Samantha Briggs - to victory at any cost

Samantha Briggs is one of the leading athletes in CrossFit. She is known for literally snatching victory from the hands of the injured Thorisdottir. After that, she no longer managed to ascend the world Olympus of this sport, however, this does not at all negate her excellent physical shape and aesthetics.

Biography

Samantha "Sam" Briggs was born on March 14, 1982. Today she remains one of the “oldest players”, but this young woman got into CrossFit on the verge of her thirties. And this deserves respect and special admiration, because, as a rule, athletes in CrossFit get peak shape in their young years, when the level of hormones and recovery thresholds are much higher than at 29 and 30 years.

That Froning, that Fraser, that Thorisdottir - they all reached the peak of their physical capabilities at a time when they were not yet 25 years old. But Briggs was able to win at the age of 31, expanding the range of age participation of athletes.

Samantha's most famous achievement is the 2013 CrossFit Games medal.

She qualified for the CrossFit Games four more times: in 2010, 2011, 2015 and 2016. In 2014, the athlete was unable to qualify due to a broken leg during training at the Open stage.

Sam finished four of her five appearances in the top 5. Briggs lived and trained in Miami, USA during the 2015 CrossFit season, but now resides in her native England.

This is quite unusual, given that the top athletes either live in Cookeville or are natives of harsh Iceland. Even modern champions are from Australia. So this English athlete was able to prove that even in the old world there are people who can give odds to many top and funded athletes.

Life before CrossFit

Before joining CrossFit, Samantha Briggs played in the Northern Premier League of English football. It is this fact that distinguishes her training from all other athletes. In particular, she is the most enduring and fastest athlete when it comes to leg training.

We must not forget about her performance in the 2009th year in the triathlon. Then the girl could not take a leading position, but it was during this period that she met with CrossFit, deciding to devote herself to this sport.

At the moment, Samantha Briggs has retired from her professional crossfit career, but is going to qualify for the 2018 Games in order to show that even at 35 you can participate in competitions and win prizes.

While the woman works as a firefighter in her native Yorkshire. Samantha herself says that it was CrossFit that gave her the necessary training to fulfill the most important mission in her life - to save other people from the fire.

Samantha Briggs has been awarded two Bravery Medals and became the 2017 Yorkshire Person of the Year.

Coming to CrossFit

Sam Briggs didn't get into CrossFit on purpose. Like other champions, before preparing for the triathlon in 2008, she was advised to a new fitness center, where, as part of the triathlon preparation program, the coach showed her several crossfit complexes that were supposed to increase her performance in the main sport.

All this impressed Samantha so much that after falling out of training for the triathlon (where she did not take the first place), immediately after the competition, she seriously changed her training program, creating the basis for future crossfit victories.

And in 2010, she first started at the crossfit games, taking the preliminary 3rd place at the open. Immediately after that, she took second place in the games themselves, thereby cementing her impressive start.

Unfortunately for the next two years she was unable to take the lead, thanks to the emergence of the Icelandic star "Thorisdottir". However, Samantha's enthusiasm lasted for 5 years, and now, according to rumors, she is preparing for her comeback, trying to show "something amazing and new."

CrossFit career

Briggs first qualified to compete in the CrossFit Games in 2010, finishing second in the European Region.

• By 2011, Briggs was more prepared, and was able to achieve an impressive fourth place (although after some referee reshuffles, she was awarded silver after the fact, as the number of clean executions was reduced from other athletes).
• In 2012, Briggs suffered multiple fractures in her knee. She officially dropped out of the competition in March, midway through the CrossFit Open. Having passed the first stage of the Open, she decided to see a doctor, saying “about the pains in the knee area that bother her,” where she learned that she had a broken kneecap.
• In 2013, Briggs returned to the competition, and although she could not take the leading position at the start, she was able to get into the competition itself, which was already an achievement. She won the World Open, European Regional and CrossFit Games in Carson. It was a decisive victory, although some critics argue that the decisive role was due to the fact that two-time champion Annie Thorisdottir (2011, 2012) was unable to defend the title this year due to a back injury in winter, and Julie Fusher, last year's silver medalist did not compete.

In addition, Briggs earned her nickname "Engine", thanks to some of the features of her performance. For example, she was able to take leading positions in rowing and half marathon running. Samantha herself claims that this was made possible thanks to her enhanced leg workouts during recovery, thanks to which, although she lost her strength, she was able to acquire that very "engine" endurance.

• The following spring, Briggs won the Open again but failed to qualify for the Games after finishing fourth in the 2014 European Region.
• ESPNW named Briggs "Most Controversial Athlete" at the 2015 Games. In those years, tightened doping control knocked many top athletes out of the competition, and they clearly positioned Samantha as a person who could potentially use peptide hormones.
• However, Briggs sustained another injury just before qualifying for the Open, after which she injured her kneecap again in regional competitions. Despite her injury, her second place qualified her for the 15th year games.
• After a long recovery, she was still able to compete at Crossfit games 2015.
• At the 2015 Games, Briggs climbed to 4th place despite injuries she suffered earlier this season.

Injury and victory in the region

The injury marked a turning point in Samantha Briggs' career, while for most other CrossFit athletes it usually becomes a point of no return.

For example, Josh Bridges was unable to climb the podium after breaking a ligament, although before that he was the main contender for victory after Fronning. Thorisdottir failed to reclaim her top spot after a spinal injury, and Sigmundsdottir was unable to win first place after a shoulder injury.

Samantha became the first who was able to speak at the Open right after full recovery. And the next year, she not only took first place, but also bypassed the absolute result of the entire trio of Dottir over the past years.

So, in 2013, she won the first and last time at the CrossFit games, receiving her impressive 177 thousand dollars.

Unfortunately, the very next year she was injured again, and then left CrossFit altogether, giving way to younger athletes.

Interesting Facts

Although Samantha's results in competitions are not a reason for pride in recent years, she has a number of interesting achievements behind her:

1. This is the first athlete who was able to simultaneously take a prize in the overall standings, while finishing last in one of the exercises.
2. The first athlete who was able to return and defeat everyone immediately after the injury.
3. The oldest active athlete in the CrossFit Games.
4. She is an honorary firefighter in her city, her crossfit skills help her save people.
5. She is the only crossfit game winner from the Old World.

In addition, she claimed the title of the most enduring athlete in the world of CrossFit. Despite its impressive size and weight, Sam runs the half marathon and rowing quite successfully. All this is the merit of the triathlon, which the girl was engaged in before crossfit.

Physical form

Samantha Briggs will stand out among other athletes with a very graceful figure. But it was this fact that caused a lot of misinterpretation in sports circles.

Doping charges

Samantha Briggs has been suspected of using anabolic steroids more than once. In addition, she was accused of using "Clenbuterol" and "Ephedrine" in preparation for the competition. It is usually associated with the same moment, which are very specific for the CrossFit athlete, injuries.

But why was she accused of taking anabolic steroids? It's very simple - in comparison with the reigning champions, in her best years Samantha Briggs had the most prominent figure and unusually developed deltas, which are often the first sign of using AAS. Another reason she was accused is the striking difference between an athlete's appearance in the offseason and in competition. Briggs herself attributes this fact to a change in diet and the desire to climb into the weight class in order to show the best strength / mass ratio.

Briggs parameters

However, she has a very chiseled figure for the CrossFit athlete. Especially her form of 2016, when she, although she did not take a prize place, was able to surprise everyone with the following parameters:

• the waist decreased from 72 to 66 centimeters;
• biceps in the size of 36.5 centimeters;
• deltas about 40 centimeters;
• thigh girth, decreased from 51 to 47%;
• the chest is exactly 90 centimeters on exhalation.

With such an anthropometry, a girl could well compete in beach bodybuilding competitions. Unfortunately, the new shape provided it with less impressive performance that year.

With a height of 1.68, Samantha has an extremely low weight - only 61 kilograms. At the same time, in the offseason, her weight dropped even below 58 kg, which, again, was the reason for accusing her of doping. Fortunately, not a single doping test found a single prohibited substance in the athlete's blood.

Individual indicators

Samantha's strength indicators do not shine, especially after a leg injury. On the other hand, she shows excellent speed results and incredible endurance.

She got her nickname "Engine" precisely for the speed and irrepressible style of execution. Working methodically and enduringly, she does not give up to the last, performing, like a machine, each of the exercises.

Competition results

Apart from 2012, when Sam dropped out of the competition due to injury, she strove to take part in every competition. And recently in 2017, she was able to take the first absolute place in the regional games for people over 35, which proves that she loses to the young only in view of her venerable age for crossfit sports.

Finally

Samantha Briggs is still one of the most controversial athletes around. She was able to win the toughest crossfit competition due to the absence of her main opponent. She was able to get ahead of everyone in the region immediately after she had the plaster cast off her leg, but at the same time she is still suspected of doping, despite the fact that she was never "noticed" in this.

In any case, she is a great athlete who opens up new horizons for herself and does not yet strive to leave professional sports, which means that we can observe her preparation and results in all subsequent years.

For now, we can only wish success to Sam Briggs, the most athletic woman of 2013, who is able to overcome everything, and go to her dream despite pain and injury. For fans, she always has Twitter and Instagram open.

Watch the video: CrossFit - Fittest Woman on Earth: Samantha Briggs (November 2024).