Gabriela Migała Parts Ways With The Progrm’s John Singleton: “This is just a natural progression”

The eighth “Fittest Woman on Earth” Gabriela Migała and her training camp The Progrm have announced they are mutually splitting, ending a three-year partnership.

• “To me this is just a natural progression,” said Migała in a statement obtained by Morning Chalk Up. “I’ve been working with John (Singleton) and The Progrm for the past three seasons and I am very grateful to him and everyone who’s been a part of it but I believe that now is the right time for me to mix things up.”
• “At the end of each season I think it’s very important to reflect with the athletes on what they want to do, and where we want to go moving forward,” said Singleton, founder and head coach of The Progrm. “This year was no different and after sitting down with Gabi and Kristof (Horvath) last week they have decided that they wanted to make a change.”
• During her time training with The Progrm, she moved from her native Poland to the Spanish island of Mallorca to train with fellow Progrm and Games athlete Jacqueline Dahlstrøm as well as her boyfriend, Horvath.
  

Why it matters: Since training under the tutelage of Singleton after the 2019 Games, Migała has become a perennial top-ten Games athlete highlighted by her sixth place finish at the 2021 Games.

• “I’m 23 years old and I feel like I’m not even close to reaching my full potential,” said Migała. “But in order to reach it I need to be open to making changes and trying new things.” 
• “I am obviously sad in the sense that over the period of a coaching relationship you spend a lot of time, energy and effort together,” said Singleton. “During the pandemic they also came to live with us. We spoke to each other every single day, often multiple times in a day, you see them training, journeying through the highs and lows and you see their growth.”
• That move prior to the 2020 Games season, resulted in the six-time Polish national champion and teen division alum placing 18th at the Games a year after placing 75th in her Games debut at just 20 years old.
• Migała was considered a podium favorite at the 2022 Games after a season that saw her podium at both the Rogue Invitational (3rd) and Dubai CrossFit Championship (3rd) prior to the Games season.
• She placed 13th in the Open and followed that with the top score in the Europe Quarterfinal qualifying her for the Lowlands Throwdown Semifinal where she placed third, punching her ticket to the Games for the fourth-straight season and third under Singleton.
• Horvath, the brother of Laura Horvath, is also departing with Migała after serving as a coach for Singleton while pursuing his own Games aspirations as a Progrm athlete.
• “They’re both completely different athletes now than when they joined The Progrm three years ago,” said Singleton. “Gabi was indeed a CrossFit athlete, but she hadn’t broken through, taking 75th place at the 2019 Games. Now she has just had a season where she went back-to-back top 10 finishes at The Games and has podiumed at every live competition she has done, including the sports biggest off-season competitions.”
• Singleton coached Migała, Dahlstrøm, Moritz Fiebig and Sólveig Sigurðardóttir at the Games this past season. 
• “Although I would very much like to continue the journey with them and make sure that they can continue growing,” said Singleton. “They both felt that the time was right to make change, not just changing from The Progrm, they’ll also be leaving C23.”

The bottom line: Migała’s departure continues the trend we have seen over the last three seasons of well-known athletes leaving training camps to pursue a change. They are hoping a change in scenery, training program and coaching philosophy will continue their growth in the sport as they try to improve their Games placing.

• “I understand that people seek change and in terms of changing relationships we have finished on a very positive note and I have been encouraging of their effort to explore new options together,” said Singleton. “To have seen her growth as an athlete has been amazing.”
• “I have not yet decided what my next move will be,” said Migała. “I am taking my time in carefully exploring my options and weighing up what works best for me.”
• “What I will say is that I am very optimistic and looking forward to what comes next,” said Migała.