I watched a documentary on Netflix called the Redeemed and the Dominant and I love Crossfit so when I found that she has her own biography. I definitely enjoyed the level of excellence and she strives for and I also see a bit of myself in her. I am also pretty resilient and see that as my superpower.

These were my favorite passages from reading her biography.

“I felt ready to race and could feel the nerves in my belly building into adrenaline. I was in awe of the atmosphere at Sippy Downs Stadium. It was the first time I’d been to a real athletics facility with a synthetic surface and proper lighting. The nervous energy was pumping through the air and I was lapping up every single second of it.” 

“It’s like I feed off competitive environments and my body just kicks into a whole other gear I never knew existed. My race came around and I was able to forget about everything in the past and take things to that next level. I absolutely blitzed my 800 and 1500 metres, finally beating girls I never thought I was capable of overtaking.” 

“What do you mean, T? Yes, you can! It’s not hard, you’ve just got to swim out there then turn around and come back to shore – simple.” I didn’t want to disappoint Dad and thought, ‘Don’t be so pathetic, Tia, just harden up and at least have a go.’ So out I went.” 

“Dad was so awesome like that, he was all for me trying everything and nothing was ever too hard. Three days later, I swapped out my early morning runs with 5 am swims and moved my training with Dad to the afternoons. The fitter I got and the more I succeeded with my sports, the more I realised I didn’t need anyone else’s approval.” 

“Sure, winning felt great but that wasn’t where I got the most kicks, I loved seeing myself improve. Even when I won races at school or at the local 

very special about you, Tia, you’re set for big things.” I thought, ‘Well, if someone as fit as Gwyn thinks I’m okay at running, then I must be half decent. I mean, not everyone can make Nationals in a sport that they’ve only done seriously for a year.’ 

“My Mum is a strong and independent woman who is hands-down the hardest worker I know. Everything she does is geared towards creating the best opportunities for me and my sisters and she is our biggest protector. Mum’s ‘never say die’ attitude has rubbed off on me and my sisters. If I’d lose a race she’d say, ‘That’s just more ammo for you to work harder next time,’ any time I would feel defeated about something, she’d say, ‘What’s wrong? Do you need a big Mumma bear hug?” And if I ever used the word ‘can’t’, she’d give me the good old, ‘There’s no such thing as can’t.’ 

“Nan, I LOVE Elle so much that I have chosen to give her my favourite Bunny teddy!” It was such a big deal to me. I took the role of being an older sister very seriously. This care and love carried on as Elle grew up and then when my second sister Molly came along three years later, that was just the cherry on top.” 

“The strength of the mind beats the strength of the body every time. You can always outwork the strongest man in the room if his mind is weaker than yours.” I hung onto Pop’s every word and those words stuck with me more than any others. I ran straight back home. “Mum, Mum, do you think I’m tough?” “I don’t say that you’ve got the Heart of Valour for nothing.” My whole body filled with pride. The fact my Mum and Pop thought I was tough meant everything to me. Looking back, I can really see what Pop means now.” 

“People confuse toughness with strength all the time. You can lift all the weights in the world but that doesn’t mean you’re capable of digging deep physically and mentally at crunch time. To me, toughness is the ability to perform, regardless of the circumstances. If someone is willing to have the patience and stay positive and focused no matter how many times shit hits the fan, they will have the edge over the others.” 

“We had neighbours for the first time ever which I thought was cool and after a few weeks I started to open my eyes to the new possibilities.” 

“It’s crazy to think that Shane has been a part of my team since I was fourteen. I loved training with him; he was great at encouraging and pushing me to get better. I felt like he really believed in me. When Shane and I met, we were drawn to each other because we both had ambition and wanted to achieve our goals. I would go to my athletics events and Shane would be so supportive in helping me train to get from Districts, to Regionals, States to Nationals. I was very lucky to find someone so special at such a young age that loved and supported me.” 

“It’s pretty embarrassing but I can’t believe how lazy and spoilt I became. I just sat at home and hung out with my dog while Shane supported us both. And when I wanted my first car, Nan, Dad’s Mum, bought me one. Everything came easy. I was so totally spoilt it makes me sick thinking about it now.” 

“It looked like a gymnast got together with a weightlifter and together they created their perfect gym.” 

“This concept laid the foundation of CrossFit as it is known today. In the words of Greg himself, CrossFit is about ‘people achieving a goal of greater work capacity across broad time and modal domains.’ ‘Broad time’ means at different levels of intensity and ‘broad modal domains’ refers to a person’s general physical skills including cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy.” 

“In other words, it’s cool to be able to throw a barbell around, it’s exciting to learn how to do handstand push-ups and it’s fun to flip giant tractor tyres but the whole idea behind CrossFit is to be as well-balanced as possible across all general skill areas, not just ones you’re good at or enjoy the most. CrossFit is not about achieving specialised skills and fitness in one area. It is about achieving widespread physical ability.” 

“‘Oh my God, you are paired up with a real athlete now so don’t make any mistakes.’ He was so passionate that he was yelling and screaming at me hard to motivate me.” 

“Shane was so happy that I found something that gave me drive again and he was the first one to stand there and support” 

“I don’t necessarily love training, but I know it is fundamental to success and without it, I would have nothing. I know that I need to do it to do what I love most and that is compete.” 

“Shane continued working with Jake on my programming and studied up on CrossFit and the Games every waking minute. I’m not kidding when I say he was consumed by it.”

• Some days he would watch the CrossFit Games on the internet, other days he was glued to his iPad watching technique videos on YouTube or I’d walk into the office and he’d have 50 tabs open on his computer screen, reading the latest articles from the CrossFit Journal, crossfit.com or researching the most cutting-edge CrossFit equipment.” 

“The atmosphere on the finals floor was penetrating and I was pumped. I looked around to embrace the environment but didn’t take much notice of my competition because I was so focused on what I needed to do.” 

“All of the time and effort they put into me paid off. I left no regret on the floor that day, there is no other feeling that compares to that.” 

“Shane was right yet again and in a way, I should thank that random coach because that comment was one of those pivotal points in my life; where a naysayer said I couldn’t do something and I took that negativity and turned it into ammunition to fire even harder.” 

“He heard about your performance in Brisbane and wants to know more about you. When I told him you’ve only been doing CrossFit for a couple of months, he was even more impressed. He can’t believe the numbers you hit.” 

“From what I’ve heard, you’ve got hunger and natural ability, so all you need is to get more of an understanding of the sport and its technique and you can go to the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.” Those words changed my life forever…” 

for 800 metres but if I had the opportunity to go in a different sport I wasn’t going to turn it down because it had always been a dream of mine. Plus, the area I needed to improve on the most with my CrossFit was strength and technique and weightlifting complemented this perfectly. *** I owe a lot to Miles, he turned me from an amateur weightlifter into a professional athlete pretty much overnight and the craziest thing is that he wanted absolutely nothing from me.” 

“He is willing to learn from anyone and everyone and not let ego get in the way. He spends hours on the computer doing his own research to expand his knowledge and if he doesn’t know or understand something, he will be the first to reach out to others and ask their advice. I am so lucky that he is my partner as well as my trainer. He knows me innately and knows exactly what I’m feeling when I lift because he trains my program himself and does it with me.” 

“looked over at the guys deep in thought and it was at that moment that I realised how lucky I was. I knew I had the best team behind me. It was the very last lift of the comp and we were up to 101 kilograms but my personal best was only 85 kilograms so I was well out of my league.” 

“Miles shook me with passion and I felt it run through me. “You just have to go out there and do it because I know you can do it.’ 

“I believed in my ability. I was highly motivated and wanted to put in the work to get there but I felt like I couldn’t give one hundred per cent because of my back.” 

“Wow, Shane, look at them all go, they really deserve to be there.” “We can get there too, Tia, I honestly think we can do it. It would take complete commitment but you’re just as talented as these women.” Shane doesn’t say those things unless he believes it to be true so I definitely took notice of it, even if I didn’t show it.” 

“I wanted everyone to stay on as a coach so I decided the most cost-effective way was to give the coaches a free membership in exchange for coaching a couple of classes a week.” 

I don’t think I would have done as well as I have in my athletic career without that experience because that period in my life was character-defining and made me stronger and more resilient. I learnt to stand my ground and not let the hard times get me down. 

“members and mates who had stuck by me. I did it for them. I know it’s biased but I am so proud of how far our gym has come. I could not be happier, the members we have are incredible, they turn up to have fun, get fit and be part of all the positive vibes, it’s the best atmosphere to be a part of.” 

“I had only been doing CrossFit classes for two years and was still so new to it all. It was a huge shock to get to the Games in California, let alone place second and take home eighty thousand dollars in prize money. I couldn’t believe I got paid for doing something I loved. I didn’t even know we got paid for placing, so that was just a cherry on top when I found out.” 

“Some of the other Aussie athletes came over to me cheering and jumping with excitement. It was such an incredible feeling because I was the first ever Australian to podium at the CrossFit Games.” 

“Miles was always so composed and it was so great to see him show so much emotion. I knew I had made him proud.” 

“The evening turned out to be one of the most touching and heartwarming times of my life. Over a beautiful dinner in Watson’s Bay, Sydney, Shane proposed to me.” 

“The proposal brought me back to what’s really important in life and that’s Shane, my family and friends. I was getting too caught up in how I was going to perform rather than actually remembering why I was doing it.” 

“I have such a special girl. You have achieved so much, my love. Shane proposed, you made the Games again and now the Olympics, you should be so proud.” He couldn’t say much more but I could hear just how proud he was. About a week later, Pop passed away and it broke my heart. That man meant a lot to me, it was so sad to let him go. I carry his love with me every day and it’s a big reason why I push harder to achieve my goals.” 

‘Fine, if I make the Olympics, you can get a bulldog!’ The moment we got home, our family of four turned to five and Shane got his bulldog who we named Rio after the Olympic Games host city. I was home and ready to hone in on my training for the CrossFit Games and Olympics, which were only weeks away. I couldn’t believe I was about to realise my dream of going to the Olympics and the CrossFit Games in the same year, it was surreal.” 

“I am reminded of my goals at least 20 times a day because I write them on the back of my phone and have little notes around the house to keep me focused and motivated. I don’t just read them, I say them out loud and I say them boldly. Our minds don’t know the difference between real and imagined information. So I know if I say what I want to happen enough times, my mind will help me accomplish it.” 

‘You might want to delete that at the end of the weekend because I won’t come first!’ I sounded insecure and not at all confident in my own abilities. I was really upset but it was definitely the wake-up call I needed. I lost it again to Shane, I was so ashamed. “This is the first year I’ve ever been on camera and this is how I come across. All of my friends and family know I’m not like that but the whole world thinks I am. How does that even happen? I just don’t understand, I am such a fool.” 

“I had no one else to blame but myself. It was definitely a learning curve for me; to never again talk myself down, even if I was just mucking around.” 

“No matter where I am, as long as I have a good source of protein, carbohydrate and fats in my meals then I’m happy. I follow that same principle for all of my meals to make sure I’m hitting my macros.” 

“Forget yesterday, Tia, it’s today! Just trust the process, we are doing everything we need to do to get to where we want to be.” 

“Dave is amazing at commanding the attention of a room. We were all fixated on him and what he was about to reveal. There were laughs and giggles from all the veterans who had heard the same speech from Dave a number of times before while all of the rookies were sitting in fear thinking, ‘What have I got myself into?’