‘Makes me different’: Meet the women breaking world records at Wood Jack Sports

She found out she was fast and her new records proved it. In the women’s standing block category, where an ax is used to cut straight wood, she cut a 9in (22.8cm) piece of white pine in 19.38 seconds. The previous record was 21.17 seconds.

She cut an 11in white pine in 21.28 seconds in the women’s underhand chop, where competitors stand on a log and cut between their legs. The previous fastest time was 24.26.

Urbanova is perhaps the prime example of the accessibility of wood jack sports, especially among women. She says that while they are in good standing in America, they are unheard of in the Czech Republic.

That’s not the case for Hayward native Meredith Engbretson, who also broke a record at the world championships – winning the women’s boom race, where competitors race back and forth across eight connected cedar sticks. Her time was 13.78 seconds – less than a second faster than the previous record of 13.98.

She says she’s slowed down over the past year — cutting out alcohol and anything that “didn’t align” with achieving her long-term goal.

Ingretson was introduced to Lambejac Sports at the age of three. Founded in 1880, the lumber industry is a big part of life in Hayward. According to Ingbretson, every resident “probably has been in logrolling lessons for at least one summer” is a place.

She has been competing in logrolling for 28 years now and has recently started cutting and cutting.