‘World’s fittest woman’: Multitalented Aussie Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr chases Winter Olympics glory

Aussie Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, aka ‘the world’s fittest woman’ has succeeded at a number of sports but her latest move is something else.

It was fast and it was dangerous – that was all Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr knew when she agreed to join the Australian women’s bobsleigh team.

The sport involves teams of two or four, hurtling around corners on an ice-chute course in a carbon fibre torpedo at speeds more than 100km/h.

Growing up in Nambour, a regional Queensland town near the Sunshine Coast, bobsleighing or any Winter Olympic sport was never on Toomey-Orr’s radar.

Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr is hoping to make Australia's Winter Olympic Team in the bobsleigh. Picture: Instagram

Despite the lack of knowledge, the record five time World CrossFit Games champion, Olympic weightlifter and Commonwealth Games gold medal winner, said “why not, I’ll go for it” when Australian bobsledder Ashleigh Werner asked her to join their ranks.

Werner, 29, is Toomey-Orr’s pilot.

A former rugby league player, Werner had also dreamt of representing Australia at the Olympics but like Toomey-Orr never imagined it would be at the Winter Games.

Werner previously tried to qualify for the 2018 Games as a brakewoman with her partner Bree Walker.

The duo were refused nomination.

‘HOLD ON FOR YOUR LIFE’

After the disappointment Werner trained as a pilot and went in search of a new brakewoman – picking Toomey-Orr as the perfect partner.

There was no simulator or practice run for Toomey-Orr – it was straight into a sled during a training camp in South Korea in December 2020.

“They threw me in the deep end and it was sink or swim,” Toomey-Orr, 28, said.

“Being a brakewoman you don’t see where you are going down the track, you literally have to keep your head between your legs and hold on for your life.”

Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr is an Olympic weightlifter and Commonwealth Games gold medal winner.

The all-rounder is not the first bobsledder to be headhunted from another sport.

Australian Olympic sprinter Jana Pitman switched her track spikes for bobsleigh spikes for the 2014 Sochi Games – becoming the first Australian woman to compete at both the Summer and Winter Games.

American CrossFit athletes Colleen Fotsch and Kelsey Kiel are fighting for spots on the US women’s bobsleigh team.

Toomey-Orr’s strength and speed made her a natural but she had a lot of sport specific techniques to learn, including how to deal with the G-forces.

“We are trying to shave off hundredths of a second and so every little bit of training, every little bit of preparation is so crucial,” she said.

“That’s what’s so cool about it.”

The sport is very different to anything Toomey-Orr has done before.

“I feel like I am going from one spectrum to another,” she said.

“You know weightlifting was all about cutting weight and hitting two lifts, the snatch and the clean and jerk, but bobsleigh is with a team and there are so many external factors I have to consider rather than just focusing on myself.

“I’ve also got to focus on the cold weather and actually remembering to bring the equipment along. I don’t have to bring plates or a barbell for weightlifting.”

The world’s fittest woman.

THE MOST DOMINANT CROSSFIT ATHLETE IN HISTORY

There have been people who have doubted Toomey-Orr’s ability but others also said it was impossible to win five back to back World CrossFit Games titles.

A feat Toomey-Orr achieved in August.

“There was a lot of people saying I couldn’t do it and that determination and hunger I felt to not just prove to myself but prove to the world kind of overpowered me in a way and I was able to put in the work and before I knew it was I titled the most dominant crossfit athlete in history,” she said.

Since claiming the title, Toomey-Orr has bunkered down in Lake Placid, New York, with the Australian Women’s bobsleigh team, to train for the World Cup – which doubles as a qualifier for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The star athlete has been a sensation in a number of sports. Photo: Steve Pohlner

She put a short hold on training to compete in the Rouge Invitational CrossFit tournament, which she won.

From there she headed to Germany for more bobsleigh training before landing in Altenberg on November 10.

The team will compete in a total of eight races across Austria, Germany, Latvia and Switzerland in a bid to earn enough points and qualify for one of the 25 spots in the 2022 Games.

Austria will host the first two World Cup races, from November 19 to 21.

They won’t find out until January 16 whether or not they have secured a ticket to Beijing.

“We are feeling really good about it, we just have to execute and focus on the things we can control,” Toomey-Orr said.

Working as a part of a team to qualify and not as an individual is what Toomey-Orr said she had enjoyed most about the experience so far.

“With bobsleigh everything you do affects the team. So on those hard days when you don’t want to go to the gym, you have to go in there because you are doing it not just for yourself but for other people too,” Toomey-Orr said.

“We are doing it together and seeing the progress of the team has just been so humbling.”

Having earned the title of the World’s Fittest Woman five times Toomey-Orr is not against hard work.

Bobsleigh training is split up across the day incorporating weights, gymnastics, cardio, speed, technique and track time.

Toomey-Orr is doing extra training in order to keep her endurance levels high for the next crossfit season Picture: Instagram

“All those power movements from weightlifting transfer over to my push and also my drive,” Toomey-Orr said.

“We work on speed and agility and we are doing a lot of plyometric training, making sure my mobility is great.

“I do a few hours in the ice house doing a lot of hits and practising on my technique.”

While not required for bobsleigh Toomey-Orr is doing extra training in order to keep her endurance levels high for the next crossfit season.

The cold weather makes a long run difficult so she is instead doing 10km time trials on an exercise bike a couple of times a week.

Toomey-Orr’s husband and crossfit coach Shane Orr has also made the trek to Lake Placid.

It was Orr who first introduced his then girlfriend to crossfit.

“He was my boyfriend at the time and I was focusing on getting back to my track work,” Toomey-Orr said.

“He was doing a pre-season crossfit session with his rugby team and he thought I would like it and it would benefit my training.

“It is one of those things – I never walked through those doors thinking any of these possibilities would have happened.”

Toomey is the five-time reigning women’s champion in CrossFit, having won this past August at the 2021 CrossFit Games. Picture: Instagram

WHO IS TIA-CLAIR TOOMEY-ORR?

If Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr qualifies for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in the two-man bobsleigh, she will add to a resume which also includes the Summer Olympics, the Commonwealth Games and the CrossFit Games.

Toomey is the five-time reigning women’s champion in CrossFit, having won this past August at the 2021 CrossFit Games.

TIA-CLAIR TOOMEY-ORR: WORK OUT LIKE THE WORLD’S FITTEST WOMAN

Body weight workout from PRVN Fitness, perfect to do at home with limited space while in lockdown or those with a busy schedule who struggle to make time for a workout.

Because we all have 20 minutes to invest in ourselves.

Workout – 20 minutes

Here is a @prvnfitness workout that I love and think is great for anyone at different fitness levels.

PRVN Fitness is run by my partner and trainer, Shane Orr.

In 20min – do as many rounds as possible:

20 AIR SQUATS:

What is an air squat? Air squats, also known as body weight squats. They are done using your own body weight, while regular squats may use additional weights instead. In air squats, your hips will descend lower than your knees. You should feel the move in your thighs and glutes.

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed slightly outward.

2. Engage core muscles and pull shoulder blades together slightly to push out your chest.

3. Squat back as if you were about to sit in a chair. Keep your weight in your heels so you don’t lean forward. Your hips should move down and back.

Lifting time. Picture: Instagram

4. Make sure your lower back curve is maintained and keep heels flat on the floor the whole time. Hips will descend lower than knees. (The eventual goal is to touch your glutes to the backs of your calves.)

5. Hold for a few seconds, then rise up by pushing through heels and using glutes to return to a standing position.

20 PUSH UPS:

Push ups are great for upper body and core strength.

1. Get on the floor on all fours, positioning your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Don’t lock out the elbows; keep them slightly bent.

2. Extend your legs back so you are balanced on your hands and toes, your feet hip-width apart.

3. Contract your abs and tighten your core by pulling your belly button toward your spine.

Inhale as you slowly bend your elbows and lower yourself to the floor, until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle.

4. Exhale while contracting your chest muscles and pushing back up through your hands, returning to the start position.

5. Keep a tight core throughout the entire push-up. Also, keep your body in a straight line from head to toe without sagging in the middle or arching your back.

Tia-Clair Toomey is following in Jana Pittman’s footsteps. Picture: Instagram

20 SIT UPS:

Sit-ups are classic abdominal exercises done by lying on your back and lifting your torso. They use your body weight to strengthen and tone the core-stabilising abdominal muscles.

1. Lie on your back with bent knees and your feet anchored.

2. Tuck your chin into your chest to lengthen the back of your neck.

3. Interlace your fingers at the base of your skull, cross your arms with your hands on opposite shoulders, or place your palms down alongside your body.

4. Exhale as you lift your upper body up toward your thighs. Inhale as you slowly lower yourself back down to the floor.

20 JUMPING LUNGES

Jumping lunges target the lower body and core. It is an advanced variation of a basic walking lunge exercise, bumping up the intensity by adding a jump.

1. Stand in the ready position with one leg forward, one leg back. Hold your arms in a ready position with the elbows bent at 90 degrees, one arm in front of your body and the other arm back, using alternating arms to legs. For example, if your left leg is leading, put your right in front.

2. Prepare to jump by bending your knees and sinking down into a deep lunge. Lean slightly forward and contract your core muscles. You will maintain core muscle engagement throughout the exercise.

3. Quickly sink your weight down and then explosively drive both feet into the floor and launch your body upward, fully extending your knees and hips.

4. As you jump into the air, bring your feet quickly together and switch positions as you begin to land. You should also switch arms as you do this.

’Hold on for your life’. Picture: Instagram

5. As you land, maintain a balanced foot position. Your forward knee should be over your forward foot and not beyond. Attempt to land softly on the forward mid-foot and let your heel come in contact with the ground. Avoid remaining on the toes of the forward foot. Keep your hips back and allow your hips and knees to bend deeply to absorb the landing. Don’t lock your knees.

6. Drop to a deep lunge position as you prepare to start the next jump lunge.

7. Repeat the jump lunge movement for the duration of your exercise time. Aim for a few reps to begin and work up to a full 60 seconds.

20 BURPEES

A burpee is essentially a two-part exercise: a push-up followed by a leap in the air.

Doing several burpees in a row can be tiring, but this versatile exercise may be worth the payoff, especially if you’re looking for a way to build strength and endurance, while burning calories, and boosting your cardio fitness.

1. Start in a squat position with your knees bent, back straight, and your feet about shoulder-width apart.

2. Lower your hands to the floor in front of you so they’re just inside your feet.

3. With your weight on your hands, kick your feet back so you’re on your hands and toes, and in a push-up position.

Another day at the office. Picture: Instagram

4. Keeping your body straight from head to heels, do one push-up. Remember not to let your back sag or to stick your butt in the air.

5. Do a frog kick by jumping your feet back to their starting position.

6. Stand and reach your arms over your head.

7. Jump quickly into the air so you land back where you started.

8. As soon as you land with knees bent, get into a squat position and do another repetition.

RECOVERY:

Hyperice products are my go to.

My best tips for using Hyperice recovery products is to use it in the morning before training, during training, and after training. With constant use of them throughout my entire day, it allows me to stay on top of my recovery due to how much demand I put on my body on a daily basis.

All the products connect to the Hyperice app which allows me to customise my routine. Using the Hyperice app lets me relax and enjoy the treatment, rather than over complicate things and focus too much on how to recover.

Cardio time. Picture: Instagram

I love all my Hyperice products but the massage gun, Hypervolt 2.0 Pro, & Venom (which can be used on back or another one on my calves and uses heat and compression) are two of my favourites products, I literally use them everyday.