The Pacific Team for the 2017 Reebok CrossFit Invitational is ready to fight for victory on home soil.
Led by coach James Newbury—who will also compete—the team is composed of Fittest Woman on Earth Tia-Clair Toomey, second-fittest woman on Earth Kara Webb, and 2017 25th-place finisher and perennial Games athlete Rob Forte. Newbury finished 26th at this year’s Games.
The Pacific Team’s 2017 roster is identical to its 2016 roster, with the exception of the coach. Chad Mackay coached the team to a third-place finish in Oshawa, Canada, last year.
At the 2016 Invitational, the Pacific Team started out strong, winning Events 1 (deadlifts and burpees) and 2 (women’s max snatch and clean and jerk). Small mistakes on Events 3, 4 and 5 cost the team the lead, but it came back to take first in Event 6 (men’s handstand-walk relay). Still, it wasn’t enough to regain the top spot.
Returning this year with not only Invitational experience, but Invitational experience with each other, the team is eager to prove itself in front of a local crowd screaming, “Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!”
The 2017 Reebok CrossFit Invitational will take place Sunday, Nov. 5, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Get tickets now.