Tia-Clair Toomey joins CrossFit Safety Advisory Board for 2026

Tia-Clair Toomey has joined CrossFit’s Safety Advisory Board as the athlete representative for 2026, replacing Rich Froning and putting the sport’s most decorated competitor inside the group that reviews risk before and during major events. The move matters because the board is not ceremonial: CrossFit says it exists to flag safety concerns, review protocols, and give athletes an escalation path when something looks wrong.

That role gives Toomey direct input on the pressure points CrossFit has spent the past year trying to fix. The board was established in 2025 as an independent group of medical professionals, safety experts and athlete advocates after the death of Lazar Đukić at the 2024 CrossFit Games triggered a third-party investigation and a wave of procedural changes. CrossFit later suspended open-water swimming events indefinitely, then kept layering on updates ahead of the 2026 season. Toomey arrives with eight CrossFit Games titles and Olympic competition experience, a résumé that gives her credibility in the room when programming, heat risk and athlete communication are being reviewed.

For the 2026 CrossFit Games in San Jose, CrossFit says the board already reviewed programming and developed new Water Safety Guidelines. A dedicated Water Safety Lead will oversee pool-based events, while BlackOhm technology will be used during select events to track athlete position and monitor physiology in real time, including heat-strain indicators. CrossFit also said all 60 individual athletes and 80 team athletes will complete a new preparticipation medical evaluation before competing, a step aimed at catching issues before the first workout begins.

The medical operation around the Games has also grown. CrossFit says the 2026 Games Medical Team will include 47 people, new leadership roles, a San Jose Sharks team physician, 15 physical therapists from Onward PT, certified athletic trainers and Go4 EMR injury tracking. Dr. Mark James Sakr has been named Games Medical Director, and Dr. Michael Scott Emery has joined the Safety Advisory Board as CrossFit expands its sports-cardiology expertise. The public board listing also includes Allison Brager and Manny Cruz.

CrossFit said in March that the Safety Advisory Board would remain an active planning partner and would be on-site at the Games, not just advising from a distance. The same safety push reached beyond San Jose too, with semifinals and divisional partners receiving a best-practices guide, seven coaching sessions, on-site liaisons and after-action reviews. That is the clearest sign yet that the board is being used as more than a response to crisis: CrossFit is trying to make safety a permanent part of how the sport stages competition.