Earlier today, the 2017 Fittest Woman On Earth™ Tia-Clair Toomey walked away with a gold in the 58kg weight class at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Toomey finished her performance with a personal best 87kg snatch and a 114kg clean & jerk, which earned her a 201kg total.
Throughout most of the competition, Canadian weightlifter Tali Darsigny was ahead of Toomey by 1kg. In the snatch, she hit 88kg, and ended up finishing with a PR 112kg clean & jerk, giving her a 200kg total. It appeared she had the gold until Toomey called for her final 114kg clean & jerk, which would edge Darsigny out by 1kg and award her the silver medal.
You may have already seen the tragic news story floating around, but if you haven’t, a little over a week ago Toomey’s teenage cousin tragically passed away in a car crash in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Toomey’s cousin, Jade Dixson, was one of three who passed in the crash, and had planned to come watch and support Toomey at the Games.
Leading up to and at the Games, Toomey told Australian media outlets, “This is for her,” “lifting for her…she’ll be on my side” and “I’ll have her in my heart come game day.”
Yesterday, in Toomey’s latest Instagram video she wrote, “Last session before I hit the platform tomorrow night and I’m so excited. Representing my country on the world stage is truly an honour and something I have worked so hard for. Thank-you so much for all the ongoing support and I hope I do you all proud. This is for you Jadey!”
Toomey’s weightlifting and CrossFit careers have both hit new heights over the past two years. Toomey also represented Australia in weightlifting at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Feature image from @commongamesaus Instagram page.
