“The mental component of being an athlete was a much bigger challenge than many would think ... It’s more than just how to mentally focus on training and competing. It is also about concentrating on eating and regeneration.”
Bjork Odinsdottir knew at an early age gymnastics would be her sport—her penchant for hanging from trees was a pretty good hint.
The 2014 Europe Regional women’s competition captivated the CrossFit world, not only because the past three years’ Games champions were there, but also because the field chasing the three podium spots was highly anticipated.
The competition was rich with talent: reigning Games champion Samantha Briggs; two-time CrossFit Games champion Annie Thorisdottir; and Games veterans Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir and Caroline Fryklund. But in the end, the podium hoisted some new names. Odinsdottir, 26, was one of them, second to fellow Icelander Thorisdottir by just 5 points.
Born in Iceland, Odinsdottir and her family moved to Norway when she was 4.
“At this point, I was living in a part of Norway where it was difficult to do gymnastics as a sport,” she said. “So I started pulling myself up on trees or hanging from branches to imitate the exercises. I knew right then and there that gymnastics would be an important part of my life.”
Soon after the family moved back to the Icelandic city of Akureyri, Odinsdottir began to train and compete in gymnastics, winning “every local competition there was,” she said. The family realized her athletic potential and moved to the capital city, Reykjavik, where she could find better training opportunities.
“These years of training still help me a lot. Especially when it comes to the body awareness in weightlifting,” Odinsdottir said. “Gymnastics also allowed me to develop my strong points—my technique and my ambition.”
Odinsdottir discovered CrossFit shortly after moving to Sweden four years ago. Games athlete Numi Katrinarson—also an Icelander living in Sweden—brought her to CrossFit Nordic, where she still trains and coaches today.
“At the time, gymnastics made me suffer from severe back problems and I needed to make a change,” Odinsdottir said. “I had heard about CrossFit and about Annie winning the Games. Once I tried it, I was sure that I wanted more.”
Odinsdottir first competed in a local competition in 2011. Briggs participated in the same competition and won, leaving Odinsdottir inspired.
“I remember this competition very well,” she said. “It was a kind of Fran, but with burpees, and chest-to-bar. After we finished, I was very impressed by Sam’s performance. And I told to myself, next year, I want do the same, I am going to be the one winning.”
And that following year, she did.
“The first thing I needed to improve in order to win competitions was endurance, where I was lacking the necessary background,” Odinsdottir said. “Gymnastics routines last no more than 2 minutes. CrossFit was a major change for me, physically and mentally.”
Last year was decisive in Odinsdottir’s athletic career. A few months before the 2013 Open, she had to undergo surgery in order to replace a disk. The operation cured the severe pain of which she had been suffering since her time as a gymnast. Although she did the Open, and secured a place for herself at the regional, she decided not to participate.
“After the operation, I knew that I had the chance to start all over again. As the pain suddenly disappeared, I was able to put more effort into my training,” she said.
But for Odinsdottir, working just on her physical abilities was not enough.
“The mental component of being an athlete was a much bigger challenge than many would think. I needed to learn how to think right,” she said. “It’s more than just how to mentally focus on training and competing. It is also about concentrating on eating and regeneration.”
Odinsdottir worked on these aspects with a coach and managed to turn the mental factor from a “true obstacle” into a “real asset.”
Odinsdottir knew this year’s Europe Regional would put everything she had been working on during the past two years to the test.
“For me, it was the biggest challenge to focus on myself,” she said. “After the first two events, I had mixed feelings. The 165-lb. hang snatch went so well that I felt reassured, but the event that followed, the handstand walk, didn’t go as expected at all. That really left me wondering.”
However, the next event, Nasty Girls V2, calmed her down and made her confident. She finished second to Briggs.
“I love one-legged squats and also muscle-ups. I was looking forward to that event. It went very well,” she said. “I was going as fast as I could but Sam was taking the lead. She’s such a great athlete. Seeing her going at that incredible pace made me go faster myself.”
The next event went better than Odinsdottir planned and during the subsequent legless rope climbs and 200-foot sprints, her gymnastics background served her well.
“Before the (regional), I had traveled to Norway to train with my friend Kristin Holte, who is a great athlete. Just for fun, we decided to work on the legless and L-sit rope climbs,” Odinsdottir said. “We didn’t know back then that this would be an exercise at the regional.”
It was Event 5, the 50s chipper, that put Odinsdottir to a final test.
“The thought of this event was already bad as it included many of my weak spots, especially my endurance and resistance,” she said. “It was the third day of competition and my body was starting to feel tired.”
But in the end, she was pleased.
“I did well because I managed to set my mind on the competition in a way like I was never able to do it before,” she said. “All my psychological preparation had paid off.”
What followed was the realization of what she could do at this year’s Games.
“The last event went just as planned. I enjoyed it greatly,” Odinsdottir said. “I was so excited that those heavy overhead squats felt light like a feather. When I finished it, I knew that I would be traveling to California. It was the beginning of a dream come true.”
