“I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life.”- Louise Hay
NEWS
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. It appears that due to a technicality, Toomey and her driver Ashley Werner, could be denied the second spot they earned.
One big thing: Even though Toomey and Werner’s team earned the two-woman qualifying spot, the selection rules would deny both racers on a technicality. Bree Walker would race solo in the monobob and select her own brakewoman for the two-woman race.
Nomination Criteria Section 6.4 (a): “If one Monobob quota position as well as one 2-Woman quota position is allocated to Australia, the Athlete must be the first-ranked Australian pilot in the Women’s Bobsleigh IBSF Combined Ranking List as at 16 January 2022.”
Australia has actually qualified for two spots: one in the two-woman and one in the monopod event.
Bree Walker, who qualified Australia for the monopod event, is their highest-ranked pilot and medal contender.
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 Walker.
The Australian selection committee has the final say as to who the spot goes to, and the rules state that
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. 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.
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.
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.”
BREAKING: Last night, Matt O’Keefe, President of Loud and Live Sports announced that he’s stepping away.
“The last 4 years as President of Loud And Live Sports have been an amazing journey…Being part of this team offered some of the most rewarding moments and biggest challenges of my career.”
“I’m proud of what we accomplished together at Loud And Live but have also recognized now is the time for me to turn the page to my next chapter. Like my connection to fitness, these experiences and relationships have shaped who I am.”
Kicking off today at 12:00 PM ET: The 2022 CrossFit Health Virtual Conference. Sessions today:
The Role of Nutrition in Optimizing Health and Performance
Injuries – Challenging Our Assumptions
WATCH: The Morning Chalk Up team dive deeper into recent revelations that CrossFit Games staff ignored health concerns about E. coli levels in Lake Winona.
The first event of the 2022 Rogue Challenge Series officially kicks off today with the 50-cal echo bike challenge.
Registration for the 2022 Italian Showdown opens Monday, with the first three elimination workouts already announced. The competition will take pulsar June 2-5 in Rimini, Italy.
INDUSTRY
Breaking: Matt O'Keefe Announces He's Leaving Loud and Live, "Other Plans Ahead"
After four years as President of Loud And Live Sports, Matt O’Keefe announced that he’s leaving the company. This comes just a week after the 10th anniversary of Wodapalooza, an event hosted by Loud and Live.
One big thing: O’Keefe’s departure comes as a major blow to Loud and Live Sports, which has drastically expanded from just one event (Wodapalooza) to four CrossFit events internationally under O’Keefe’s leadership. O’Keefe’s connections and access to brands and athletes has served as a major boost for these events.
Loud and Live now own and operate Granite Games, West Coast Classic, Madrid CrossFit Championship and Wodapalooza.
“Today I close a door that I’m incredibly grateful for,” said O’Keefe.
In an interview with Morning Chalk Up, O’Keefe said stepping away from the company wasn’t an abrupt ending, rather, a decision he’s been considering for the past six to 12 months – especially leading up to Wodapalooza.
“Every year you go through that [Wodapalooza] it sort of adds to your love and dedication but it also takes a little piece of you away because it’s such a hard process. Event organizers know events are hard but with the passion and energy that goes into a Wodapalooza, it’s even harder. There’s so much emotionally at stake.”
“There’s a lot of factors…my family, my health,and just you know, looking at cool new opportunities that I have on the horizon and focusing more on things I want to focus on.”
When asked exactly what O’Keefe’s next opportunity might be, he said he wasn’t yet ready to announce it as he wanted to take these next few days to reflect on his time with Loud and Live and express gratitude for the time he spent with the company. However – he did say he will reveal what that next chapter is in the coming week.
“I’ve been an athlete representative for years,it’s an area that I want to make sure that I continue to really focus on. I have some stuff that I’ll want to talk about next week that I’m going to go and do.”
WORKOUT
Matt Chan’s Workout of the Week
Every Friday, we’re bringing you an exclusive workout challenge programmed by a CrossFit Games athlete or coach that you can take on at home or the gym. You can post your times or scores in the comment section.
Today’s workout of the week is programmed by one of the legends in CrossFit, six-time Games veteran Matt Chan. The 2012 “Second Fittest Man on Earth” and four-time top-10 finisher is now a full-time firefighter in Colorado where he still utilizes his fitness in his demanding full-time job. In 2020 he was chosen as a contestant for season 2 of NBC’s The Titan Games where he was the final male contestant standing and took home the title of Titan.
His workout is actually a whole training session and comes straight from his TrainFTW program. With a wealth of fitness knowledge including time as a member of CrossFit’s Training Seminar Staff, his subscription-based program is designed for the individuals who work out in a garage gym, globo-gym, or an open gym. The sessions include warm-ups, the workout, skill work, accessory work all completed in a 45-60 minute window. He offers videos, movement/equipment modifications, and intended plans of attack through the TrainFTW YouTube Channel as well as an App.
CARDIO RAMP-UP/WARM-UP
5 Rounds on air bike or rower (focus on shoulder and back)
0:50 easy pace
0:10 hard pace
WORKOUT For Time
50-35-20
Cals on Bike
Bench Press (95/65 LBs or 43/29 KGs)
Time cap: 15 minutes
SCALING OPTIONS: If unable to complete 50 cals on the bike in 3:00, reduce cals to 30/20/10. If you don’t have a bike, use a rower for the same number of cals.
If you don’t have a barbell for the bench, use dumbbells (45lbs/30lbs each hand). If you don’t have a bar, dumbbells, or bench, perform push-ups.
ACCESSORY WORK “To compliment our upper body blasting, here’s a little chest and tri’s accessory work.” – Chan
E2MOM for 8:00 (4 sets):10-12 Incline bench press (medium weight)
3 Rounds NOT for time:
12/12 Crossbody supinated raises
12 Dumbbell floor press (medium weight)
Some advice from Matt: “This is a ‘choose your own adventure’ style of workout. You can go nice and easy and see if you can do the bench unbroken. Or, you can go for it on the bike and hold on for the bench. Either option is acceptable… but I’ll be choosing the latter.”
To inquire about submitting an upcoming workout of the week, shoot us a note.
LIFESTYLE
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
Why You Really Should be Taking Creatine
If you are not taking creatine yet, you should be. Most people cannot get enough in their diet and there are benefits that come from doses that exceed what is feasible to consume in food.
Creatine is by far the most extensively studied supplement that exists. Unlike the vast majority of supplements, it consistently generates positive results with very low risk.
It’s effectiveness for enhancing muscle size and output have been replicated across many different populations and sports. The body creates creatine naturally but also benefits from dietary creatine to contribute to overall stores. The primary function of creatine in the body is the production of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), which provides energy to drive many processes in living cells, such as muscle contraction, nerve impulse propagation, condensate dissolution, and chemical synthesis.
Three weeks into January, have you been keeping up with that daily mobility work you promised yourself you would? Prove it with five tests that will show if you've really been putting the work in.
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Seeing fitness from the perspective of us mortals must feel weird for the 2021 Games winner. But he took to it like a champ. Check out part one with fan meets, workout testing, and kumquats.
Your search for high-quality meat ends here. Amazing taste. Humanely raised. Delivered to your door. And as a Morning Chalk Up reader, sign up today and you'll receive a bone-in pork butt, a pack of chicken thighs, and 2 lbs of ground beef free in your first box.
Find it hard to know what to eat in the middle of the day? End up in a drive thru? Ordering takeout? Or slapping some sad meat and cheese in bread and calling it quits? You're not alone. Give these 15-minute lunches, that you can take anywhere to reheat, a try instead.
Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise. Send us a tip.
🍼Congratulations Andre Houdet and Natalie Lahoussine-Rios on your pregnancy announcement.
Congratulations to Maddie Staniszewski from Vero Beach, FL on the 5RM back squat PR at 286 pounds/130kg.
Congratulations to Jonah Lisbon from Greensburg, PA on the 335 pound/152kg front squat PR.
Roman Khrennikov, at a body weight of 103kg/227 pounds, does three strict(ish) ring muscle-ups.
Congratulations to Nina Vragovic from Orlando, FL on placing 2nd overall in Wodapalooza’s Intermediate Division after only one year in CrossFit.
Congratulations to Emily from CrossFit Cobalt in West Babylon, NY on the 130 pound/59kg Clean and Jerk PR.
Cumming Strength and Fitness in Cumming, GA is hosting a fundraiser for long time member, Rachel, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer and has started radiation and chemotherapy treatment.
The “Rachel Strong” workout fundraiser will take place on Saturday, January 29 beginning at 7:30am.
Funds will go directly to Rachel to help offset medical costs.
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