Who is Jacqueline Dahlstrom?
Jacqueline Dahlstrom is a professional CrossFit Athlete who has been following The Progrm since June 2016.
Stats
Age: 31
Nationality: Norwegian
Where are you living: Mallorca
Height: 167cm
Weight: 65-67kg
Profession: Athlete
CrossFit Affiliate: C23 CrossFit
Instagram: @jacdah
Max Clean and Jerk: 103kg
Max Snatch: 83kg
Max unbroken RMU: 19
Quickest 5km Run or Row: 20min (on both)
Career Highlights
10th French Throwdown, CrossFit Games Semi Final 2024
3x CrossFit Games Athlete (2019, 2021, 2022)
15th CrossFit Games 2022 (2x Top 10 event finisher)
1st Fittest in Norway 2023
1st CrossFit Strength in Depth 2022
17th Rogue Invitational 2022
20th Rogue Invitational 2021
4th Norwegian CrossFit Championship 2020
1st CrossFit French Throwdown 2019
1st Reykjavik CrossFit Championship 2019
1st The CrossFit Open 2018 (Europe South)
2024
With her coach and partner, and the founder of The Progrm, John Singleton, Jacqueline took the decision to change her programming to HWPO for the 2024 season. She continues to train daily at C23 in Mallorca, alongside athletes from The Progrm. Jacqueline took 57th in The Open worldwide, and then 8th in the European Quarter Finals to secure her place at Semi Finals in Lyon. During the Semi Finals Jacqueline's best finish was 6th place in event one, and she finished 10th overall. Her consistent performances over the weekend earned her a spot at The Games in Texas.
2023
The Open
Dahlstrom finishes The Open ranking 26th worldwide and secures her position to compete in Quaterfinals and Semifinals in where she finished 19th and 12th in Europe respectively. Her performance earned her the title Fittest Woman in Norway.
2022
Strength in Depth
Dahlstrom finished 1st at this Crossfit Semifinal event in London. This victory allowed her to advance to the CrossFit Games.
CrossFit Games
Jacqueline finishes out her 2022 season by taking 15th place in the final standing of the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games. One of the most dominant performances of the weekend was in event 10, the Sandbag ladder, where she lifted over 1.6 times her own body weight (240lbs / 108kg). Dahlstrom finished second in the event however this feat has since gone on to be one of the most memorable moments in CrossFit Games history.
2021
CrossFit Games
Jacqueline qualifies and competes in the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games. She had 3 top ten event finishes and placed 17th overall.
Rogue Invitational
Dahlstrom is invited for the first time to the Rogue Invitational in Austin, Texas. This competitive event is known as a “showcase of legends” and invitations are only given to the most notable CrossFit athletes. At the end of the weekend Jacqueline finished in 20th overall.
2020
Norwegian CrossFit Championship
Jacqueline, still recovering from a low-back injury returns to her native Norway to participate in the 2020 Norwegian CrossFit Championship. With grit, and determination she finished in 4th place. This would mark the beginning of her return to competitive CrossFit after a year-long hiatus.
2019
Sanctionals
Jacqueline competes in 2 CrossFit sanctional events: The French Throwdown and the Reykjavik CrossFit Championship. Both events are known to be among the most contentious in what is already a competitive region. Dahlstro m won both events quickly launching her into the spotlight as an “athlete to watch”.
CrossFit Games
Dahlstrom makes her rookie debut at the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games. She competed in spite of dealing with a devastating back injury, and was cut after event 7. Jacqueline placed 47th overall.
Personal Life and Beginnings into CrossFit
I’ve got two younger siblings, one brother and one sister. I did showjumping (Horse riding) and grew up in the stables as a kid. My parents made me try lots of different sports, however I didn’t do any of them over a longer period expect for riding.
When I was 16 the pony got sold and I stopped riding. From then until the age of 24 (when I discovered CrossFit) I just went to a normal globo gym.
I tried CrossFit for the first time in 2014. A box was opening very close to the gym I used to train at and I was curios and wanted to check it out.
Q&A
Hardest workout you have ever done:
Hard question, I find workouts hard for different reasons and most workouts are physically very hard – especially when competing as you have to give everything you have.
The mentally hardest workout must have been the Ruck Run at Games 2019. I was injured and simply could not run.
It was both a bit embarrassing and also very frustrating to end that Games on a workout I normally would have done quite ok in.
Choose/Design 1 workout to beat anyone in the World:
10 round for time:
4 RMU
20 Wall balls
If you could bring item to a dessert island what would it be?
Always wear sunscreen..
Who do you wish was watching you perform at every competition?
John, and he always is. It also makes me very happy and humble when my family watches. Usually through live-streaming, but it is very nice that they are interested and care enough to watch something they don’t really understand that much of.
Who is your favourite sports hero?
I don’t have one favourite, but a couple I look up to and admire for different reasons. Some have a great mindset, others just raw freaks of nature etc.
That being said I’ve always looked up to Marit Bjørgen, a Norwegian cross-country skier. She also managed to have a comeback after giving birth, which really impressed me.
Other than after having watched “The last dance” Michael Jordans mindset really impressed me. You’ve also got to be impressed at what Fraser has accomplished in the sport.
How does being an athlete make you a better person?
I don’t necessarily think it does. As an athlete you have to be a bit selfish and focus on yourself. That being said I hope I inspire women and girls to follow their dreams, to train for performance, not looks and to dare to stand out.
Achievements
Best moment in your CrossFit career:
Winning Reykjavik CF Championships
I didn’t dare to celebrate my games ticket through the open properly before I got a confirmation that the video submission was good. Ironically I got that email during the Reykjavik CFC. As we then were focused about the competition ahead we never really got to celebrate or enjoy my open achievement.
How do you celebrate after a competition:
With a glass of bubbles! 🥂
During competition I force myself to eat, especially lots of carbs, so after a competition I really do not crave food. I’m more happy that I do not have to force-feed myself anymore. 🙈
Tips for someone who wants to become a professional CrossFit Athlete:
Don’t rush the basics and find guidance in someone you trust and who’s got experience. If I were to start over knowing what I know today I would have spent a lot more time on the basics and positioning work in both gymnastics and weightlifting before I started to learn more advanced movements. I had to take steps back later on when I started working with John Singleton to fix a lot of faults and bad habits. We’re still not there yet, but a lot closer than 4 years ago.
What do you tell yourself on days when you feel unmotivated/tired?
I honestly think motivation is a bit overrated… You don’t have to feel super motivated everyday to train and no one is either. We all have days where we might not want to train hard. However, for me it is not a choice, it is simply something I just do. Kind of like brushing your teeth – you don’t have to be motivated to do it, but it’s a habit and you know it is good for you.
During workouts when I’m having a hard time to “get in the zone” or push hard I will often think about how good it feels afterwards knowing that you gave it your all and how shitty it would feel knowing that you were being soft with yourself and didn’t bring it. That usually makes me get my shit together 😉
I also don’t like to feel like I am wasting my time and/or life. A half hearted effort will therefore really annoy me as it really much feels like wasted time for me. Very little annoys me more than when I’ve finished a workout realising I was soft on my self and mentally weak.
So, as a summary: 1) Motivation is overrated 😅 and 2) The feeling after (good and bad) is what drives me the most.
Favourite song or playlist:
I’m very boring here. Really do not care what I listen do whilst training, 2 minutes into the workout and I’m not noticing the music anymore anyways. I just want it to be loud enough so people can’t hear my breathing.
What goes through your head before entering the competition floor?
Every second counts and don’t be a pussy. (I say the latter quite often and it’s become a thing in our training group. Hahah)
And distant future (5+ years)?
In 5+ years I hope I am satisfied with what I have achieved as an athlete, that I have settled down and have a kid or two. Ideally living on a nice Finca in Mallorca with lots of animals around. Have my own horse again! 😍