From Iceland to Richmond: VCU track and field athlete makes her way to the NCAA

Bersabeh Kemaw, Staff Writer

Gudrun Hallgrimsdottir, an Iceland native, came to VCU in 2021 from Hvanneyri, Iceland to continue her athletic journey at a Division I school as a hammer thrower in track and field.

Hallgrimsdottir participated in almost every sport she could growing up before finding her passion in hammer throwing, according to Hallgrimsdottir.

“Before I went to high school, I started training with a coach in Reykjavík,” Hallgrimsdottir said. “I used to go there a couple of times a week and started trying out hammer and really enjoyed it.”

 Her career in track and field began as something she had fun with because she wasn’t sure how far she could go with it, Hallgrimsdottir said.

She didn’t think much about pursuing an athletic career in hammer throwing in the United States until a man from Scholar Book, a recruiting service in Germany, reached out during her last semester of high school and asked her if she was interested in coming to the U.S., according to Hallgrimsdottir. 

“I worked with them to set up a profile, and then I got some emails from coaches in the states from different colleges,” Hallgrimsdottir said. 

She chose VCU as her destination because assistant coach Ethan Tussing was genuine and had techniques she connected with, Hallgrimsdottir said.

“His way of doing things and training, and what he wants and how he wants to do stuff, was very similar and sounded good to me,” Hallgrimsdottir said.

Hallgrimsdottir’s journey here at VCU has been one of continuous growth, according to Tussing, the men’s and women’s assistant throwing coach.

“She came in as someone who just knew how to move a hammer,” Tussing said. “Our freshman year, we made a lot of progress at that, and sophomore year we were still sort of working on that.”  

Towards the end of Hallgrimsdottir’s sophomore year, she was an all-American for the first time but there was still room for improvement, according to Tussing.

Tussing said they had a conversation about how she was 50th in the country but she could still work on things like foot positioning and strength, leading to the question of, “What could she achieve if she was good in those areas?” 

Tussing and Hallgrimsdottir began working together in the fall of 2023 to improve her areas of weakness to help her advance even further, according to Hallgrimsdottir.

“We figured out some technical points,” Hallgrimsdottir said. “I’ve been feeling stronger and better.”

Hallgrimsdottir set the VCU hammer throw record in 2023 and was the 2023 Atlantic 10 champion, according to VCU Athletics. 

She has set yet another VCU record in 2024, but is the best in the Atlantic 10 and is ranked number two in the NCAA in the hammer toss, according to Atlantic 10.

Hallgrimsdottir said she feels very happy about her accomplishments and also surprised.

“I’m just excited to see how far we can take it,” Hallgrimsdottir said. “Hopefully we can set up a good season for the postseason, get to nationals and as high on that podium as we can.”

Hallgrimsdottir is able to perform and achieve at a high level because of her training, but what separates her from the rest is her ability to communicate effectively, according to Tussing.

“She excels as a communicator,” Tussing said. “It makes my job really easy in order to figure out where she is and where we want to go.” 

She’s also very competitive and has confidence in herself, according to Hallgrimsdottir.

“I like being good at things, I don’t like when I can’t do something,” Hallgrimsdottir said. “I found something that I’m good at and have a coach and people around me that want to get there with me and believe in me.”

Although adjusting to the States was challenging for Hallgrimsdottir because of the differences between Iceland and the U.S., she is enjoying her time and making the most of it, according to Hallgrimsdottir. 

“The system here with sports, it’s a lot bigger than Iceland and a lot more people to compete with,” Hallgrimsdottir said. “But it’s been really good and going so much better than I could’ve ever thought or hoped for.”