Tia-Clair Toomey, Sam Briggs Tied in Lead After Three Events

Tia-Clair Toomey looked strong to kick of the 2017 CrossFit Games. Toomey out sprinted Kristi Eramo on the Run-Swim-Run event to take the event win. She followed that up with an 8th place finish on the Cyclocross event and 2nd on Amanda .45 and after three events she is tied with the 2013 CrossFit Games champion, Sam Briggs.

Briggs, always known for her engine, finished in the top 5 of all three events on Thursday and is looking strong going in to Day 2. Rookie Jamie Greene sits in 3rd place after winning Amanda .45 in dominant fashion.

The rest of the top 10 is filled with strong Games veterans, including Kristi Eramo in 4th, Sara Sigmundsdottir in 6th, Katrin Davidsdottir in 8th, Kara Webb in 9th and Annie Thorisdottir in 10th.

Last year’s 5th place finisher Kari Pearce in back in 19th, but it could have been worse. On the Cyclocross event, Pearce’s chain on her bike locked up or fell off on her first lap and she had to run close to a quarter-mile to a station to get a replacement bike. Pearce’s first lap was over 1:30 slower than the next two laps. Regardless, she still was able to finish 30th to eek out a few points in what could have been an event bigger disaster.

Brooke Wells, who finished 6th last year, is off to a rough start. Wells’ best finish was 16th on the Run-Swim-Run. But after that, Wells struggled on the bike and the rings this afternoon. A 35th and 33rd place finish moved Wells down to 31st overall after Day 1.

The women’s side has also had several athletes withdraw. Chelsey Hughes and Camille Leblanc-Bazinet withdrew before Event 3.

And during Amanda .45, Carleen Mathews was unable to complete a ring muscle-up as she appeared to have a left shoulder injury. Mathews said that on Wednesday her back locked up and then after having it worked on thought it was something in her neck. Today, however, Mathews’ left arm would not lock out and was numb. Mathews was unable to meet the 11 muscle-up minimum work requirement and has been eliminated from the competition.

And just like that my 2017 CrossFit Games is over…. Tuesday night I flew into Madison and woke up Wednesday with what I thought was just a knot in my back…got it worked on but no relief…I realized it might be my neck, by Friday I realized my left arm was not locking out and feeling dumb… I knew something was NOT right with my body. I was trying so desperately to be positive and be myself and fight through it… but I did not feel comfortable in my body…warming up for the snatch event I was able to snatch and my warm up kip swings for the muscle up felt great… I told @xfactor_chris I was going to be able to do this event and was confident…. I went to do a muscle up and could not dip out. I was telling my body to do something and it would not respond…. the minimum work requirement for the event was getting through the round of 11 mu… i did not complete one and with that, my 2017 games is over….. This is NOT the end of MY journey. I am mad, I am sad, I am disappointed… however this too shall pass. This does not take away from the phenomenal year I have had… the end result is just a part of my journey… but the reality is…there is so much for me to be proud of, to celebrate, and to cherish. This is not the way I visualized my season ending, but this is not the end for me… this is just a stepping stone to making me a better athlete and person. The rest of the weekend I plan to cheer as loud as I can for all the other athletes, be there for them if they need me, spend some time with my husband, and hang out! If you see me around please stop me and say HI!!!! Thank you for your continued support! Huge thank you to CrossFit St. Helens for the support and to everyone who sent me, keith or chris messages! This is not my end!!! @mission6nutrition @iceagemeals @pillageathletics @rxsmartgear @dermalicious @nike @smashpack @crossfitgames @crossfitsthelens 📸cred @dunkcfpd

A post shared by Teamcarleen (@teamcarleen) on Aug 3, 2017 at 8:00pm PDT

Top 5 after Day 1:
1) Tia-Clair Toomey (262)
2) Sam Briggs (262)
3) Jamie Greene (242)
4) Kristi Eramo (222)
5) Tennil Reed-Beuerlein (204)