Home Crowds Spurred Us On In Online CrossFit Games, Say European Athletes

Some of the best athletes in Europe have reflected on how much they enjoyed competing in front of home supporters for the first time ever at a CrossFit Games.

This year’s showcase CrossFit event was split into two stages, with the first seeing athletes compete online from gyms all around the world.

It was a marked change from the usual set-up in California, and meant competitors on the other side of the Atlantic had the rare opportunity to fight it out with home support cheering them on.

“The highlight was the final event,” Sweden’s Camilla Salomonsson-Hellman, who has competed at the Games three times before, told BOXROX . “I will remember the full setup as a whole. It was a cool way of competing and so many more people were cheering me on than when I’m competing at the real Games in the U.S..”

The competition was set back from its normal date in August, with Stage 2 set to take place at the end of October, and there was a lot of uncertainty about when the Games would take place at all.

Andrea Solberg, a 24-year-old Norwegia rookie who competed took part alongside Kristin Holte at CrossFit Oslo, said it was difficult to try and stay in peak shape for so long: “It has been a long season, so my body was tired, but I am happy with what we got out of it and really happy to complete my first CrossFit Games.

“The most memorable part was the atmosphere on Friday afternoon during events three and four. The crowd were electric, and me and Kristin fired each other up to perform even better than we expected! We also put on some really fun music, which made it even more special.

“We could not have asked for a better competition and a better community than what we got at CrossFit Oslo,” Andrea added. “Kristin and I are really grateful that we were able to do this together with our team, not being alone in the situation, and motivate each other.”

There was an added difficulty of athletes coming off of lengthy spells without competing and having to train alone for many months during lockdown, but Ireland’s Emma McQuaid still rated the organisation.

“It was good, it felt very professional having the floor laid out, start, finish line, and your own judge,” Emma said