Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr Finishes In 2nd at the 2023 Rogue Invitational 5 Months After Giving Birth
The G.O.A.T. has done it again. A mere few months after giving birth to her first child in May, the winningest Individual athlete in CrossFit Games history has…well, made more history. Six-time Fittest Woman on Earth® Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr missed the 2023 CrossFit Semifinals and Games and hadn’t stepped onto a competition floor since 2022. But on Oct. 29, Toomey-Orr took second place at the 2023 Rogue Invitational, missing the top spot on the podium by only 10 points.
And her battle for the top spot wasn’t quiet, either. She and defending Rogue Invitational and CrossFit Games champ Laura Horvath traded blows on the leaderboard throughout the weekend, chipping away points at each other’s leads here and there with each event. They came into the final event of the weekend all tied up at the top of the leaderboard, and ultimately it would be Horvath who pulled away as the back-to-back Rogue Invitational champion.
Here’s how the weekend went for Toomey-Orr, and what we might expect to see moving forward.
Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr at the 2023 Rogue Invitational
It might have been her first time on a competition floor since giving birth, but it certainly didn’t look that way. Toomey-Orr came out swinging, blowing the competition out of the proverbial water from the moment she stepped onto the field.
Here’s how she did in each event.
- Event One, “Texas Heavy” — First place
- Event Two, “Seat at the Bar” — Fifth place
- Event Three, “The Circus” — Second place
- Event Four, “10th Inning” — First place
- Event Five, “The Duel III” — 12th place
- Event Six, “Max Deadlift” — Fourth place
- Event Seven, “Hulk Hands” — Fifth place
- Event Eight, “Big Cat” — Second place
- Event Nine, “The Cleanup” — Third place
Right out of the gate, Toomey-Orr took “Texas Heavy” by the reins and made her sandbag and ruck look light, cruising into a convincing first-place finish.
During “The Circus,” she came off the ski erg in seventh place (out of 10) in her heat, only to climb her way back to a second-place event finish.
“10th Inning” saw Toomey-Orr rise to victory again because of a combination of her expertise with high-skill events but also her championship mindset and strategy. She strategically broke up her reps on the barbell in a way that all the men in the following heats would emulate. The champ knew how to keep her heart rate down and fatigue as low as possible, putting her far ahead of the competition.
In “Max Deadlift,” Toomey hefted 16 barbells successfully, all the way up to 405 pounds — all without wearing a weightlifting belt.
[Read More: Comeback Season — Tia-Clair Toomey’s Full Training Day]
Toomey-Orr’s CrossFit Career History
All told, Toomey-Orr finished just 10 points lower than Horvath on the leaderboard, an astounding feat for any athlete considering Horvath’s dominance throughout the weekend.
For many, her spectacular performance might be reminiscent of two-time Fittest Woman on Earth Annie Thorisdottir‘s third-place finish at the 2021 CrossFit Games, which took place after she took off the 2020 season to give birth to her first child.
Sure enough, Thorisdottir was one of the first people to comment on Toomey-Orr’s Instagram post of her 405-pound beltless deadlift on the Saturday night of the competition.
That was incredible to watch Tia 🙌
Annie Thorisdottir
You can add this impressive finish mere months after giving birth to the G.O.A.T.’s competition resume, which looks like this:
CrossFit Games
- 2015: 2nd place
- 2016: 2nd place
- 2017: 1st place
- 2018: 1st place
- 2019: 1st place
- 2020: 1st place
- 2021: 1st place
- 2022: 1st place
Wodapalooza
- 2019: 1st place
Rogue Invitational
- 2019: 1st place
- 2020: 1st place
- 2021: 1st place
- 2023: 2nd place
What’s Next for Toomey-Orr?
Though her second-place finish will undoubtedly impress fans around the world, it seems safe to assume that Toomey-Orr may be back in search of yet another first-place title. Look for her to announce any intentions on social media sometime in the near future. Of course, BarBend will cover any and all of these developments as they arise.
Featured Image: @tiaclair1 on Instagram