Toomey’s Winter Olympics Spot in Jeopardy
Tia-Clair Toomey’s position on the Australian bobsleigh team, which only recently qualified for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, is now in jeopardy according to a Daily Telegraph news story.
The five-time Fittest Woman on Earth, 2016 Rio Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, and her driver, Ashleigh Werner, helped qualify Australia for a two-woman bobsleigh position after months of competing in the world cup circuit.
- A month after winning her fifth CrossFit Games title last summer, Toomey began training in Lake Placid, NY with the rest of her team.
One big thing: This would be Toomey’s second appearance at the Olympics and in two different sports, not an altogether unheard of feat, but a first for a CrossFit Games athlete. Even though Toomey and Werner’s team earned the two-woman qualifying spot, the Australian selection committee has the final say as to who the spot goes to.
- Australia has actually qualified for two spots: one in the two-woman and one in the monopod event.
- The regulations state that the same driver must be used for both events and selection is determined by which driver has the highest ranking, and in this case, it’s fellow Australian bobsledder Bree Walker.
Scenarios: It’s unclear what if any options are open to Toomey, but there does appear to be some discussion going on behind the scenes. The Daily Telegraph reported Bobsleigh and Skeleton Australia had not finalized the selection yet. However, a formal decision is due on Friday.
- To show your support for Toomey, you can nominate her for Australian sportswoman of the year.
It’s worth noting that even the Olympics’ official Instagram was excited about her accomplishment, writing “Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, a Rio 2016 Olympian and multiple Crossfit Games champion, helped Australia qualify for a spot in two-woman bobsleigh at Beijing 2022. Tia – teach us everything you know please!”
- CrossFit’s general manager of Sport, Justin Bergh, also weighed in on the significance of the would-be accomplishment: “This is a big opportunity for the federation and AOC to send a message to young men and women all over the world that fit and determined athletes have a path to the Olympics in bobsleigh. We’ve seen our sport explode in popularity in places like Australia, Iceland, Canada and Brazil when young athletes see what’s possible and know their hard work will be rewarded. I have no doubt that the road Tia has blazed from CrossFit into bobsleigh will be traveled by many more if she gets this opportunity to represent her country.”