Games Athlete Interview : Tia-Clair Toomey
Quick Stats:
- Age: 21
- CrossFitting since 2013
- 2 x Regionals Athlete (2014, 2015)
- 15th fittest female in the world
- Pacific Games Silver Medalist in Snatch CJ and Total
- Commonwealth Games trials competitor
- Would have placed 1st in the California, West, AND Central regions based off her placement in the Pacific
After an amazing performance at the CrossFit Games Pacific Regional we got a chance to chat with Tia-Clair Toomey from CrossFit Gladstone . Finishing out 7th place overall in the Open and 3rd overall at Regionals, TWL crew thinks that she will be a force to be reckoned with come late July.
What’s your story?
I was first introduced to CrossFit by my partner, Shane Orr. He was doing CrossFit to supplement his Rugby training and thought it would be right up my ally. I was training at the time for 400m hurdles and saw great benefit in it supplementing my training too. All through school I had competed in athletics and at that stage I had zoned in on hurdles, training to compete at a national level. I had set my sights on representing my country, Australia, and hopefully moving on to compete on a international level in the near future. At the end of 2014 the opportunity arose for me to become a director of CFG, the gym I was training out of. I jumped upon this as it allows me to continue to follow my pursuits in training and competing at a high level, but also a opportunity for me to give back to the CrossFit community in Gladstone who have supported me so much over the last few years. I enjoy being able coach, mentor and train with the guys there, they are like family to me. It also gave me a opportunity to launch weight lifting in Gladstone, of which I am very proud to be a part of. I have a very supportive family that are constantly putting me before them, a boyfriend (Shane Orr), mum (Debbi) and dad (Brendon), two little sisters (Elle and Molly), they are the most important people in my life.
What have been your achievements so far?
As far as my achievments I competed in the Semper comp in 2013 which was held in Brisbane at CrossFit Axed. I won that comp and after that I then focused on individual comps and aimed for regionals 2014. Also after that comp I was picked up by Miles Wydall (Olympic and Commonwealth Games weightlifting coach). Since then I have competed at 2x CrossFit Regionals, 2014 and placed 18th and 2015 and placed 3rd. I also competed as a 58kg category at Commonwealth Games Trials (made Shadow team), National and International weightlifting comps (coming 1st at both). At the start of July 06/07/2015 I represented my country Australia and won the Silver medal in the 58kg category. I am now preparing myself for the 2015 CrossFit Games.
Can you give us an idea of what a typical training week consists of for you?
A typical training week for me would consist a lot of strength, conditioning and gymnastic strength/skill training. My training depends on how my body feels, I could go through a full with only 1 rest day or if my body is feeling really fatigue I could have 2-3 rest days. I think it’s extremely important to listen to the body when you training at elite levels.
What foods do you eat a lot of in general? What foods do you avoid?
I try to eat as healthy as possible so my body has the best recovery; however, I love my chocolate which I like to reward myself after a good training session.
What is one thing you don’t want Castro to announce?
I’m not really worried about what Castro announces, it’s always going to be tough no matter what it is.
What movement do you hope Castro announces?
I hope he announces swimming, any type of heavy lifts.
What’s after the Games for you?
After the games I’ll be training to be selected in the Australian Weightlifting team for Worlds which is held in Houston, TX.
What do you think contributed to your relatively fast success in CrossFit?
Weightlifting has defiantly made me stronger, but the passion for the sport has been a large influence.
What is the most impressive feat of strength you have accomplished to date?
Winning Silver in the 58kg at the Pacific Games for my Country.
What is something that most people don’t know about you?
I have 2 beautiful dogs, Red staffy (Rhi Rhi), white Labrador (Sammy).
Who is your role model?
My parents are my role models, but when it come to being inspired it would be every elite athlete.
What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen someone do in the world of CrossFit?
The coolest thing would be seeing all the athletes at the Games putting their body under so much demand and be able to compete at top level through the whole competition. It’s incredible.
Where would you like to see CrossFit in the future?
Helping ordinary people in their everyday lives, with their well being and health.
Okay, you’re officially my hero. How was this all possible for you?
Besides the on going support from my partner and family, this success wouldn’t have been possible without my coaches Miles Wydall and Drew Griffiths. Drew Griffith is my CrossFit coach that runs a CrossFit training program called CoachRX and Miles Wydall is my weightlifting coach that is an Olympic and Commonwealth Games Weightlifting coach (www.mwydall.com). I get coached by them through email as I live 6-8 hours away from them both. They work together with my partner Shane Orr (who is my trainer) to come up with the best program for me individually.
Plug time!
I would also like to thank the support from my amazing sponsors Reebok Australia (@reebokau) and RXD Repair (@rxdrepair).
Tia, thanks so much for taking the time out of your hectic schedule to fill us (your fans) in, you’ve been a pleasure. We look forward to watching you rock the competition out in Carson!
Any readers can follow Tia on Instagram @tiaclair1, Facebook by searching Tia-Clair Toomey or Twitter @TiaToomey. You can also checkout CrossFit Gladstone on Instagram @crossfitgladstone and Facebook by searching Crossfit Gladstone to follow any events they organise through the gym.
