By Dayne Hudson
Is 25-year-old Annie Thorisdottir the world's fittest woman?
After collecting $338,000 dollars upon winning the "fittest on the planet" tag at the CrossFit Games in California, many would say so!
Annie Thorisdottir, whose surname translates to "Thor's daughter" – was the national gymnastics champion at just 15 in her country of Iceland.
At 17, she was the pole-vault champion of Iceland.
She even won pull-up competitions organised by her grandfather at an early age her, winning money for each pull-up.
"If there was a challenge, especially one with a reward, I had to win it," she said.
And years later, nothings changed, with Thorisdottir the toast of the fitness community.
Annie is 5ft 6inches and weighs 69kg (152 pounds), and squats 115kg, and deadlifts 165kg.
She trains for four to five hours a day, six days a week, incoporating cardio, gymnastic conditioning and Olympic powerlifting.
And days off - well, you'll catch her in the pool or on her bike.
There's no days off for Thor's daughter!
She was born in a tiny coastal village with a population of 300 people and black sand.
Her father wa a policeman whilst her mother worked in local government.
Both were active; her mother taught her aerobics and her father loved to run.
She found her way into the phenomenon of crossfit in 2009 courtesty of her boot-camp instructor.
She'd never heard of the sport, but that didn't matter!
She went on to win the open, the regionals and got a place in the games.
She finished eleventh and decided she'd give pole-vaulting the flick.
But it hasn't all been smooth sailing - in 2012 she says she got "greddy", performing deadlifts without being adequetly warmed up.
Something moved in her back and she collapsed to the floor, unable to feel her legs.
The injury turned out to be a bulging disk in her lower back, and she was forced to load up on pain killers and stay in bed for a week.
"I was extremely depressed and scared, and I didn't even tell anyone that I was injured, because I was so embarrassed."
"You really don't appreciate being healthy until you've been injured," she says.
But champions don't stay down for long.
Just ten days later she was back pumping iron.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
Her back gave way again, along with her 2013 games dreams.
"I felt my leg shut off, and I crashed down, and brought the bar down on top of me, which moved it out again," she said.
There was serious nerve damage this time around, which left her left leg numb for months.
"It was really hard mentally," she admits. "I was close to just giving up so many times. My doctors couldn't tell me when I might get better, and it drove me crazy."
Thorisdottir says she'd like to inspire all women, and promotes the "strong, not skinny" message to all.
Her current goal is to snatch her crown back at the 2015 games, after coming second at the 2014 games after fighting her way back into the big picture.
"People ask me why I didn't quit when I was on top," she says. "But why should I have to quit just because I won, if it's something that I still love doing?"
"It's not all about winning," she observes. "Though obviously it is more fun when you win."
"I don't have fun unless I'm constantly challenging myself," she says.
And I get the feeling she'll be doing that for a long time to come!
ANNIE THORISDOTTIR'S DIET
BREAKFAST:
Five eggs, sweet potato, bacon and orange juice.
PRE-WORKOUT:
A green smoothie with protein powder, followed by a protein-packed meal afterwards.
AFTERNOON:
Chicken salad and a snack on nuts and bananas.
DINNER:
Three prepared box healthy meals (ie chicken mas, etc).
She says she idslikes pasta and bread because she feels heavy the next day, which makes it hard for her to train.
"But I love Mexican food – I have quesadillas pretty much every other day."
She'll have some alcohol only once or twice a year, but has something sweet every Saturday.
"That's when I have my ice cream and my chocolate-chip cookie and my chocolate cake."
And there's no question, she certainly deserves it.
