Sara Sigmundsdottir, Willy Georges Among the First 14 Athletes Confirmed for Dubai CrossFit Championship 2021

Sara Sigmundsdottir and Willy Georges are two of the 14 athletes confirmed to participate in the Dubai CrossFit Championship 2021. Both athletes will compete for the first time since suffering injuries earlier this year. Frenchman Willy Georges fell out of the 2021 CrossFit season due to a subscapularis tendon tear on the shoulder. Sara Sigmundsdottir, on the other hand, suffered an ACL tear during training in March and has not competed since.

Sara underwent successful knee surgery in April to repair the ACL tear. The Icelandic powerlifter and CrossFit athlete won the Dubai CrossFit Championship 2019 and will attempt to defend her throne in December. The event was canceled in 2020 due to Covid-19 imposed restrictions.

Dubai CrossFit Championship 2021 is a three-day competition that follows an invite-only format. It will be held at the Dubai Free Tennis Stadium and Ski Mall of the Emirates from 16^th to 18^th December 2021. Although not affiliated with CrossFit Inc. or CrossFit Games, all the participating athletes are expected to follow the Drug policy and qualification criteria of Crossfit Games.

Sara Sigmundsdottir and Willy Georges have not fully recovered from their injuries

Sara Sigmundsdottir and Willy Georges took to Instagram to express their feelings. Both athletes have made significant progress in the past few months but there is still a long way to go for a full recovery. As revealed in the caption to her post, Sara is still in rehab and hopes to start the preparation two weeks from now.

“This has been my reminder everyday since I tore my ACL. How I function is that I always have to aim for something. I asked the doctor in my first check up after surgery how optimistic I was if I would aim for the Dubai CrossFit Championship,” Sigmundsdottir wrote.

“The reply was = aim for it. Today I am so thankful and happy to announce that I have accepted the invite. That said, I am being closely monitored by my coach and physio’s and I will not take any chances. Fingers crossed that I will be ready. Only 2 more weeks of rehab and then we start working.”

Willy Georges has also had a tough going in 2020 and 2021. In the 2021 Crossfit season, Georges suffered an injury to the same shoulder that he injured during Wodapalooza 2020 – which had kept him out of competition for the majority of that year. While expressing his excitement upon being invited to the competition a few days back, the Frenchman admitted that he probably won’t be a hundred percent when he enters Dubai CrossFit Competition 2021.

‘See you in Dubai. I will be probably not physically at 100% but for sure mentally I will be at 300% to show how bad I want it. First time representing my Gym @wys_crossfit.’ Willy Georges wrote.

Other athletes confirmed for the Dubai CrossFit Championship 2021

Controversial Australian Ricky Garard and 2013 CrossFit Games winner Samantha Briggs has also been confirmed to participate in the event. Norwegian CrossFit athlete Kristin Holte announced her retirement from CrossFit Games after finishing 4^th. Noted for never finishing outside of the top 20 in CrossFit Games in her career, the 35-year-old is considered among the greatest CrossFit athletes of all time. While her competitive future was uncertain after announcing her retirement, it turns out that she is not ready to call it a career and will compete in the Dubai CrossFit Championship 2021.

List of athletes confirmed for the Dubai CrossFit Championship 2021 so far

• Ricky Garard (3^rd – CrossFit Games 2017)
• Laura Horvath (2^nd – 2018 CrossFit Games)
• Guilherme Malheiros – (2^nd – CrossFit Games 2017 in 16-17 years boys category)
• Samantha Briggs (2013 CrossFit Games Winner)
• Willy Georges (9^th – 2018 CrossFit Games)
• Kristin Holte (4^th – 2021 CrossFit Games)
• Lazar Dukic (2^nd – CrossFit Games 2021)
• Elliot Simmonds
• Gabriela Migala
• Roman Khrennikov (5^th – Dubai CrossFit Championship 2021)
• Emma Tall
• Jason Smith (10^th – 2017 CrossFit Games Season)
• Mikaela Norman (8^th – 2016 Dubai Fitness Championship)
• Andre Houdet (27^th – Crossfit Games Meridian Regional)

Published: 29 September, 2021 | 12:20 PM EDT

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