CrossFit Games 2019: who is Karissa Pearce and can she upset Tia-Clair Toomey?
- The 30-year-old American shot onto the CrossFit radar after leading on day one
While she has yet to win an event at the 2019 CrossFit Games, American Karissa Pearce, 30, is already challenging Australian Tia-Clair Toomey for her crown. But who is she?
Pearce hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan and started doing CrossFit in 2014 while living in New York city. On her website, she said she was hesitant to get into the sport given her background in gymnastics despite competing for the University of Michigan and winning four Big Ten Championships.
“Many of my friends told me how good I would be at CrossFit,” said Pearce. “For some reason, I kept putting it off and sought other areas of fitness.”
After her gymnastics career ended she took up weightlifting via a strength and conditioning internship at the University of Michigan, but she didn’t last long in the sport.
“I began weightlifting there. After doing one competition, I had a couple injuries, most likely due to gymnastics that showed up a little later, which caused me to switch to bodybuilding. After doing a physique show, I realised that sport wasn't for me.