Vikings and Gladiators

June 3, 2017

Andréa Maria Cecil

Falk, Odinsdottir double as superheroes.

On the competition floor, it’s the effort that matters—not your good looks.

Except if you’re on a Swedish gladiator show. Then they matter.

“I had a leather skirt and really good hairdos and makeup,” Bjork Odinsdottir said of her time on the Swedish TV series “Gladiatorerna.”

Minutes earlier, the Meridian Regional competitor had finished Event 1—a 1,200-meter run followed by 12 rounds of 4 strict handstand push-ups, 8 chest-to-bar pull-ups and 12 squats while wearing a 14-lb. vest. She was sweaty and some strands of her hair were out of place after finishing the event in 19:22 at La Caja Mágica in Madrid, Spain.

“Nobody cares what you look like out there,” Odinsdottir quipped, pointing in the general direction of the competition floor while standing in an athlete lounge.

For three years, the 29-year-old has been a star on “Gladiatorerna,” which is similar to the show “American Gladiator” that aired from 1989 to 1996 in the United States.

Odinsdottir’s profile on the show’s website describes her as being from “the hardest mountains in the north,” with “a body of granite, a heart of gold and a will to fight the hardest steel.” The description, originally written in Swedish, warns contestants they will be struck by Odinsdottir’s powers.

Show representatives originally reached out to Odinsdottir, a native of Iceland living in Denmark, to be on the show after becoming familiar with her as a competitive CrossFit athlete.

“It was a fun thing to do,” she said.

And Odinsdottir wasn’t alone.

The gladiator named Sky—also known as Helena Falk, another Meridian Regional competitor—accompanied Odinsdottir on “Gladiatorerna” for one season, which show producers recorded in November.

Falk wore hot pants with a shiny gold belt and a matching gold headband.

Her “Gladiatorerna” profile describes her as possessing “the speed of light” and being “superb in the melee” while also having the ability to “elicit a night of lightning and thunder.”

The 38-year-old, a former European champion boxer, characterized the gig as “just one job.”

“It’s more of a fun thing to do,” said Falk, a native of Sweden.

Especially when you’re fit enough to be among CrossFit’s elite.

At the start of Day 2, Odinsdottir sat in seventh place overall at the Regional, while Falk was in 14th.

On the show, contestants make their way through an obstacle course that includes a 1-minute stand-off with a gladiator. The short time domain is one CrossFit athletes know well.

“Like this,” Falk started, still breathing heavily after finishing Event 2, which called for 21-15-9 reps of 55-lb. dumbbell snatches and ring dips. “It should be three, four minutes. But I did it in five.”

Then she smiled.

“I was tired.”

These days, the women’s exposure via “Gladiatorerna” has made for some fame, especially among children.

“Oh, yeah, the kids (recognize us),” Odinsdottir said. “They think we’re real superheroes.”

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