The champion will have a new title – Mom.
On Christmas Eve, December 24, 2022, six-time CrossFit Games Women’s Champion Tia-Clair Toomey announced that she and husband Shane Orr were expecting their first child. Therefore, she will not compete in the 2023 season.
“We’re so excited to share that we’re pregnant! Biggest surprise and a special one to share with family and friends over Christmas in Australia,” Toomey wrote in the caption of her Instagram post. “This will definitely be a Christmas that we all will remember.”
In addition to the social media posts, the parents-to-be shared a video on their YouTube channel, which you can see below.
While Toomey is focused on her growing family, that means the CrossFit Games podium will be a strange place in 2023. Toomey has been on the podium every year since 2015, starting with two second-place finishes in 2015 and 2016. She then accumulated an unbelievable six straight titles from 2017 to 2022. Many in the CrossFit community consider her the greatest individual athlete of all time. She can also be considered one of the most popular female athletes in all of strength sports.
The podium at the 2023 Olympics will be Toomey’s first podium since 2014. The winner that year was Camille LeBlanc-Bazine, with Anne Torres-Dottir and Julie Faucher finishing second and third respectively. Since the Olympics began in 2007, only nine women have been named the “healthiest on earth”. These champions are listed below.
2007: Julie Gentry
Year 2008: urban problems
2009: Wagner asks
2010: Kristan Smart
2011-2012: Anne Torres Dottier
2013: Samantha Briggs
2014: Camille Leblanc-Bazinet
2015-2016: Katrin DavisDottier
2017-2022: Tia Claire Toomey
If Thorisdottir and Davidsdottir make it to the 2023 Olympics, they could become the first individual champions to regain their title after losing it. If they don’t, and Toomey chooses to return to competition in 2024 or later, she could become the first to reclaim the title, adding to her already incredible run in the sport. Add a sum.
With Toomey absent, the favorites for the 2023 title include former two-time Olympic runner-up (2018, 2121) Laura Horvath, who will finish third in 2022, and 2022 second-place finisher, Marlow O’Brien.
Featured Image: @tiaclair1 / Instagram