We’re all very proud of Annie ’Mist’ Thorisdottir - who is officially ’Fittest Woman on Earth’ second year in a row. This year saw the competition stretch over four gruelling days. Anyone who thinks that the Iron Man Triathlon or Olympic Decathlon are tricky events obviously has not witnessed the world of the CrossFit Games - with its 15 events - testing every single muscle of the athlete’s body - and combining athletics with gymnastics, weight-lifting and strongest-man-type events. I get breathless just watching - ring pull-ups and ring press-ups followed by hand-stand press-ups, followed by running and hauling weights - without barely a moment to gather your breath or your wits. What makes it even more tricky, is that apart from the first event triathlon, the athletes don’t have a clue as to what the events will be each year. Each year the CrossFit Committee deliberately seeks to catch out and challenge its contestants with the most excrutiatingly tricky tests of fitness - every year yields something new and unusual - like this year’s overhead medicine ball toss! (Hurling as many medicine balls as you can from a prone position - in 60 seconds - points awarded for number of balls thrown and distance!)
Annie should have won Icelandic Sports Personality of the Year 2011, but Iceland’s idiotic Sports Council refuses to acknowledge that CrossFit is a proper sport - obviously for political reasons. They state that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has yet to recognise this sport, but then forget that Iceland recognised the independence of the Baltic States way before they were even on the United Nations agenda. Cowardly, cliquey and obviously politicised behaviour - someone needs sacking.
Iceland’s government last year very ungraciously sent Annie a 50% tax claim on her winnings - just a few days after her victory - someone at Iceland’s tax office needs sacking too! This is Annie’s main source of income, and she quite correctly needs to assign costs and expenditure agains her profession of competing in these events - there’s no way that the tax office is entitled to a straight 50% cut of earnings before they have been netted off.
All Icelanders need to lobby the Iceland Sports Council to make sure that justice is done at this year’s awards. Iceland does not often have a World Champion, and Annie should be celebrated for her amazing achievements.
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