Reigning six-time Fittest Woman on Earth®, Tia-Clair Toomey, has decided to do like Rich Froning and will compete in the Team division at the Down Under Championship - a CrossFit® licensed competition - at WIN Entertainment Center in Wollongong, Australia.
Which athletes will be part of Toomey's team remains a mystery at the time of publication of this article.
The competition's Instagram page confirmed Toomey's participation in the Down Under 2022 Championship on August 22, 2022:
“I can't wait to be there” wrote the athlete.
After winning his sixth consecutive title at the CrossFit® Games in 2022 In Madison, Wisconsin, Toomey was asked if she planned to return in 2023 to clinch a seventh title as the speculation about his possible withdrawal.
The 29-year-old did not answer the question directly, leaving the door open to all possibilities: from the complete retirement to the defense of the seventh title of the Games, up to the passage to the Team division.
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How the team category will be structured at Down Under 2022
The Elite Team division of the Down Under 2022 Championship it will be made up of 24 teams made up of three female athletes. Likewise, there will be 24 other teams, each consisting of three male athletes.
We'll see if Toomey's move to the Team division at the 2022 Down Under Championship will be a one-off event or a preview of what will happen to the most successful individual CrossFitter of all time.
Other individual athletes who have competed in teams
Switching from individual to team division is far from rare. The four-time Fittest Man on Earth® Rich Froning led the CrossFit® Mayhem Freedom team to 10 Team Division Championships at the Games since leaving the individual division.
Also the twice Fittest Woman on Earth®, Annie Thorisdottir, ventured into the Team Division in 2022 as a member of Team Reykjavík, who finished fourth overall at the 2022 CrossFit® Games.