Rogue Invitational: Tia-Clair Toomey pips Annie Thorisdottir to title as CrossFits female icons b
Toomey, who is originally from Queensland, Australia, but trains out of the US, finished up with 625 points after seven events over October 29-31 at the Dell Diamond, a 12,000-seat outdoor stadium.
Former CrossFit Games champion Thorisdottir, who finished third at the 2021 event in August, led Toomey heading into the last event on the final day of competition on Sunday.
But Toomey would come out on top in “The Duel”, which featured a skipping rope section, squat snatches and a sand bag load. Thorisdottir could only finish 13th, which handed the title to the Australian.
Rio 2016 Olympian Thorisdottir will now be heading overseas to begin competing with hopes of qualifying for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in the two-man bobsleigh as a brakewoman.
Toomey posted on Instagram about the finale, which saw her defeat Hungary’s Laura Horvath in a tournament-style elimination format to take the US$255,213 prize money for first place overall.
“How about that last workout?!” she said. “What a great way to finish the weekend with so much excitement!”
Thorisdottir, who has a young daughter, posted about her triumphant return to competing last year and how becoming a mother has changed her outlook but hasn’t killed her competitive drive. She has been outspoken about the difficulties of balancing being an elite athlete and a mother, and her dealings with post-partum depression.
Justin Medeiros on how heavy the CrossFit crown is
“Having a baby puts everything into perspective. Many have told me that this is where life begins, a complete 180 from a life where you only put your own needs as a priority,” she said in an Instagram post.
“Well, Freyja absolutely turned my world upside down, but it did not change who I am or what I want to do. Now I have one more person to share this incredible journey with. If I was alone in this, I would have quit a long time ago. Now my team is bigger than ever and couldn’t imagine a place I would rather be than right here right now.”
On the men’s side it was a repeat of the 2021 CrossFit Games as new champion Justin Medeiros held off veteran Canadian Patrick Vellner, who had no answer for the 22-year-old despite finishing no lower than fifth in any of the five events.
Medeiros, who finished with 645 points to Vellner’s 565, posted online about his victory, which played out in front of a packed stadium at times during the weekend.
“Man what a freaking weekend!!! Huge shout out to the Rogue Invitational and all the event staff for making this event awesome! Also thanks to all the fans for bringing all the energy,” he sai.
Vellner was pegged by many CrossFit pundits as the successor to Mat Fraser’s throne after the five-time defending champion retired in February, however Medeiros has seemingly bypassed an entire generation of CrossFitters looking for their first title.Rogue is the first big event of the 2022 CrossFit Games season and the competition featured a number of key players including Rich Froning in the “Legends” division. Froning won five individual titles before moving to the team competition, and Rogue was also the swan song for American Kari Pearce, who retired from the sport after the invitational.
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