#workoutofthe

You had to withdraw from the Games due to a back injury, what can you tell about it?

The problems started in The Open back in the spring. The symptoms at the Games were identical to the symptoms I had in the Open. Back then I had small tears in both of my glutes, which partly caused the pain there. Now at the Games the pain radiated to my right leg causing a feeling that it would fail. The back itself wasn’t too painful but it caused the pain in my leg.

I went to see a doctor last week and the injury seems to be in the disc. Now I just need to wait for the MRI. Sitting for long times is the worst and the flight over Atlantic before the Games was terrible; the symptoms started right after the flight. The first Games events I survived thanks to the adrenaline boost, but right after every event even tying my shoelaces was difficult because of the pain.

What about your knee you hurt in the Regionals?

The knee is okay. I sprained my knee’s ACL while doing the pistol squats (surprise). As a result, I couldn’t squat at all after the Regionals. I am not a doctor, but I could imagine the knee injury having something to do with the recent back injury, from reserving too heavy loads on my back. According to the doctor my pelvis is slightly lopsided, so that might cause some extra pressure for the back.

When did you make the decision to withdraw from the competition?

The first time I was thinking of withdrawing was after the deadlift ladder (2nd event). We had only about 20 minutes to do the warm-up for that event and the heaviest weight I lifted was 140 kg, which already felt like 200 kg. After the deadlift ladder I felt a lot of pain in my back just sitting in the GHD machine, and that was the moment I almost quit.  The third event I could barely do, but finished last. GHDs were the worst, wallballs were fine as there was so few of those.

The third event was the ocean swim, announced at the ranch. Although I was quite sure I could swim and finish high in the event, I considered withdrawing before the swim. There is always a risk that something extra appears, some additional workouts or a maximum test. I also thought that if I swim and would win the event, it could be even more frustrating to withdraw. My team took very good care of me and I received many valuable tips from Finland and Dubai over phone and social media, so I decided to take the chance and participate in the swimming event.

What do you have to say about the events you were able to participate and when did you realize that you were going to the ranch?

The mystery started to resolve at the airport when we got the flight tickets. Some of the athletes had already been at the ranch and they were the first ones starting to figure out the plot.

The trail run was such a great event. What an amazing sport. All the athletes starting in one heat generates a true competitive atmosphere. The profile of the track was insane. After approximately one mile of flat ground, the track was basically only steep up- and downhill. The pace of the race was quite unbelievable, I ran the first kilometer in 3:40 and felt exhausted already at that point. Some athletes took some damage and blood scratches during the race but I managed to finish without any bigger injuries. My right leg was just failing few times in the descends. All in all, a great experience and an awesome event!

After the run there was a short break and a deadlift ladder. I knew right away that we were going to do deadlifts when we were arriving to the ranch as the place was full of signs reminding about 2009 (the events of 2009 can be found from here). I wasn’t quite sure about my condition to do deadlifts and as I said the 140 kg felt like 200 kg in the warm up. In the competition I lifted 475 lb (about 215 kg), which is 50 lb less than my personal record. The barbell came up so inclined that I thought it would fly out of the area when I dropped it. I simply didn’t have strength to lift more as I wasn’t able to fully use the strength of my right leg.

Can you tell us something about the games as an event from athlete’s perspective?

Are you sure you don’t want to hear my experiences as a spectator? Just kidding. It is truly one of a kind as an event. Everything is just so well arranged and the atmosphere is like in a big sport festival where everyone from athletes to spectators share the same interest and passion towards CrossFit. The atmosphere between the athletes is great. It is different from what I have been used to in swimming competitions, where you mostly spend time only with your teammates. Before and after the events we are friends and joke around. Of course you have to remember that we are competing against each other and everyone is there to win. When you hear the 3,2,1 Go, you are there by yourself and have to fight for your space and be aware of elbows.

How do you prepare for the Games besides of physical training? Do you use mental coaching or analyze the possible events for instance?

I have never had any problems with competing as I have competed more or less all my life. I have never tried a mental coach, maybe someday I will. I don’t spend too much time on speculating the possible events. I just concentrate on my own thing. It just causes unnecessary stress if you try to guess what the events are going to be. After all, it is a surprise for everyone else as well. Of course you can deduce in which way some event could develop next year but further analysis is pointless in my opinion. Besides, it is more thrilling for me and an interesting aspect of the sport, that I don’t know what is happening next.

Physically my preparation to the Games is slightly different compared to the Regionals and Open, which are more traditional CrossFit. Before the Games I try to add versatility into my training because there you have to be ready for almost anything.

Did you see a significant development in the fitness of the athletes and who did impress you the most?

(Mathew) Fraser was quite impressive by winning the Games with such a big margin. It was clear from the beginning that he really wanted to win the title. To be honest, I didn’t believe that he would be so dominant. Women’s standings weren’t that surprising but it was a great and exciting competition until the very end, Katrin Davidsdottir taking the win on the last meters. The general level of the athletes has clearly risen in one year. The level of a CrossFit athletes has constantly risen during the past years and this year wasn’t exception.

I wasn’t too excited for the spectator’s role after I withdrew, so I didn’t follow the rest of the Games that intensively. I started to rehabilitate my back straight away and spent the remaining time  walking in the town, visiting different cafeterias and Rogue’s tent.

What plans do you have for next year and are there going to be any changes in your life?

I will fly to Dubai in two weeks. There I can focus on what really matters, I can live a life of a full time athlete, which wouldn’t be possible for me in Helsinki. Moving to Dubai has been a change in itself. In training everything went well and I made progress in every section. Next I need to get permanently rid of all the injuries so I just have to be patient. Maybe I had too many changes this year, moving first to Helsinki and then to Dubai. The injuries caused a lot of external distraction as I had to visit a doctor too often and the people around me changed all the time. It was definitely not an easy season for me, but now I have good time to recover from those injuries because there are no important competitions in the near future.