After Years of Setbacks, Sara Sigmundsdottir Targets the 2026 CrossFit Games
Since 2021, fans have been rooting for CrossFit legend Sara Sigmundsdottir to return to the CrossFit Games. In her 13-year career (which began with the Open in 2013), she made six Games appearances from 2015 to 2020 but did not advance to the in-person finals at the Ranch during the COVID-affected 2020 Games.
- She podiumed twice in 2015 and 2016 and was an athlete many felt had a decent shot at the title of Fittest on Earth.
Facing Hurdles
Over the last few years, while she’s continued to compete in the Open and even reached the Semifinals in 2022, 2023, and 2024, she’s faced several setbacks.
- One was an ACL tear in 2021. Another was joint inflammation caused by an autoimmune condition called reactive arthritis.
In May 2024, she candidly shared on social media that she had been diagnosed a year earlier, following a missed box jump, an injured shin, a subsequent infection, and, later, the emergence of the condition. Sigmundsdottir spent months finding the right balance of medication, but later opted for an alternative treatment.
Building Towards a Comeback
In a series of recent YouTube videos, Sigmundsdottir offers a glimpse into her life as she undergoes her third and final round of stem-cell treatments to heal her knee and work toward qualifying for the 2026 CrossFit Games this spring.
Two weeks after her final procedure, Sigmundsdottir was cleared to resume normal activity. At the urging of Chris Bumstead, a six-time Mr. Olympia titleholder and former IFBB professional bodybuilder, she began working with Justin King, head of strength and conditioning at Stndrd, a specialized training facility in Scottsdale, AZ.
Bumstead and Sigmundsdottir communicated throughout Sigmundsdottir’s recovery because they shared the same injury (ACL tear/chronic knee pain).
Currently, Sigmundsdottir is training with King at Stndrd, recovering, and preparing for the season ahead.
- “You just have to stay in the moment when you’re in this stage, ” Sigmundsdottir said in the video, “and you have to forget the past – where you were, and you can’t be overly excited for the future because you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
This time last year, Sigmundsdottir was competing on a team at Wodapalooza alongside fellow Icelanders Annie Thorisdottir and Katrin Davidsdottir. So many of us are holding out hope to see her take the competition floor once again – in Miami, California, or somewhere else soon.
