Tiiu Maavere secures second place in CrossFit World Title

Over Labor Day weekend, the qualifiers traveled to Birmingham, AL to compete for the CrossFit World Title, and the runner-up in her category was none other than Tucker resident Tiiu Maavere.

Maavere, 57, was one of 30 women selected from thousands of newcomers in her age group invited to Birmingham, according to friend Joe Winterscheidt, a member of the so-called “Maavere’s Mafia” group of supporters.

“After four long days and eight grueling tests, (Decatur) Move Functional Fitness member Tiiu Maavere proudly stood in second place on the winners podium,” said Winterscheidt, who trains with Maavere at the same gym.

The Masters CrossFit Games is an annual global event that brings people together from around the world to participate in the sport of CrossFit, a fitness program consisting of consistently varied, functional, high-intensity movements.

Maavere, an instructor at Gwinnett’s GIVE Center East, is a lifelong athlete who discovered CrossFit 14 years ago through her chiropractor. She began her journey to compete at a higher level in 2017 and last December she competed and placed fifth in the Legends Masters competition in Tempe, Ariz.

In January, she also placed fifth at Wodapalooza, the annual CrossFit event in Miami.

In February, Maavere decided to tackle the first phase of the difficult road to the Games, the CrossFit Open. Through three weeks of the open qualifying events, she finished first in the United States and second in the world out of more than 9,000 women in her age group.

A few more key benchmarks qualified her to advance to the CrossFit Games in Birmingham, and she hired a coach and accelerated her training to twice-daily vigorous workouts in preparation for the Labor Day competition.

“An important aspect of CrossFit competitions is that competitors never know what’s coming next,” Winterscheidt said. “Athletes heading to the CrossFit Games must train endurance like a marathon runner, train strength like a powerlifter and improve body control like an Olympic gymnast.”

On the third day of competition, a group representing the Maavere Mafia headed from Atlanta to Birmingham to see their friend have another solid day.

After eight grueling events, Maavere finished in second place in the 55-59 age group, behind Ontario’s Joyanne Cooper. Although she was thrilled to finish second, her goal next year is to be on top of the podium.

“Although I was happy, of course I wanted to win,” she said. “Next year there will be more to do.”

After the match, Maavere and fellow mobsters had a measured celebration in Seasons 52.

“You can’t stray too far if you’ve been eating a certain way for a long time,” she said.

Maavere has now returned to the gym with a view to qualifying for Birmingham. Maavere’s mafia has been an essential key to maintaining her momentum, along with listening to her body and knowing when to push and when to rest.

“As I get older, I realize that when your body tells you to slow down, you should.”