2021 CrossFit Games: can Iceland’s ‘BKG’ bring glory to homeland with title win?
- After years of consistent finishes, can ‘BKG’ seize the opportunity and become the first male CrossFit Games champion from Iceland?
- Bjorgvin K. Gudmundsson may be a quiet guy, but you can expect some noise from the veteran contender at the 2021 CrossFit Games
When it comes to the most dominating countries related to the sport of CrossFit, the US takes the cake. There hasn’t been a male champion outside of America since 2009 when Finland’s Mikko Salo won it.
On the women’s side, the US contingent isn’t as strong, largely due to Australian Tia-Clair Toomey’s dominance over the past four years, but outside of that the American woman are always gunning for the top spot. The same can be said for the team division as Rich Froning’s CrossFit Mayhem Freedom is an ongoing dynasty that does not look to be slowing down one bit.
Toomey doesn’t have many Australian counterparts, either man or woman, when it comes to the upper echelon of CrossFit competitors, so when you are looking at next in line for country domination, the tag has to go to the tiny Nordic island nation of Iceland.
Here you get two-time Games winners Annie Thorisdottir and Katrin Davidsdottir, along with Sara Sigmundsdottir, who found her way onto the podium twice.
On the men’s side, it’s a bit thin, but there is one man at the top who has a golden opportunity this season to change all of that. Bjorgvin Karl Gudmundsson, known to fans as “BKG”, has been one of the most consistent male competitors outside of now retired five-time CrossFit Games champion Mat Fraser. Gudmundsson has found his way onto the podium twice (2015, 2019) and finished in the top 10 six times, consecutively on top of that, dating back to 2015.
The problem for male competitors through the years is the sport has had two generational talents back-to-back in Froning and Fraser. In between there was the Ben Smith year in 2015. Now with Froning long gone to the team division and Fraser enjoying his retirement, the throne is wide open.
Gudmundsson is favoured to win the competition and take one of five men’s tickets to the Games, which will go ahead form July 27 to August 1 in Madison, Wisconsin, in front of fans. Until then, Gudmundsson will be competing at home in the comfort of his native gym in Iceland, something he is familiar with.
The men’s competition of the 2021 CrossFit Games will likely come down to one or two events. With so many guys gunning for the top spot, and without Fraser dominating the field, there will likely be a log jam for points, and the leader’s jersey should bounce around all weekend. Looking at the perennial contenders, Noah Ohlsen, Canadian Patrick Vellner, and newcomer Justin Medeiros, there is an opportunity for one athlete to seize the moment, have a couple of legendary events, and walk away with the title.
Gudmundsson’s strength may lie in the fact he knows what it takes to remain at the top, and finish within striking range of the podium each year. Without Fraser’s domination to worry about, the Icelandic star could strike when the iron is hot.
He said there is really only one goal this season: “Absolutely it is to win the CrossFit Games.” It’s fair to say he would consider coming second a disappointment knowing the chance he has to finally snatch a title.
Statistically speaking, Gudmundsson, along with Ohlsen, Medeiros, American Samuel Kwant and Canadian Jeffrey Adler all have an equal shot at winning this year. Where you start to see gaps is who will win what events, and what type of workouts CrossFit Games mad scientist Dave Castro decides to pull out in Madison.
He’s been known to switch things up every year, and last season was no different, as the “Ranch Loop”, which saw competitors get thrown a monkey wrench, thinking they’d finished the run, when in fact they were only halfway done, showcased his penchant for unpredictability. In 2021, returning to the Alliant Energy Center may signal a return to some more traditional styled events.
If it’s heavy-lifting, look to Adler, if its rotating through standing movements, think Ohlsen and Vellner, and if its cardio-based, thing Medeiros and Kwant. But the one athlete with the most consistent base of skills is Gudmundsson, who can do it all, as he’s won live competitions and also faired quite well in the CrossFit Open, finishing first every year in Iceland dating back to 2015, and top 10 four times worldwide.
Bringing glory to Iceland would be the ultimate feather in his cap, signalling that while its been a while since someone from the tiny nation has been atop the CrossFit world, the country’s dominance is not slowing, or showing signs of wavering. Watch for Gudmundsson, known for being a quiet guy, to make some very loud noise at the 2021 CrossFit Games.
