In the fall of 2023, little did anyone know that four-time CrossFit Games athlete Camilla Salomonsson Hellman was filming and competing in Sweden’s version of SAS: Who Dares Wins.
- This television show challenges contestants to grueling physical and mental tests meant to mimic the training protocol of the United Kingdom and Swedish Special Forces.
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Flashback
In the fall of 2021, while pregnant, Salomonsson Hellman and her partner watched a past season of the show. She said aloud while watching the contestants, “I could do that.” Her partner agreed, and the seed was planted in the back of her mind.
Two years later, Salomonsson Hellman applied to be on the show. After a round of physical tests and an interview, she was selected to film last year’s multi-episode season.
- “It was harder than I thought. Physically, I handled many challenges and felt prepared from training CrossFit and Functional Fitness.”
However, the other component of the competition, the mental aspect, proved most difficult.
- “The mental side — it tested a lot of adaptability — dealing with surprises, things that I find scary, and feeling insecure. I was asked beforehand about what makes me uncomfortable. I have problems handling cold water during longer periods or holding my breath underwater, and there was a lot of that. Also, the starvation and sleep deprivation didn’t help,” she shared.
Testing the unknown and unknowable to an extreme degree.
Salomonsson Hellman was limited in what she could divulge about the show as the season was being released and streaming. However, she added that it was the most difficult challenge she has ever faced, much more difficult than any of her years at the CrossFit Games.
Flash Forward
It was after Salomonsson Hellman filmed SAS: Who Dares Wins that she began her 2024 CrossFit season with the Open and then the Quarterfinals, only to be hit with major penalties and miss out on qualifying for the Semifinals.
The blow hit extremely hard, and it took time for Salomonsson Hellman to recover.
Regardless, Salomonsson Hellman continued on and forged her own season, competing at the Swedish National Championship in functional fitness in June and qualifying for the International Functional Fitness (iF3) World Championships in Hungary in mid-December.
As an ambassador for the Swedish Foundation of Functional Fitness, Salomonsson Hellman explains what the role and the sport means to her.
- “The sport is growing; it’s getting big in Sweden, and we will have close to 100 Swedes participating in the World Championship in Budapest.
- “In Sweden, this sport…is legitimate because a federation leads it, and this federation bonds us. It feels like most Swedes believe in it as a real sport, so to say, it has to be a federation,” Salomonsson Hellman explains.
For this reason, and because of this background, Salomonsson Hellman holds the Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association in such high regard.
As a voting member, Salomonsson Hellman knows her voice and perspective are valuable. With so much unknown regarding the 2025 season and so many decisions still to be made, her priority for this year is to support her fellow athletes and do whatever she can to help the sport of CrossFit change for the better.
- “I have one year left as a voting member of the PFAA, and I don’t know how many more years I’ll have beyond that. If I can make a change, I will try. I want to represent the athletes and use my voice to do that,” Salomonsson Hellman says.
Next Up
Later this month, before her trip to Hungary, Salomonsson Hellman will join fellow European athletes at the Belgrade Games to compete in honor of their friend Lazar Đukić.
- “I’m going to honor Lazar, which will be very special. I’m going there to be present and compete in his name,” Salomonsson Hellman shared.
- Salomonsson Hellman will compete for the second year on the same team at TYR Wodapalooza alongside Maria Längfors and Antonia Fält-Kottulinsky in January.
Beyond Wodapalooza, the rest of Salomonsson Hellman’s season is unknown. Like many athletes, she awaits updates from CrossFit while supporting the PFAA’s efforts.
Featured image via Kronan Throwdown
