Roy Masters from The Sydney Morning Herald has been pounced on in the past 24 hours. It may have been for good reason too.
His article sounded like he had been waiting for the moment Tia-Clair Toomey didn’t medal at the Olympics just so he could bash CrossFit.
“She may be the “second fittest woman in the world” but Australia’s Tia Toomey is only the 14th strongest, based on the results of weightlifting at the Rio Olympics ... and that’s only in the 58kg class.
The 23-year-old came second at the World CrossFit Games this year but clearly all that exercise, including bizarre events such as handstand walking, ocean swimming and “suicide sprinting” does not prepare a woman for the snatch and the clean and jerk of Olympic weightlifting.” - Roy Masters, The Sydney Morning Herald
I’m surprised that a sports journalist of his stature failed to:
- Do more research on the athlete he was covering
- Do more research on what it takes to podium at the Reebok CrossFit Games
- Do more research on what CrossFit is!
Tia-Clair Toomey is a fascinating athlete to watch and follow. To those who missed the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games, she placed 2nd. That achievement in and of itself is something that takes most people a lifetime of work. Everyday these athletes wake up with one sole purpose in mind. And that is to win the Games.
The Olympic Games require a similar mindset. To be able to represent your country on the grandest stage of them all is an honor. To be able to train for a few moments of glory in a competition that happens ONCE every four years amplifies the excitement.
Toomey was set to compete in Rio only two weeks after a podium finish at the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games.
“Pressfield was talking about writing, but the great weightlifter is also an artist. He continues to perfect his discipline with hard work and patience. What makes the weightlifter or any athlete more special than any other artist is his character. This is strengthened from publicly failing and waiting for the moment to compete again. He cannot hit the backspace button if he does not like his choice of words. He cannot throw the canvas in the dumpster if he feels he could have captured the light better with a brighter combination of paint. He cannot do another take in the recording studio. When it is time for the weightlifter to show his artistic ability, which is his strength and confidence, he only has one shot before an exhilarated crowd that lasts seconds. Either he gets it right at that moment or he must wait to do it again. Unlike the writer, painter, and singer the athlete is usually on a short clock. This increases the pressure they feel and it is this drama everyone loves to watch.” - Donny Shankle
She ended up placing 14th in the 58kg class.
I don’t know if Masters truly understood the impressive feat that Toomey had just accomplished. I can’t name any other athlete who has done what she did. Toomey got to the pinnacle of competition of TWO sports in the same year!
I don’t know about you, but I would have tons of questions for Toomey before I decided to make such negative statements for an athlete who was representing my own country.
“Although the World CrossFit Games does include lifting, it is not the focused type to which Toomey was exposed in Rio where she came fifth in group B, meaning there are nine lifters in Group A with personal bests well ahead of her, as well as the four who bettered her on Monday.”
Was that really necessary?
Here are some questions I would have asked if I had the chance to pick Toomey’s brain a little bit:
- How in the world did you manage to train for both? I’m sure your coaches were very deliberate with planning your training. Give me a brief overview of what the past year looked like.
- Weightlifting and CrossFit are two different animals. What have you learned from each experience that has helped you excel at both?
- You earned a spot on the podium only two weeks before coming to Rio. What did your recovery and transition look like?
- You’ve mentioned that if it wasn’t for CrossFit, you wouldn’t be here in Rio. How do you think it has helped you?
- What was going through your mind when you found out you would be competing at the Games and the Olympics?
- Those who understanding CrossFit. Those who understand Olympic Weightlifting. We both are genuinely proud of you for opening up new possibilities.
Athletes and coaches who are training for these sports simultaneously are still in very early stages of figuring out the most optimal way to achieve success at both. It’s difficult and probably not for everybody. Too early to make bizarre remarks about either sport.
Despite that, I applaud Toomey for opening up the possibility that it can be done. I’m sure if you understand CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting even slightly more than Roy Masters, you can genuinely be proud of Toomey’s performance.