, to do well in competitions,” Andersson said. “The overhead squat 1-rep-max is not one of my best, so I will push my own personal limits a bit, but not chase the top.”
When it comes to choosing between short, hard, max efforts and longer workouts that push one’s aerobic capacity, Andersson favors the latter.
“Rob has worked a lot on my endurance leading up to the Games, so I hope the Triple 3 will be one of my stronger workouts,” she said. “I've had to do a lot of rowing here in Kuwait, since it's too hot to run outside, and I'm hoping that will work to my advantage and help me keep a decent pace. I’ll chip away at the double-unders quickly, because I usually feel those in my shoulders, and by then at least I won't need my shoulders much for the running.”
The Mental Game
As far as her mental game, one of the most helpful tips for Andersson was getting in the zone. Considered one of the region’s quieter athletes, her signature steely gaze would only break whenever she finished the event and looked toward her husband and friends.
“During competitions I'm very much in my head,” she said, “thinking of my strategy and feeling my body out to see whether I need to change anything. It’s best when I have my husband or friends close to me. It’s much easier to ignore the pain I'm feeling when someone else is telling me to push on.”
Representing Asia
Andersson is all too aware of representing an underdog region. She sees her spot at the Games not only as a personal window of opportunity, but also a starting point for what she can do to be a part of the continued growth of one of CrossFit’s “smaller” regions.
“I hope I can show people that Asia is a region to recognize,” Andersson said. “I'm excited about being here right now because the community is growing and is comparable to where the U.S. was five or six years ago. Some great local athletes will emerge once they’ve had enough time to develop and I can't wait to be a part of that.”
The Kuwaiti Community
Andersson’s dedication to the sport goes above and beyond her role as a competitive athlete. She left her day job as a corrective exercise specialist in England to take on a coaching role in Kuwait; Andersson has developed a love for the local community that is reciprocated in full.
A testimony to this is shown in the way the community at Inspire Pure Fitness—where Andersson works and trains—rallied together in a fundraiser for the athlete’s trip to Carson. Members from the box jostled to buy hourly slots in a 24-hour rowing event, collectively clocking an impressive distance of 300 km and raising 1,100KWD (US$3,900).
“CrossFit as a competitive sport can be financially taxing, and the community has gotten tighter since learning that I'm going to Carson,” she said. “Everyone has been incredibly helpful and generous, and that's exactly what I tell people when I get questions like, 'Why Kuwait?' It's the people. That's why I'm here now, and that's why I'll be here for a long time to come.”
Beyond the Games
When she made the decision to move to Kuwait, Andersson saw the prospects that lay ahead in a country where CrossFit was still very new to the masses. She spent her first year working on personal development as an athlete and building general awareness of CrossFit training methodologies amongst people outside of the gym.
“We finally have an affiliate (CrossFit 965) now, which is a fantastic step forward, and the charity row we held raised awareness around the country, which was great.
Since regionals, my husband has started running an Instagram account, which is for people who are interested in my training. Being a ‘small’ athlete helps because women are scared of becoming big, bulky or ‘manly’ if they train weights. They are shocked that I have been crowned the fittest woman in Asia and yet I still look so small and feminine. It’s hilarious.”
She added: “I hope my current status will help to change the mindset among women in Asia.”
Crunch Time
Naturally, the opportunity to compete alongside some of the biggest names in CrossFit is something Andersson is both looking forward to and finding hard to believe.
"It’s surreal, because I've looked up to these women since I started doing CrossFit,” she said, “and to think I'm going to be able to get thrown in the mix with the best in the world. I'm excited."
