Do You Have a Favorite Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr Games Moment? We've Got 10

POWERED BY:

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• Reps Ahead Pro 3, “Redemption,” is coming to Denver, CO, this week. Check out our preview as James Sprague, Paige Powers, Sydney Wells, and more get ready to face off a mile high.

• We couldn’t decide on a favorite Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr CrossFit Games moment, so we chose 10 and took a deep dive into them. Dig in below.

• A smaller prize purse for the Adaptive CrossFit Games by WheelWOD in 2024 seems like very bad news, but a closer look suggests that the ceiling for the sports’ growth may have just gotten a lot higher.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“A little bit of the motivation to do the event was for redemption for not being able to compete past the Quarterfinals this season. But ultimately I am a competitor at my core and I’m grateful for an opportunity to throw down with some very fit people around me!” - Paige Powers, 2023 Tenth Fittest Woman, on her upcoming bout with Sydney Wells in Reps Ahead Pro3, “Redemption”

COMPETITIONS

Reps Ahead Pro 3 “Redemption” Preview — 2023-2024 CrossFit Games Athletes Throw Down in Denver

It’s redemption time. 

The video review penalties following the 2024 CrossFit Games Quarterfinals are well-documented, and, as a result, multiple Games-hopeful athletes failed to reach the Semifinal stage. 

• The season forges on, but for the athletes whose 2024 Games aspirations were cut short due to video review penalties, it still stings. 

Enter Reps Ahead. 

This innovative event offers athletes another opportunity to compete, earn money, and support a good cause. 

The Pro 3 Showcase event will go down this Saturday, June 29, at 3 p.m. MST at MBS CrossFit in Thornton, Colorado. The show will be streamed live on the B.Friendly Fitness YouTube channel, where Brian Friend will provide commentary. 

How it works: Founded by Phil Thomas, Reps Ahead follows a unique functional fitness competition format. It’s a one-on-one throwdown where athletes try to get a set number of “reps ahead” of their opponent. 

• There is a programmed workout sequence in which the athletes work through a set number of intervals or until one reaches the required margin, which ends the bout. 

Remind me: The Reps Ahead Pro 2 Showcase was held in March at CrossFit Tailwinds in Jacksonville, FL. Dallin Pepper defeated James Sprague, and Alexis Raptis bested Fee Saghafi, with both matches going the full seven rounds. 

With each iteration, Thomas learns more and builds off the last. 

• “The programming of Pro 3 will create more chances for ‘knockouts.’ Their heart rates will be spiked with this combination of movements,” Thomas told Morning Chalk Up.

A MESSAGE FROM MAJOR FITNESS

Unleash Your Inner Beast with the MAJOR FITNESS Pull Challenge

Think you’ve got what it takes to conquer the ultimate pull-up challenge? Time to prove it! Join the Major Pull Challenge with Olympic Swimming Champion Michael Andrew and show the world your strength.

📆 Event Date: Ongoing throughout the summer
🎯 Goal: Pull with ALL your might
🏆 Prizes: Up to $1000 cold hard cash

Whether you're a pulling pro or just starting, this is your chance to shine.

Ready to flex those muscles? Check out the full rules and join the Challenge now.

SPEED READS

✍️ 📋 Reps Ahead Athlete Breakdown: Brian Friend and B.Friendly Fitness team are at the helm for Reps Ahead Pro 3, “Redemption” coverage this weekend, and as you get ready to watch the live stream this Saturday, check out Brian’s athlete breakdown here.

• Stay tuned as the B.Friendly team will release preview podcasts with athlete interviews all week.

🤓 📚 Interesting Read: In case you missed it, Brent Fikowski was featured in Men’s Health UK with the splashy headline “9x CrossFit Games Finalist Says CrossFit Needs to Improve of Hyrox Will Take Over.” Check it out here.

🥇🚨 TYR Wodapalooza SoCal Update: The TYR WZA SoCal team announced last week that all community division winners will automatically earn an invitation to compete at the TYR Wodapalooza Miami 2025. Get more details here.

ICYMI: How to survive summer training with hydration tips from Aerobic Capacity founder and endurance coach, Chris Hinshaw.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr’s Top Ten Greatest Games Moments

After taking the top spot on the CrossFit Games podium six times, every year from 2017 through 2022, Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr sat out of the 2023 season to grow her family. 

• Then, at the 2023 Rogue Invitational, Toomey-Orr proved to the world that although she hadn’t participated in the 2023 Games season, she had most certainly not taken the time “off.” 

Opinions were divided leading up to Rogue, as some thought that Toomey-Orr wouldn’t be fully recovered from the birth of her daughter, and wouldn’t be able to challenge fellow competitors, 2023 Games podium athletes, Laura Horvath, Gabi Migala, and Emma Lawson. 

• But challenge them she did, finishing in a close second place to Horvath. 

After moving through the Open and Quarterfinals stages, last month at the Syndicate Crown she took home five event wins and an overall first-place finish. 

As Toomey-Orr makes her comeback to the CrossFit Games, we took a moment to reflect on some of our favorite moments of the winningest CrossFit competitor in history: 

A MESSAGE FROM O2

O2's electrolyte mix has only 1g of sugar, no artificial ingredients, and doesn’t taste like flavored ocean water 👀

Plus, O2 is a 100% climate-neutral certified company, so you can feel good about your choice.

Level up your energy, focus, and performance while enjoying every sip. Get 20% off in-store or online at The Vitamin Shoppe with code A3D7G2X9.

Because sometimes, water is not enough.

CROSSFIT GAMES

The Adaptive CrossFit Games Prize Purse Is Smaller for the 2024 Season — Here's Why It Matters

Just before the Individual and Team Semifinals kicked off in May, CrossFit Games announced the total prize purse for the 2024 season. 

The press release read:

• “There will be a prize purse of more than $3.3 million (USD) across the Individual, Team, Adaptive, and Masters divisions spanning the Semifinals and CrossFit Games championships.” 

The release continued: “All 40 men and 40 women in the Individual division at the CrossFit Games, as well as the top 10 team finishers, Adaptive division podium finishers, and Masters division podium finishers, will receive a portion of the $3.3 million-plus prize purse.”

No additional details were provided, but last week, the 2024 CrossFit Games rulebook was updated to reflect detailed prize payouts for the Games, the Masters Games by Legends, and the Adaptive Games by WheelWOD.

One big thing: While the individual prize payouts for athletes in most divisions stayed the same year-over-year, as first reported by Barbell Spin, the podium finishers at the Adaptive Games by WheelWOD will earn less.

• At first glance, this seems like a very negative outcome of all the changes to the Adaptive Games season in 2024, but it turns out that the ceiling for the sport’s growth just got a lot higher, thanks to the work of WheelWOD Head of Games and Sport Kevin Ogar.

HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise? Send us a tip.

• 🎂Happy belated birthday (6/24) to Jelle Hoste.

• Congratulations to Michael and Jess Witous on the birth of their new baby boy.

• Great job to Ak Akatwijuka Jo Jamah of Uganda on the 110 kilo/242 pound squat clean PR.

• Congratulations to Josh of Ocean State CrossFit in Cranston, RI, on the three hang cleans at 154 kilos/340 pounds.

• 🎂Happy belated birthday (6/21), to Bruce Williams of B.A.W. Media.