Davidsdottir Joins Sport Champions in Empowering Women in Sports
The two-time CrossFit Games champion, Katrin Davidsdottir, joined more than a dozen female leaders in sport at the espnW Women + Sports Summit. In its 10th year, the summit unites world-class female athletes and business leaders to work towards creating more opportunities for women in sports across the globe.
On the World Class Athlete Panel:
- Liz Cambage, WNBA All-Star and single game scoring record holder
- Becky Lynch, WWE Raw women’s champion
- Katrin Davidsdottir
- Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Olympic gold medalist in 100m
Some key exchanges:
- Davidsdottir: “When we fail, there’s nothing wrong with it. You just failed at that particular event; you’re not a failure.”
- Fraser-Pryce: “I earned this and I want this just as anybody else. It’s hard being an athlete from a country that’s so male-dominated…that’s a testament to knowing who you are and knowing what you’re worth. For me, I want to do it the way I want to do it and I want to do it well.”
- Lynch on discovering wrestling: “For the first time in my life, I wanted to be good at something. I wanted to be better at something.”
- Sage Steel,e moderating: “Sometimes as women, we don’t credit ourselves enough.”
- A wrestler to Lynch: “Move more like a girl.” Lynch, responding: “Well I am a girl, and I’m moving, so I don’t know what that means.”
- Cambage: Growing up “I tried to shrink myself. We were born this way. We were born beautiful. We were born this way to live this life.”
One big thing: Davidsdottir’s presence at the event was a win for the CrossFit Games, and Davidsdottir herself echoed that sentiment in a post-panel interview.
- Davidsdottir wasn’t the only CrossFitter at the summit. Fellow panelist Becky Lynch is a member of a box in LA and Noor Dajani — a member of the 2019 class of U.S. Department of State and espnW’s Global Sports Mentoring Program, is an L1 coach in Jordan.
- Three total CrossFit athletes were representing various parts of the sport on the stage: Davidsdottir the competitive Games side, Lynch the professional athlete in another sport training side, and Dajani the coach.
The big picture: Davidsdottir is having a banner year and writing the playbook for what a successful athletic career for a CrossFit Games athlete can look like.
Davidsdottir is definitely still considered a podium threat at the CrossFit Games (4th in 2019, 3rd in 2018, 5th in 2017), but her success as an athlete is no longer tied directly to how she performs on the field of play. Davidsdottir is the kind of CrossFit ambassador who can transcend barriers for future generations of athletes and help the Games reach the masses.
Look at Davidsdottir’s past twelve months:
- Published her first book: “Dottir”
- Became the first woman to represent CrossFit on the final issue of ESPN’s Body Issue.
- Signed a multi-year deal with NOBULL.
- Invited to speak at the espnW summit.
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