Mat Fraser’s HWPO Training Team just got a little bit bigger. After coaching Mal O’Brien, Jayson Hopper and Thuri Helgadottir this past season, some of the sport’s biggest names are moving to the HWPO flagship.
Two-time CrossFit Games champion Katrin Davidsdottir, Amanda Barnhart and Samuel Kwant will be training under the watchful eye of Fraser and his team for the upcoming 2023 CrossFit Games season.Â
The three athletes joining the team have a combined 19 appearances at the CrossFit Games, but Davidsdottir is the only one who missed making it to the Games in 2022. Davidsdottir, coming off a 10th place finish in 2021 under CompTrain team. However, Davidsdottir moved back to Iceland and trained under Jami Tikkanen and his The Training Plan team. She would end up failing to qualify for the Games for the first time since 2014.
For the others, this past season Kwant just missed the podium where he finished 4th at the Games while Barnhart was 14th overall.
Interestingly, all three of the new athletes have ties back to Ben Bergeron’s CompTrain. Davidsdottir left CompTrain last November. Kwant and Barnhart began last offseason with CompTrain, but left in March. Barnhart stayed with Bergeron throughout the Games, but recently announced she was leaving CompTrain and moving back to Ohio.
The common thread, however, in the move is likely Harry Palley. Palley, who helped coach Kwant to his 2nd place finish in 2020, left Comptrain last October. Then, in July, Palley joined the HWPO team while he was still coaching Kwant for this year’s Games.
Now, all six athletes will be representing the HWPO brand and looking to make an impact in 2023!
