When three-time champion Tia-Clair Toomey steps onto the competition floor for the 2020 Reebok CrossFit Games, she will face a familiar style of event. Saturday’s schedule features the Snatch Speed Triple, an event that tasks the athletes with quickly completing Olympic lifts with progressively heavier weights. Toomey previously took part in a similar event during her rookie season, finishing sixth overall and flying under the radar, but now she will have another opportunity to reign victorious in a very different arena.
Speaking with PopCulture.com and other outlets on Thursday morning, the defending champion detailed her preparation for new and familiar events alike. She explained that her mindset has drastically changed over the years with more and more trips to the CrossFit Games. She is more prepared for the hectic nature of speed events and has a better idea of how to approach them.
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“Over the past few years, I’ve had more experience on the competition floor, and this is an event like any other speed ladder event we’ve done in the past,” Toomey explained. “[…] I know that the speed ladder events are always a bunch of fun, not only for the athletes, but for the crowd and the spectators. Hopefully, it can be entertaining.”
The Snatch Speed Triple event will be one of the fastest of the weekend and will provide a considerable amount of excitement. However, there will be a major difference considering that there are no fans in attendance and they will remain in the “bubble” throughout the weekend. This change means that the athletes can’t rely on screaming fans to help them complete difficult lifts.
Despite having to remain inside the bubble with only one companion, the athletes are making the most of the weekend and are finding positive aspects to focus on. Specifically, they enjoy having the opportunity to feel like celebrities. Each athlete has a private trailer, much like Hollywood actors, where they can relax and recuperate between events and at the end of each day.
“We get our own trailer, so that’s very, very cool,” Toomey said while the other athletes laughed. “I feel like a bit of a movie star, a bit of a celebrity. What’s really cool is amongst all of the chaos and all of the uncertainty that we’ve experienced throughout this year, we’ve come to the CrossFit Games not really knowing what to expect. This year has been unlike no other — in my opinion — and I walk into where we are going to be warming up and where we’ve been training all week in the bubble, and we have our own sectioned-off area with our names on them.”
The CrossFit athletes will not have the same issues as NFL or NHL players due to sitting far away from each other. They will have their own specific lanes and equipment, which will be frequently cleaned to limit any potential health issues. Toomey expressed appreciation for these changes and how Director of the Games Dave Castro and his staff have “stepped up to a whole other level.” Now the athletes just have to show up and put in the work while competing for spots on the podium. “It goes to show the seriousness and professionalism in order to provide this safe environment,” Toomey said.
The 2020 Reebok CrossFit Games begin on Friday morning with the 2007 Reload event. The athletes will have to complete a 1,500-meter row and then immediately transition to five rounds of 10 bar muscle-ups and seven shoulder-to-overhead lifts with 235 pounds (male) and 145 pounds (female). They will continue and complete four more events on the first day, setting up an exciting weekend schedule.
