Katrin Davidsdottir is a 2-time CrossFit Games Champion and won the contest in 2015 and 2016. Second place both of those years went to Tia-Clair Toomey, who then went on to win the Games in 2017, 2018, and 2019. But while Davidsdottir is still looking for her third title, she hasn’t been a slouch. She’s made the Top 5 each year since 2015, cementing her status as one of the sport’s best athletes…ever.
After a come-from-behind finish during Stage 1 of this year’s CrossFit Games — where the athletes competed virtually — Davidsdottir punched her ticket to the Finals, where she’ll compete against Toomey, Brooke Wells, Haley Adams, and Kari Pearce.
Can Katrin Davidsdottir once again stand atop the CrossFit Games podium? We break down her Stage 1 performance, as well as her (many) strengths and (few) weaknesses as an athlete.
Related: How to watch the 2020 CrossFit Games Finals.
Katrin Davidsdottir’s 2020 CrossFit Games
We break down Davidsdottir’s seven workouts from Stage 1, plus her strengths and weaknesses heading into the Finals in Aromas, California.
00:00 Katrin Davidsdottir at the 2020 CrossFit Games
01:00 Katrin’s impressive CrossFit Games resume
02:02 Her Stage 1 performance
03:50 Her back-to-back event wins
04:45 Katrin Davidsdottir’s strengths and weaknesses
Katrin Davidsdottir’s Finals Performance
Event One — 2007 Reloaded
For time:
- 1,500-meter row
Then five rounds of:
- 10 bar muscle-ups
- 7 shoulder-to-overheads — 145 pounds
It wasn’t looking good for the two-time Fittest Woman on Earth. She was well behind the rest of the field as the event was coming to a close. Tia-Clair Toomey had already won, Haley Adams posted an impressive second place finish, Kari Pearce claimed third, and Davidsdottir was not yet through the muscle-ups in the finals round.
It wasn’t until Brooke Wells began to struggle with the shoulder-to-overheads in the final round. Fighting for a fourth-place finish, Wells kept failing reps causing her pace to slow significantly. This opened the door for Davidsdottir to move up a rank in event one. She jogged from the muscle-ups to her barbell — no small feat in an event this difficult — and was able to hoist her final seven reps to overtake Wells and place fourth in the event.
Event Two — Corn Sack Sprint
For time:
320-meter hill sprint with a corn sack — 30 pounds
Davidsdottir was aiming for a big finish coming off a narrow fourth place in event one and came out of the gates blazing. Once all the competitors hit the first hill and found their way to a single file, Davidsdottir was behind Toomey and Wells, respectively. As the hills got steeper, Wells began to drop off allowing Davidsdottir to overtake second position and that is where she ended up. A second-place finish for Davidsdottir with a time of 3:13.18 puts her right back into the running at the top of the leaderboard after two events.
Event Three — CrossFit Total
For total load:
1-rep-max back squat
1-rep-max shoulder press
1-rep-max deadlift
The commentary team made it a point to reiterate that Davidsdottir would potentially struggle with this event due to a disc injury in her back that she recently recovered from. That didn’t seem to phase Davidsdottir as her technique was clean throughout and she didn’t hold back attempting big weights that could impact her place on the leaderboard.
As the event progressed, it became a battle for fourth position between Davidsdottir and Adams. Davidsdottir ended up failing her final deadlift attempt, which netted her a last-place finish as Adams posted a huge final lift. Here was Davidsdottirs lifts that culminated to a 701-pound total:
- Squat — 269 pounds
- Shoulder Press — 137 pounds
- Deadlift — 295 pounds
Event Four — Handstand Sprint
For time:
100-yard handstand walk
Although Davidsdottir won the handstand hold in Stage One, she was unable to follow up that performance here in the handstand sprint. Her time of 1:40 was good enough for fourth place, only besting Toomey’s last place time of 2:05.67.
Event Five — Ranch Loop
Run along 3-mile± course through varying terrain
This was a huge come from behind victory for Davidsdottir after taking advantage of the twist that competitors had to run the course a second time in reverse. It was her first win of the finals and pushed her up into third place overall at the end of day one.
Do you think the two-time Fittest Women on Earth will land on the podium when all is said and done? Let us know in the comments!
Event Six — Toes-To-Bar/Lunge
30-20-10 reps for time:
Toes-to-bar
Kettlebell lunge (yards) — 24-kilogram kettlebells
Davíðsdóttir led this event early, but was overtaken by Toomey who implemented a clever strategy of placing her kettlebells underneath her during the toes-to-bars rather than dropping them at the starting line of each length. This saved her some critical seconds and thrust Davíðsdóttir into a second-place finish.
Event Seven — Snatch Speed Triple
For time:
One snatch at each bar
- Quarterfinal:
Women 145-150-155 pounds
- Semifinal:
Women 160-165-170 pounds
- Final:
Women 175-180-185 pounds
This event was a fast battle between Toomey and Wells and left Davíðsdóttir behind to clean up a third-place finish. Davíðsdóttir was working her way back up the leaderboard with consistent solid finishes.
Event Eight — Bike Repeater
10 rounds:
440-meter bike sprint
One legless rope climb — 15 feet
Davíðsdóttir did not fare as well in this event as a weakness on the rope climbs shown through. Her technique of using bent arms to climb the rope caused fatigue and added a lot of time to her fourth-place finish. Her official time was 15:36.02.
Event Nine — Happy Star
Four rounds:
200- to 300-meter hill run
5-7-9-11 reps of:
- Burpee
- Thruster — 95-105-110-115 pounds
Davíðsdóttir closed out day two with another third-place finish to continue her consistency at the Games Finals. Her official time was 9:32.02, only behind Pearce and Toomey, who were in second and first, respectively.
Event Ten — Swim ‘N’ Stuff
Four rounds, each for time:
- Air bike calories (10 | 15)
- 50-meter swim
- 10 GHD sit-ups
- 10 ball slams 40 pounds
- Rest
Davíðsdóttir’s consistency crossed over into the final day with yet another third-place finish. No one was beating Toomey in this event due to how fast she was in the water, but Davíðsdóttir was able to outpace both Wells and Pearce with an official time of 8:47.62.
Event Eleven — Sprint Sled Sprint
- 100-yard sprint
- 100-yard sled push — 80-pound sled
- 100-yard sprint
Steady as she goes — another third-place finish for Davíðsdóttir who had positioned herself into second overall. This event was all about the battle between Toomey and Wells for first, but Davíðsdóttir was across the finish line shortly thereafter to rack up 55 points.
Event Twelve — Atalanta
While wearing a 14-pound vest:
- One mile run
- 100 handstand push-ups
- 200 pistol squats
- 300 pull-ups
- One mile run
This event was the highlight reel for Kari Pearce who dominated this event, besting the nine other athletes in the field. The only competitor able to give her a sweat was Davíðsdóttir who came within four pull-ups at one point and compelled Pearce to amp up her pace in the final run. A second-place finish for Davíðsdóttir cemented a silver-medal finish at the Games.
Was Davíðsdóttir’s performance at the Finals what you expected? Let us know in the comments!