What is it About Iceland?

For the first time in its (admittedly short) 10-year history, the women's podium at the 2016 CrossFit Games looked exactly like it did the previous year.

2015 CrossFit Games women's podium
1st: Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir (Iceland)
2nd: Tia-Clair Toomey (Australia)
3rd: Ragnheiður Sara Sigmundsdottir (Iceland)

2016 CrossFit Games women's podium
1st: Katrin Tanja Davidsdottir (Iceland)
2nd: Tia-Clair Toomey (Australia)
3rd: Ragnheiður Sara Sigmundsdottir (Iceland)

A repeat like this has never happened before, so that was surprising, but it wasn't the least bit surprising to see Icelandic women on the podium. In fact, at least one Icelandic woman has stood on the podium every year since 2010, when Annie Thorisdottir (yes, that means Thor's Daughter) took second place, except for 2013, when Annie Thorisdottir took a year off due to injury.

Annie Torisdottir

Only American women have more podium finishes at the CrossFit Games that Icelandic women.

American women have two big advantages. First, CrossFit started in the US - Santa Cruz, CA, to be exact. When the Games began in 2007 all the podium finishers were Americans. The Games only started growing into an international event in 2009. Second, the US has an enormous population from which to draw competitors, and more CrossFit gyms than any other country.

As impressive as the Icelandic women's accomplishments are by themselves, they become mind-blowing when one considers that Iceland has a tiny population of 332,529. By comparison, Wichita, KS has a population of 389,965. That means that a tiny island country in the North Atlantic with a population smaller than that of a mid-sized city in the American Midwest has dominated the women's half of a grueling international multi-sport competition for the last six years. When I compared women's podium finishes to population size (podium finishes per 1 million of population), the other countries practically disappeared.

The Icelandic women's dominance has been a major topic of discussion among those who follow the CrossFit Games.



Icelandic men haven't been nearly as successful in CrossFit. The only Icelandic man to stand on the podium is Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson, who took 26th at the 2014 Games, 3rd in 2015 and 8th in 2016.

Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson

American men are far more dominant in CrossFit with only one non-American champion (Mikko Salo, of Finland, in 2009). Even so, when one considers population size, Iceland eclipses all other countries in podium finishes.

Why don't Icelandic men perform as well at the CrossFit Games as their female compatriots? Maybe because they're too busy with the World's Strongest Man competition.

A photo posted by Björgvin K. Guðmundsson (@bk_gudmundsson) on Jun 15, 2016 at 5:44am PDT

The giant on the right is Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. Most people know him as The Mountain on Game of Thrones, but he first gained fame by placing 3rd in the 2012 World Strongest Man competition, 3rd in 2013, 2nd in 2014 and 3rd again in 2015. The 2016 competition will take place later this month in Botswana. As you can see from the video I posted above, and Björgvin Karl Guðmundsson's Instagram feed, Icelandic CrossFit athletes train with Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, in large part because the CrossFit Games typically include some Strongman events (though at much lower weights). And also because he's preternaturally strong, and training with someone who's stronger than you are is a great way to get stronger.

Like the CrossFit Games, the US has more podium finishers at the World Strongest Man competition than any other country.

Fortunately, the WSM has been around since 1977, so there is a lot more data to sift. Again, the US has the same advantages in WSM as it does in the CFG (yes, I'm tired of typing both those out), yet tiny Iceland isn't far behind. And when I compared podium finishes to population size...

... no other country even comes close. And, as with the CFG, others have noticed this phenomenon.


The WSM and CFG share a few similarities. They're both strength-based sports. They both feature different events each year, so they both require athletes to adapt to unknown and unknowable challenges. And, as I mentioned above, the CFG often feature events like yoke carries and weighted sled pushes, pulls and drags that are staples of the WSM. But the differences are much greater than the similarities.

So, why does Iceland produce great athletes for these two sports in numbers so wildly out of proportion with its population? Obviously, genetics have a lot to do with it. Every world class athlete is a genetic freak. No amount of hard work or great coaching will turn an ordinary person into a world class athlete.

But, why Iceland, specifically? No other Nordic country is nearly as disproportionately represented in these sports as Iceland. What is it about the Norse who colonized Iceland that makes them such outstanding athletes in these two sports? Is there a cultural component on top of the genetic component?

Unfortunately, I don't have answers to my questions, but maybe someone reading does. If so, please comment. Hopefully, I'll get to watch the WSM later this month and marvel at the near-super-human feats the athletes will perform.

PS: The current WSM champion is American Brian Shaw, who's been on a winning streak since 2009.

PPS: Australian Tia-Clair Toomey will compete in Olympic weightlifting at the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro next week. This is the first time any athlete has qualified for both the CFG and the Olympics in the same year.