– It’s not A4, so there’s a lot of stares. But otherwise there’s a lot of positive feedback that it’s cool that we’re doing it, and that we haven’t given up, says Ole Kristian Antonsen.

It’s not A4, so there’s a lot of stares. But otherwise there’s a lot of positive feedback that it’s cool that you’re doing it, and that you haven’t given up.It’s not A4, so there’s a lot of stares. But otherwise there’s a lot of positive feedback that it’s cool that you’re doing it, and that you haven’t given up.

Few thought he would be standing on the starting line again 11 years ago.

At first glance, there is nothing that distinguishes him from the other athletes at the Norwegian Functional Fitness Championships. But if you look down at his well-trained legs, you can see the prosthesis on his right foot.

Ole Kristian competes in Functional Fitness

Ole Kristian competes together with disabled people during the NM week in Stavanger.

Ole Kristian climbs to the top

The 35-year-old lives an active life with a prosthesis

Heavy lifting is allowed for crossfit

– I think it’s fun. It’s become a long-held goal to be good enough to be in this class.

gghishisIt’s fun. It’s become a long-standing goal to be good enough to be in this class.It’s fun. It’s become a long-standing goal to be good enough to be in this class.

– And in a way it has been a recognition to myself that I can do it. When I’m training, I don’t think about the fact that I’ve actually lost a leg.

And in a way, it’s been a recognition to myself that I’m doing it. When I’m training, I don’t think about the fact that I’ve actually lost a leg.And in a way, it’s been a recognition to myself that I’m doing it. When I’m training, I don’t think about the fact that I’ve actually lost a leg.

Dette er Functional fitness

Functional fitness is an intense and action-packed sport where athletes are tested in functional physical skills. The main disciplines in functional fitness are medley (individual or team), where you are tested in 6 different exercises: strength, power, skill, endurance, mixed and bodyweight. Here you combine and use elements from, among others, weightlifting, powerlifting, kettlebell sports, gymnastics, athletics, strongman, triathlon and bodyweight training. The tests are often of high intensity, and you usually perform around 10-15 different exercises during a competition. The tests are performed on time, weight or maximum number of repetitions within a time frame. Functional fitness focuses on versatility, and the degree of variation and requirements for different physical skills makes the sport suitable for everyone regardless of size and starting point.

Kilde: Norwegian Functional Fitnessforbund.

Source: Norwegian Functional Fitness Association.

The foot melted

We have to go back to 2014. Ole Kristian Antonsen has six months left of his teacher training and, as in every year, has taken a summer job at the local aluminum plant.

But this day will be fateful for the young man who has always lived an active life with lots of training and football.

In a miscue, he makes a wrong move and his right foot is planted in liquid aluminum at a temperature of 750 degrees.

WHEELCHAIR: It has been 11 years since Ole Kristian Antonsen had to amputate his foot from the knee down.

– I don’t remember much about the pain. I remember lying on the floor and screaming and asking people to take my shoe off, because it felt like I had aluminum inside my shoe. But it was burned on, so they couldn’t get it off.

I don’t remember much about the pain. I remember lying on the floor, screaming, and begging people to take my shoe off, because it felt like I had aluminum inside my shoe. But it was burned on, so they couldn’t get it off.I don’t remember much about the pain. I remember lying on the floor, screaming, and begging people to take my shoe off, because it felt like I had aluminum inside my shoe. But it was burned on, so they couldn’t get it off.

Ole Kristian, who was 24 years old at the time, was moved to the emergency shower by a colleague, before the air ambulance arrived and transported him to Stavanger University Hospital.

When he came to himself, the brutal message also came.

The leg had to be amputated below the knee.

– No, it was very tough. Hard to think back on, actually. But there were a lot of thoughts. It was going through my head, and a bit like; What’s the point, and why me?

No, it was very tough. Hard to think back on, actually. But there were a lot of thoughts. It was going through my head, and a bit like; What’s the point, and why me?No, it was very tough. Hard to think back on, actually. But there were a lot of thoughts. It was going through my head, and a bit like; What’s the point, and why me?

Suddenly, life was turned upside down.

Suddenly, life was turned upside down.Suddenly, life was turned upside down.

FOOTBALL: Ole Kristian was an active football player before the accident.

– It was a very big part of my life. So going from being healthy and functional and mastering most of what the sport entails, then suddenly you don’t quite know what’s going to happen. It was uncertain for me, he says.

Had to learn to walk again

At the age of 24, he had to learn to walk again. Fortunately, he had good people around him.

– I had to try to get up as quickly as possible and not get into that vicious circle and that has helped me.

But the way back was tough.

ACTIVE: For Ole Kristian, being active has been a lifesaver for getting back to a normal everyday life.

– It took quite a long time before I got back on my feet, that is, to be able to use a prosthesis, because I had a lot of burns on the part where the prosthesis is attached now. I had third-degree burns on my legs there, so it had to heal. And I had to get my skin strong enough to withstand the strain of a prosthesis. So I spent a lot of time on crutches and a little bit in a wheelchair.

Yet he was training in a wheelchair four days after the accident. And he set himself a lofty goal of cycling from Hovden to Kristiansand. A distance of 221 kilometers.

He also got back on the football field and played two seasons in the 6th division. But he did not perform as well as before the accident. Functional fitness was his salvation.

– It doesn’t come for free. You have to work for it, but anything is possible, I think. So I hope I can show others that. The fact that I’m here and competing with those who have two healthy legs makes me think it’s cool.

Phantom pain

It took two and a half years before he returned to school and completed his teacher training.

– I’ve had a lot of phantom pain, so it’s affected my concentration and stuff, but it actually helps to have things to do. The worst thing I can do is sit on the couch and relax for too long, because then my foot starts to throb.

FAMILY: Ole Kristian with his wife Angelica and their two boys, ages one and nine.

And the training has paid off. He has twice won the Crossfit Games in the United States, which is an unofficial World Championship in Crossfit. He has competed with others who have prosthetics or some form of functional impairment in their legs.

He has also become a father of two with his wife Angelica. Lukas, nine years old, and Leo, one year old.

– I’m doing everything I’ve done before. That’s really what it’s all about. Feeling good and moving forward.

His regular partner in team competitions, Rolf Henrik Henriksen, is impressed by his training buddy’s journey.

– No, I get chills. It’s absolutely wild. He’s rock hard, but he really has control over his psyche, that is. For me, he’s an everyday hero like his dad, but he’s also an athlete. With one leg, he’s at the top of the world at what he does.

TRAINING PARTNERS: Ole Kristian and Rolf Henrik have trained crossfit together for many years.