Katrin Davidsdottir is one of the most prominent CrossFit® athletes of all time. One of just three women to repeat as Fittest Woman on Earth™ — she won the Games in 2015 and 2016 — she’s a phenomenal athlete who has placed in the top 5 every year since.
The sport is currently in turmoil. Over the weekend, CEO and founder Greg Glassman came under fire for tweets regarding the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, a situation that was further compounded by the leak of a Zoom call in which he repeatedly said “We’re not mourning for George Floyd.”
Update: Davidsdottir — along with several other top Games athletes — has announced she is officially out of this year’s CrossFit Games.
Hundreds of gyms de-affiliated, multiple sponsors ended their contracts, and some athletes refused to compete at this year’s Games in October. A few days later, Glassman resigned from his position and longtime Director of the CrossFit Games Dave Castro stepped in as the new head of the organization.
But Davidsdottir has made her position clear: this isn’t enough. In an Instagram post made the day after Castro’s appointment, she wrote,
So what has changed?
Earlier this week I posted a very hopeful post, because that was what I was. I BELIEVED there was going to be change for the better. I believed we were on a path to rebuild our sport & our community.
I am disappointed, to say the least, with the solution that as provided & I do not see change. This might have given the worldwide press a headline that they wanted, but fundamentally there was no change. Doesn’t Greg Glassman still own 100% of CrossFit?
I believe we need LEADERSHIP, to be led with integrity and morals. A sport driven by unity and inclusivity. To have core values in the right place.
What we have right now is not a change I can stand by. I believe we can & should do better than this.
Davidsdottir is not the only major name in the sport to denounce Castro’s appointment as CEO, as some athletes agreed with her in the post’s comments, including fellow two-time Games winner Annie Thorisdottir (“Absolutely ❤️ “) and 2018’s second place finisher Laura Horvath (“100 percent with you Kat!❤️”)
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Featured image via @katrintanja on Instagram