Ragnheiður Ragnarsdóttir

Ragnheiður Ragnarsdóttir, also known as Ragga Ragnars[1] (born 24 October 1984) is an Icelandic actress and former swimmer, who specialised in sprint freestyle events.[2] She is a multiple-time Icelandic record holder in both long and short course freestyle (both 50 metres and 100 metres). After retiring from swimming, Ragnheiður studied acting and has played the role of Gunnhild on the TV series Vikings since 2018.[1]

This is an Icelandic name. The last name is patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Ragnheiður.

Ragnheiður Ragnarsdóttir
Personal information
National team Iceland
Born (1984-10-24) 24 October 1984
Reykjavík, Iceland
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight74 kg (163 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubMission Viejo Nadadores (U.S.)

Career

Swimming

Ragnheiður made her Olympic debut, as Iceland's youngest swimmer (aged 19), at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She qualified for two swimming events by attaining B-standard entry times of 26.34 (50 m freestyle) and 56.74 (100 m freestyle).[3][4] In the 100 m freestyle, Ragnheiður finished last in heat three and fortieth overall with a time of 58.47 seconds.[5][6] In the 50 m freestyle, Ragnheiður almost snared out of triumph in heat five by a hundredth of a second (0.01) behind Luxembourg's Lara Heinz, finishing second and thirty-first overall in 26.36 seconds.[7][8]

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Ragnheiður qualified for the second time in the same swimming program as the previous Games. She cleared FINA B-cuts of 25.95 (50 m freestyle) from the Dutch Open Swim Cup in Eindhoven and 56.06 (100 m freestyle) from FINA World Championships in Melbourne.[9][10][11] In the 100 m freestyle, she was reassigned in heat three against seven other swimmers, including Hong Kong's Hannah Wilson and Bahamas' Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace. She touched out Cyprus' Anna Stylianou to take the fifth spot and thirty-fifth overall by three hundredths of a second (0.03), in a time of 56.35 seconds.[12] In the 50 m freestyle, Ragnheiður finished fourth in heat eight by 0.13 of a second behind Jamaica's Natasha Moodie, clocking at 25.82. Ragnheiður failed to advance into the semifinals, as she placed thirty-sixth out of 92 swimmers in the evening prelims.[13]

Ragnheiður did not compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as she was pregnant with her son.[1]

Acting

Ragnheiður has said that she always had a passion for acting and after retiring from swimming, decided to study acting. She took an 8-week "Acting for Film" course with New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, which she "loved" and then enrolled for a one-year programme.[1] She graduated in 2015.[14] It was also announced in the 2020 Game Awards that she would star in an animated series based on the popular Studio Wildcard game Ark: Survival Evolved in 2022 playing the role of Queen Sigrid.[15]

Since 2018, Ragnheiður has starred as Gunnhild on the TV show Vikings.

Personal life

Ragnheiður was married to Atli Bjarnason, a business administrator, from 2013 to 2017. Their son was born in 2013.[14][16]

References
  1. "From the Olympics to "Vikings" with New York Film Academy Acting Alum Ragga Ragnars". New York Film Academy. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ragnheiður Ragnarsdóttir". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  3. "Swimming – Women's 50m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 6)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  4. "Swimming – Women's 100m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 3)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  5. "Women's 100m Freestyle Heat 3". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 18 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  6. Thomas, Stephen (18 August 2004). "Women's 100 Freestyle Prelims, Day 5: Inky Leads the Pack with a Swift 54.43". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  7. "Women's 50m Freestyle Heat 5". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 19 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  8. Thomas, Stephen (18 August 2004). "Women's 50 Freestyle, Prelims Day 7: Inky Sizzles in World Best 24.66, Joyce Next in PR 25.06, Jenny Thompson Makes It Too". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  9. "Olympic Cut Sheet – Women's 50m Freestyle" (PDF). Swimming World Magazine. p. 45. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  10. "Olympic Cut Sheet – Women's 100m Freestyle" (PDF). Swimming World Magazine. p. 48. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  11. "Aftur met hjá Ragnheiði i Eindhoven" [Ragnheiður meets again in Eindhoven] (in Icelandic). KR Vefurinn. 8 December 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  12. "Women's 100m Freestyle Heat 3". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  13. "Women's 50m Freestyle Heat 8". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  14. "Sunddrottningin Ragnheiður Ragnarsdóttir skilin" (in Icelandic). dv.is. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  15. Rosario, Alexandra Del; Rosario, Alexandra Del (11 December 2020). "'Ark: The Animated Series': Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh & Elliot Page Among Voice Cast Members In New Video Game-Inspired Show".
  16. "Lét sérsauma á sig brúðarkjólinn" (in Icelandic). visir.is. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
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