Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr x GORUCK

May 2nd, 2024

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • The G.O.A.T., Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, is the new face of GORUCK and will collab with the brand on a new line of women’s apparel.

  • Australian Maddie Sturt has struggled to return to the CrossFit Games after success early in her career. She talked with writer Emily Beers about the changes she’s made to her mindset and training for 2024.

  • Maddie Sturt sits on top of the finalized Oceania Quarterfinals leaderboard, but that leaderboard has had a volatile week. Learn more below.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It’s about proving to myself that all the hard work and effort I have put into changing my mindset [and believing in myself again] after narrowly missing the Games for so many years has been worth it.” - Maddie Sturt on her approach to the 2024 CrossFit Games season

INDUSTRY

Credit: GORUCK

Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr Inks Exclusive Partnership With GORUCK

GORUCK has just announced an exclusive partnership with Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, six-time Fittest Woman on Earth, for the 2024 CrossFit Games season. Toomey-Orr is pursuing her seventh CrossFit Games title in Fort Worth, TX, this summer.

Some background: Although it’s not the “title sponsor,” GORUCK is this year’s Official Apparel and Footwear Provider of the 2024 CrossFit Games season. CrossFit CEO Don Faul described GORUCK as CrossFit’s “most important partner” earlier this year.

GORUCK is no stranger to CrossFit competition. The company’s equipment has played significant roles in events such as the 2019 CrossFit Games’ Ruck Run, 2023 Semifinal Test 2, and the 2023 Rogue Invitational Event 1: Texas Heavy.

  • Founded in 2008 by former Green Beret Jason McCarthy and his wife Emily, a former case worker for the CIA, the brand represents McCarthy's commitment to the Special Forces way of life. 

  • GORUCK prides itself on building durable and tough rucking and workout gear, backed by a lifetime guarantee. They offer rucksacks, footwear, apparel, ruck plates, and training gear. 

Toomey-Orr joins the team: McCarthy shares his excitement regarding this new partnership and how Toomey-Orr’s values so perfectly align with GORUCK’s. 

“GORUCK is a family-run, family-first organization and we also believe in the relentless pursuit of excellence, so it’s no wonder why we are so excited to have Tia and her family on our team now. They’re our people,” he said in a press release.

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SPEED READS

🚨🏋️‍♀️ Team Quarterfinals Penalties: CrossFit released its full list of ineligible teams, penalties, and appeals granted for the 2024 Team Quarterfinals. Check out the full list.

Subscribe to The BarBend Newsletter to keep up with all of the action from the 2024 World's Strongest Man contest from May 1 - May 5.

  • Plus, stick around for free training hacks, nutrition tips, and strength sports news delivered right to your inbox.

🏆 TYR Wodapalooza Teases TYR Cup: Although it did not provide much in the way of details, the teaser announcement that TYR WZA posted to Instagram said, “It’s time to introduce the inaugural TYR Cup, only at the TYR WZA SoCal.”

  • The post continued: “A new event calls for new & exciting challenges. Along with the most unique format, we promise this will be the comp of the year you won’t want to miss. Stay tuned.”

💪🚨 New CrossFit Sponsors: CrossFit announced two new sponsors for the 2024 season. One is a new partnership, and the other is a returning one:

  • The U.S. Border Patrol, a 2023 CrossFit sponsor, is returning for 2024 as an Official Partner of the CrossFit Games and the presenting sponsor of the Teenage CrossFit Games by PIT Teen Throwdown.

  • Northern Spirit, a functional training and fitness clothing brand, was announced as the Official Sponsor of the CrossFit Games Semifinals and Masters, Teenage, and Adaptive CrossFit Games.

🧑‍⚖️👩‍⚖️ Association of Fitness Judges Statement: The Association of Fitness Judges released a statement in the aftermath of the Individual Quarterfinal Workout 1 score adjustments. Many of the athletes who were heavily penalized had utilized judges from the organization.

  • From the statement: “This Quarterfinals, the AFJ was brought in to help a number of Training Camps and Individual athletes with their workouts. We had their trust, their faith, and their confidence.”

  • “The CrossFit Video Review Team was looking for very exacting standards that we didn’t manage to produce every time. Since the first wave of penalties has gone out, we have been in communication with the various athletes and training camps that have been affected to advise and consult with how to move forward.”

Madrid Championship X 2: There will be two editions of the Madrid Championship in 2024. First, the MAD Fitness Festival will take place June 28-30 at the Quijote Arena in Ciudad Real, Spain, then the Mad Fittest Cup on November 22-24 at the Centro Deportivo Municipal Gallur, Madrid, Spain.

🎟️ 🎟️ CrossFit Asia Semifinal: The Far East Throwdown, the 2024 CrossFit Asia Semifinal, will take place May 17-19 at the BEXCO Exhibition and Convention Center in Busan, South Korea. Tickets are available now!

ICYMI: CrossFit as “therapy” — Make WODs Great Again’s John Wooley on how CrossFit helps him handle ADHD, anxiety, and depression as we head into Mental Health Awareness Month.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Credit: @wod.lens / Instagram

Interview: Maddie Sturt is Fitter Than Ever and “Fired Up” to Return to the Games After 5 Years

Maddie Sturt was 19 when she qualified for the 2016 CrossFit Games. It was her rookie year. 

After that, the young Australian became a mainstay on the big stage, competing in the next three Games.

  • Being so young, it seemed Sturt was just getting started.

But then things took a turn. Sturt continued competing and performing well at Semifinals (or whatever the stage was between the Open and the Games at the time), but it just wasn’t quite enough anymore. 

In 2021 and 2022, Sturt missed qualification by two spots and one spot, respectively, at the Torian Pro, the Oceania Semifinal. 

  • Both years, she went on to compete at the Last Chance Qualifier, where she also narrowly missed Games qualification.

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CROSSFIT QUARTERFINALS

Credit: @wykieetsebeth / Instagram

Video Review Penalties Shake Up Oceania's Semifinal Lineup

Individual Quarterfinals leaderboards have been finalized, but not without controversy.

The video review process has caused a major shake-up to the top 40 athletes in all seven regions, and Oceania was no exception.

Here, we take a deep dive into who’s moved up into a Semifinals spot and who moved out of the top 40 in Oceania following the video reviews.

  • Note: Athletes in a qualifying position for Semifinals will have until Friday, May 3, at 5:00 p.m. PT to accept or decline their invitations. CrossFit will make backfills until May 10, when the Semifinal rosters will be finalized.

Oceania’s biggest movers on the women’s leaderboard included:

  • Grace Walton moved from 74th to 2nd. Walton had initially submitted an incorrect score for Workout 4. Upon submission of her correct score, Walton found herself sitting in second place in the Oceania region.

  • Katelin van Zyl moved from 184th to 3rd. Initially, van Zyl’s Workout 2 score was removed as the link to her video failed. But her original score was reinstated, which moved her into third place on the Oceania leaderboard.

  • Erika Palasty moved from 192 to 5th. Palasty did not have a score for Workout 3, but once this was corrected, she moved into a top-five spot in the Oceania region. 

HIGHLIGHTS

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

  • 🍼Congratulations to Annie Thorisdottir and Frederik Aegidius on the birth of their baby boy.

  • Congratulations to everyone who earned their CF-L1 last weekend at CrossFit New West in Canada.

  • Great work to Games athlete Rafael Candeias on the 120-kilo/264-pound snatch.

  • Congratulations to Games athlete Nuno Costa on the clean complex at 138 kilos/305 pounds.

  • 🎂Happy belated birthday to Chelsea Raineri from CrossFit Mill Street in Vienna, VA.