Karl Gudmundsson is a promising crossfit athlete

Today, our article will focus on one of the most promising crossfit athletes of our time, Karl Gudmundsson (Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson). Why exactly he? It's simple. Despite his relatively young age, this guy has already participated in the professional league about 6 times, and in 2014 he first declared himself at the CrossFit games. And although 4 years ago his results were not as impressive as they are today, he may well take the leading position tomorrow.

Short biography

Karl Gudmundsson (@bk_gudmundsson) is an Icelandic athlete who has been competing in power all-around for several years. He was born in 1992 in Reykjavik. Since childhood, like many of today's crossfit athletes, Karl has been involved in various sports - from simple European football to gymnastics. But the guy had a special love for snowboarding. After several years of amateur skiing, the 12-year-old contender for the championship among children announced that he would like to do snowboarding professionally. However, the parents did not support this idea, being concerned about the safety of their son after several incidents involving avalanches during the competition.

Introduction to functional all-around

Then young Gudmundsson plunged headlong into gymnastics and weightlifting. At the age of 16, Karl first heard about CrossFit, and in 2008 he entered the Hengill gym for the first time (the future Crossfit hengill affiliate). It happened quite by accident - the hall in which he trained for a long time was temporarily closed for repairs. In the new hall Gudmundsson was introduced to the classic WOD's and invited to participate in a friendly competition. Naturally, he lost the tournament, and to a man who looked much smaller and weaker than the athlete himself.

The ambitious young man was puzzled by this and decided to take up a new promising sport at a professional level. However, even here the parents did not support his initiative. They insisted that the son receive a higher professional education, which, in their opinion, could protect the guy in case of a premature end of his sports career.

At the same time, the parents, despite their position, financed their son's trips to the CrossFit gym and the desire for proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. For the next 4 years, Gudmundson was actively gaining shape and participating in local competitions.

Entering professional crossfit

For the first time, Karl decided to test himself in the professional crossfit arena only in 2013. Then Gudmundsson participated in European competitions, where from the first attempt he was able to get into the top 10. This spurred him to further specialized training as a first-level coach. The next year, the 21-year-old athlete first entered the CrossFit Games.

In 2015, according to the athlete himself, he reached the peak of his form and was able to rise to the third line in the leaderboard. On the whole, 2015 turned out to be extremely productive and serious for Gudmundsson. At this year's Games, he had very serious rivals - Fraser and Smith also fought for the championship, with whom the guy literally stepped on his heels, just a couple of points behind second place and 15 behind first.

The sixteenth year has become very controversial for the young athlete. On the one hand, he was able to win regional competitions, on the other hand, he burned out at the regional competitions, which means that he was able to take only 8th place at the crossfit games.

In 2017, the guy officially entered the top athletes, taking fifth (after the disqualification of one of the rivals, 4th).

An interesting fact is that, despite his athletic achievements and the poor doping reputation of Icelandic athletes, Gudmundsson does not use salbutamol to increase the effectiveness of his oxygen potential. This can be seen even from the photographs - he is not overdried, in comparison with his other CrossFit colleagues from Iceland.

In short, this athlete, in spite of everything, trains exclusively in a natural mode and proves that everyone can achieve serious results at crossfit games without using doping.

Effectiveness

Despite his outstanding performances, in terms of classic all-around, Gudmundsson is a fairly average athlete. He shows quite average results, and, in general, his merit and advantage over other athletes lies not in the fact that he can lift a heavier barbell, but that he is comprehensively developed. The young CrossFitrea has neither workout nor weightlifting components sagging. In addition, he is always ready for the unusual tasks that you can expect from Dave Castro.

If we consider his strength indicators, then we can note very strong legs and a weak back, because of which the athlete very often misses difficult WODs during the Games. It was his back that let him down at the tournament in 2015.

Speeches

Karl Gudmundsson is a four-time CrossFit Games competitor and two-time mid-region champion in their respective competitions. Of course, we can say that among Icelandic and European athletes, he is not one of the best, but the best.

Finally

Karl Gudmundsson is not yet a world crossfit champion, although his accomplishments are considered impressive. His story clearly shows that you don't have to be the best for you to have your own fans and followers. It is enough to strive to become better and more prepared. By stepping on the heels of champions, you spur your potential and their potential, raising the bar of competition, and at the same time you are an example for others.

Karl Gudmundsson promised to break everyone at the 2018 games, and although Matt Fraser was skeptical about such statements, we can see that the gap in the last year between the first and seventh places in the games was no longer as significant as in the past. This means that Gudmundsson, like most newcomers, has a serious chance of winning.

Watch the video: Rogue Iron Game - Ep. 24. The Standard - Individual Men Event 11 - 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games (November 2024).