Sara Sigmundsdóttir Withdraws From 2022 Wodapalooza
On the morning of Jan. 15, 2022, CrossFit Games veteran Sara Sigmundsdóttir announced that she withdrew from 2022 Wodapalooza (WZA). The two-time Games podium finisher (2015-2016) didn’t explain why she pulled out of the contest.
“It’s been so fun to be on the competition floor here in Miami and therefore I am sad to announce that I have decided to withdraw from further competitive action at Wodapalooza,” Sigmundsdóttir wrote in an Instagram post. “I will share further insights on this in the coming days. Thank you all for the love and support.”
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The Icelandic athlete’s withdrawal came right before the start of WZA’s third day of events. After two days of competition, Sigmundsdóttir was in 18th place overall with 196 points. Ellie Turner of Australia sits in first with 379 points, Emma McQuaid of Ireland is in second with 343 points, and Americans Bethany Shadburne and Dani Speegle are tied for third with 334 points.
Sigmundsdóttir’s best performance at 2022 WZA was a fifth-place finish in Workout One, Flipped Off:
Flipped Off
For time — 3-3-3-4 minute rounds of:
Buy-in:
- 75 Heavy Double-Unders
- Medicine Ball GHD Sit-Ups
With remaining time, each round:
- Flipsled Flips
One minute rest between rounds. Time cap: 16 minutes.
About Sigmundsdóttir
Sigmundsdóttir — who is also an accomplished weightlifter — has been a force in CrossFit for years. She debuted as an Individual in the 2015 CrossFit Games, finishing in third place behind second-place finisher Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr and winner Katrin Davidsdottir. The podium was the same at the 2016 CrossFit Games a year later. Sigmundsdóttir finished fourth in 2017, 37th in 2018, 19th in 2019, and 21st in 2020.
Unfortunately, her career as of late has been plagued with injury.
Despite winning the 2020 Open — Sigmundsdóttir’s third victory (2017, 2019, 2020) — she underperformed at the 2020 Games. She later revealed that she suffered a shin injury before the 2020 Rogue Invitational due to a box jump mishap and attributed the injury to her lackluster performance.
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In March of 2021, Sigmundsdóttir said she would not participate in the 2021 CrossFit Games season due to a ruptured ACL. (Split jerks were the culprit that time.)
Sigmundsdóttir isn’t the only athlete of note to drop out of 2022 Wodapalooza. Ricky Garard withdrew on Jan. 13 before the competition started due to illness. WZA would have been Garard’s second competition since serving a four-year suspension for doping. Both Garard and Sigmundsdóttir competed at the 2021 Dubai CrossFit Championships in Dec. 2021 — Garard placed third, and Sigmundsdóttir placed seventh overall.
Wodapalooza 2022
Wodapalooza 2022 occurs from Jan. 13-16, 2022, and is held at Bayfront Park in Miami, FL. The 2021 edition of the popular competition was canceled due to COVID-19. The 2022 contest offers the largest prize purse in the event’s history — $100,000 to the Elite Men and Women’s division winners.
All four days of the 2022 Wodapalooza competition will be live-streamed on the Loud and Live Sports YouTube channel, with commentary by Tommy Marquez, Bill Grundler, and Chase Ingraham.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect Flipped Off as Workout One, not The Mia Bar Complex, which was Workout Three.
Featured Image: @sarasigmunds on Instagram