Regardless of if you’re into functional fitness or not, anyone can appreciate the CrossFit Games, which this year will likely include all sorts of fitness challenges, from Olympic weightlifting and ring muscle-ups to more unique challenges like hay barrel dodging and triathloning (rumor has it).
Whether you’re new to the sport or a die-hard barbell-slayer yourself, you can’t deny watching athletes compete for the title Fittest On Earth, and the $300,000 prize purse that goes with it, is more entertaining than your social media feeds.
In preparation for August 1st, we put together a list of the five badass women who qualified from the Pacific region who will be showing up and ready to slay.
Tia-Clair Toomey
The joy, the dedication, the athlete’s cheering squad — there’s something about watching the Games that is All The Feels. If you watched the 2017 Games, where Toomey was crowned the Fittest Woman On Earth, and didn’t get the chills (or tears) at *some* point… well, were you even really watching?
After being two-time runner-up (to Katrin in 2015 and 2016), seeing Toomey finally get gold proved hard work and dedication really pay off. Athletes admire her because functional fitness isn’t her only jam. She’s also an Olympic weightlifter. And yes, she went to THE Olympics— becoming the only athlete to ever have competed in the CrossFit Games and the Olympics in the same year. Talk about badass.
After winning the Games in 2017, in what was the most narrow victory in CrossFit Games history, we know she’ll be back to Madison for her fourth Games appearance to defend her title. Don’t think all she cares about is winning, though. In an interview with The WOD Life, Toomey told us her number one goal is “to be the best version of myself in everything I do. As long as I am trying to be better than what I was yesterday, I am confident that I will grow into a very satisfied individual.”
(Psst! Did you check out Toomey’s episode of The Journey with TWL?)
Kara (Webb) Saunders
Obviously, if you’re going to watch Tia, watching Kara Saunders (formerly Kara Webb) — who took home silver last year and is headed to the Games for the seventh time — is inevitable.
The 2017 Games were exciting for both Saunders and Toomey, where Toomey only edged Saunders out of first place by two points during a dramatic day of head-to-head competition. (Seriously, I chewed my nails to nubs.)
And the 2018 CrossFit Pacific Regionals were an indication that on-the-edge-of-your-seats competition won’t subside in Madison. Toomey may have taken 1st overall, but out of the six total regional events, Saunders took home a “W” on Events 4 and 5 (and 2nd only to Toomey on Events 2 and 6).
Justine Beath
There are smiles, and then there’s Justine Beath’s smile. There are strong and shapely quads, and then there are Justine Beath’s quads. Whether it’s the body that is more machine than body, or her smile which lights up a room, there’s something about her that makes you want to watch her compete.
After missing out on the 2017 Games after she decided to sit the season out — citing with admirable honesty the mental, physical, and emotional strain of the sport as her reasons — fans (*raises hand*) can’t wait to see this Games vet back on the competition floor. (In 2016, she placed 38th at the Games as an individual, and in 2013, she helped CrossFit Active take 12th.)
Make sure you point Beath out to the non-athletes who catch you streaming the Games at the office: she was just starting out in 2009 when she began training in CF. Now she can clean and jerk 235. Talk about a glow-up. She defines strength in her own unique way. She hasn’t lost sight of what truly matters to her, though. Speaking to TWL, she said her top goal for the Games this year is “to have FUN and enjoy every moment.”
Well said!
Courtney Haley
Welp, a trip to the 2018 Games is one hell of a graduation gift. That’s right — Courtney Haley (age 23) graduated in December, and now, less than eight months later, she’ll be showing up (with her 180-pound snatch and strong gymnastics background) to Madison.
Her performance on Event 3 at Regionals this year (think: handstand obstacle course race for days), where she beat out the two fittest women on earth to take home a “W”, has us hoping we’ll get to see her gymnastics skills again on the competition floor. (For further proof she’s a gymnastics goddess, check out this handstand video.)
While she went to the Games in 2015 with Team CrossFit Rocks, who took 30th overall, her relative lack of experience is likely why most (even avid) fans of the sport aren’t as familiar with this rookie. But her humble demeanor and mad skills will win you over.
Maddie Sturt
If you could go back in time and start training at the age of 13, would you? That’s how old Madeline Sturt was when she started. Now, at 21, she’s headed back to the Games for the third (third!) time.
At Regionals, she proved endurance and gymnastics may be her strong suits (with a 3rd-place finish in Event 1 and Event 6), but she didn’t let the heavyweight workouts keep her from going to the Games.
She may be one of the youngest athletes stepping out onto the individual competition floor this year, but her maturity, impressive focus, ability to grind, and commitment to treating her body well will catch your eye.
Main image: Kara Saunders/Instagram, photo by Tye Arnett
