Hang on. We’re going to need a minute to collect ourselves.
The CrossFit Semifinals kicked off this weekend, and as the headline sponsor of the Torian Pro, to say we were ecstatic would be an understatement. The official CrossFit Games Oceania Semifinal event was jam-packed with grueling events and some of our favorite athletes. Let’s recap some of the highlights and how the leaderboard ended up at the close of the weekend in Brisbane.
Day 1
Event 1: King Arthur. Hello, DOMS. Is that you? This event was legs on legs on legs, with overhead squats, thrusters, and running. Um, ouch?
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The 23-minute time cap meant that athletes had no time to waste. Bayden Brown and the one and only Tia-Clair Toomey were the only athletes to finish in under 19 minutes, putting them solid at the top of the leaderboard after Event 1 and once again proving that Tia can do literally anything.
Event 2: 2014 Regionals IE5. Ahhh, memories. 10 rounds of rope climbs and running? Sure, why not?
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Athletes had 11 minutes to finish, but the top three men and women were far quicker than that. Ricky Garard snagged his first event win for the weekend, and to the utter shock and dismay of no one, Tia grabbed another first-place finish. Even the third-place finisher for the ladies, Jamie Simmonds, capped it off at 4:03.44 — which is all kinds of insane.
Day 2
Day 1 was so hard that athletes got to rest on Day 2. Kidding!
Event 3: Barbell complex (since their grips weren’t shot already).
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It wasn’t just about strength but also strategy. Three attempts meant limited tries to (a) load the most appropriate weights and (b) successfully execute the complex at the highest weights possible with no misses. No one is more lethal with a barbell than Tia, and unsurprisingly, she took the win again with a 245lb (111kg) complex. Special shout-out to Kara Saunders who just missed the same weight to ultimately take second. For the men, Darcy Hancock got himself 100 points with a 335lb (152kg) lift. No big deal.
Event 4: Don’t Stop Me Now. This one was a little more involved.
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The key here was to pack in as many snatches as possible, as quickly as possible, to reduce the number of rounds you had to do. We can’t believe this even as we’re typing it, but Tia got it done in just two rounds. It took us longer just to run to the kitchen for another snack. Ellie Turner (who was one of our top athletes to watch) came in second right after the clock hit nine minutes. Bayden Brown was cool as a cucumber and paced himself like a pro, then gave it everything he had to secure his second event win in the third round. Madness.
At this point, Tia was clearly leading the pack for the women, and Gerard and Jay Crouch finished the day tied with 364 points. It was going to be a serious race to the podium.
Day 3
Event 5: Strongman Diane. Is there anything better than a Strongman workout? No. The answer is no.
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The event called for 21-15-9 reps of strict deficit handstand push-ups (we wish we were kidding) alternating with some heavy carries since the workout wasn’t already hard enough. For the first time all weekend, Tia lost.
Just kidding. Tia finished first again.
Crouch ended with a bang, completing his yoke carry unbroken for the full 90 feet (27 meters).
Event 6: MCX Final.
This one was quick and dirty: a 1000m row, 100 double-unders, and 10 deadlifts for time, with a seven-minute time cap. Something simple and low-stress to finish off the weekend, right?
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It was a clean sweep for Tia, who went six for six and once again came in first. Saunders was literal seconds behind her and finished second. There was a mad sprint between Jake Douglas and Brown (holy nailbiter), with Douglas ultimately finishing first.
So, what did the leaderboard say at the end of this unforgettable weekend?
WOMEN:
- Tia-Clair Toomey (600 points)
- Kara Saunders (560 points)
- Ellie Turner (504 points)
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MEN:
- Jay Crouch (556 points)
- Ricky Garard (540 points)
- Bayden Brown (495 points)
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And that brings us to the close of another successful Torian Pro! Every competitive season, we think there’s no way it can get any more exciting. And every year, we’re proven wrong. Seeing these athletes show up and empty the tank never ceases to amaze us. And we can’t wait to see these folks at the CrossFit Games! Congrats to ALL of the competitors, who put on one heck of a show. The WOD Life is so grateful to have been a part of it, and we are forever in awe of these jaw-dropping professionals.
What was your favorite part of the Torian Pro this past weekend? Who do you think is going to dominate at the Games? Bring it on!
