For more than six decades, the small Wisconsin city of Hayward has played host to the Lumberjack World Championships, a global gathering of elite athletes competing in traditional timber skills ranging from logrolling and speed climbing to axe chopping and sawing. This year’s edition, held over the past weekend, delivered more than just stunning displays of skill – it marked a major milestone for women in the sport, as three female competitors broke long-standing world records, highlighting the rapid growth and rising competitiveness of women’s lumberjack athletics.
For 24-year-old Karolina Urbanova, the journey to Hayward’s record books began in an unlikely place: her tiny Czech village, where a new neighbor introduced her to lumberjack sports as a teenager. At the time, the sport was so niche in Europe that fewer than five women regularly participated, and Urbanova faced confusion from city acquaintances when she told them she chopped wood daily for training. Spotted for her natural talent alongside her mother and sister, the Czech athlete began training weekly in a local barn, testing different axes, refining techniques, and learning from veteran competitors as she worked her way through European and international events.
That consistent training paid off in spectacular fashion this weekend, when Urbanova shattered two world records in chopping disciplines. In the Women’s Standing Block Chop, a event that requires athletes to chop through a vertical 9-inch white pine block as fast as possible, she finished in 19.38 seconds, beating the previous record of 21.17 seconds. She followed that performance with a second record in the Women’s Underhand Chop, where competitors stand on a horizontal wood block and chop between their feet. Urbanova cut through an 11-inch white pine in 21.28 seconds, knocking nearly three full seconds off the old record of 24.26 seconds.
Urbanova’s historic performance was matched by Hayward local Meredith Ingbretson, who broke the Women’s Boom Run world record. Ingbretson, who was introduced to logrolling at age three and has competed for 28 years, crossed the eight linked cedar logs in 13.78 seconds, beating the previous record of 13.98 seconds. The achievement came after a year of intense focus, where Ingbretson cut out alcohol and adjusted her lifestyle to hit her long-held goal of setting a world record. For Hayward, a city founded on the 19th-century timber industry, lumberjack sports are a core part of community life – Ingbretson notes nearly every local resident has taken at least one summer of logrolling lessons, and her whole family is involved in the sport.
The surge in record-breaking performances from women comes as no surprise to event leaders, who have watched female participation more than triple over the past 30 years. Samantha LaSalle, event director of the Lumberjack World Championships and a competitor since she was five years old, explained that while women have competed since the inaugural 1960 championships, they were originally restricted to only logrolling events. It took decades of advocacy from female athletes to open up chopping and sawing disciplines to women, with the Women’s Standing Block Chop – the event Urbanova won this year – only added to the competition schedule in 2022.
“Women kept saying, ‘We can do the same events men have done for decades,’” LaSalle said. “As more of them trained and competed at a high level, it was clear we had to give them that same opportunity. Now we see times drop every single year, which just proves how much the level of competition is rising.”
Beyond expanding competitive opportunities, the sport has grown thanks to its tight-knit, welcoming community, according to both Urbanova and Ingbretson. Unlike many elite sports, prize money rarely covers travel and training costs – this year’s Wisconsin championships only awarded $1,000 to each category winner – so the community relies on home stays and shared training to help athletes from around the world compete. Urbanova stayed with a local host family during this year’s event, while Ingbretson and her husband stayed with hosts during a competition in Tasmania, and her family hosts international athletes in Hayward annually.
“That’s what makes this sport special,” Ingbretson said. “You can travel anywhere, and competitors will let you stay, train with you, and help you improve. It’s such an open, welcoming community, and it’s incredible to be part of it.”
Ingbretson, who works as a community education director at a local high school and manages a fitness center, added that she has been overwhelmed with congratulations from the community, especially from young female athletes just starting out in the sport. Growth in college timber programs and social media exposure has helped bring hundreds of new young women into the sport in recent years, and more women are continuing to compete even after starting families – this year, three mothers competed in logrolling events, a shift Ingbretson called incredibly inspiring.
Now, both record-holders are already looking ahead to future competitions. Ingbretson has set her sights on winning an all-around title, which requires consistent excellence across multiple disciplines – a goal that demands intense dedication and training. Urbanova, meanwhile, says she is still learning and improving as an athlete, and is proud to see the rising level of competition among young female competitors who are eager to beat her records.
“I still feel like I’m growing and getting better, but the level of women’s competition is really high now,” Urbanova said. “It’s hard to keep up, but that pushes me to get better. I just feel really proud of what I’ve done so far.”
