Tia-Clair Toomey

2x Defending Fittest Woman on Earth

Though she didn’t earn the official designation until her first CrossFit Games victory in 2017, Tia-Clair Toomey has been in the unofficial conversation for “Fittest Woman on Earth” for a long time. Back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2015 and 2016, while heartbreaking, left little doubt that Toomey’s time would soon come, as few athletes in the sport’s history, male or female, have showcased such a complete skill-set and tenacious work ethic at such a young age. In appropriate fashion, it took some relentless effort and a nail-biting finish (994 points to 992 over Kara Webb) to finally win Tia her first Games title, but after defending her crown in 2018 (1154 to 1090 over Laura Horvath), no one can call her an underdog anymore.

Much of Tia-Clair Toomey’s forward momentum really began in 2016, when she followed a phenomenal showing in Carson (in which only two-time champ Katrin Davidsdottir was able to outpace her) by boarding a plane for Rio, where she competed for Australia as a weightlifter in the Summer Olympic Games. In the span of a few weeks, Toomey tested herself twice against elite competition from around the globe, and did more than hold her own. She finished fifth in her group of Women’s 58KG lifters, and at just 25 years of age, could eventually have another Olympics run to look forward to in 2020. In the meantime, she has joined Mat Fraser as former runners-up who are now dominating their divisions like few before them.