Roman Khrennikov: The athlete who, in his first Games, ranked second as The Fittest On Earth 2022
The CrossFit Games 2022 took place this past August 3 to 7, where several athletes stood out and one of them was the Russian Roman Khrennikov, who in his first Games, stood on the podium in second place.
The 27-year-old went through many obstacles to be able to participate in this great competition. Although he had managed to qualify for the Games in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, he was unable to attend any of them, since he did not have a US visa. This year, after four unsuccessful attempts to obtain it, in February he managed to receive his visa to travel to the United States. According to the athlete's agent, Snorri Baron Jonsson, the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out at that time, so Roman had to make an important decision in a matter of seconds, because , it was not known if at some point they were going to block the trips. And if that happened, Roman was going to lose the opportunity to participate in the Games for the fifth time in a row, it is for this reason that together with his wife they made the decision that he should travel to the United States immediately. However, his wife could not travel with him, since she did not have a visa and was 8 months pregnant. Then they went through long weeks of paperwork to get a visa for his wife and son, whom he hadn't been able to meet due to the long distance. It was until the end of July that his family was able to receive the necessary authorizations to be able to travel and support Roman just before starting his first Games with him. In an exclusive interview with The Morning Chalk Up, he expressed how he finally felt complete in the face of the biggest competition of his life. “I'm so happy you're here. It has been very hard not having them with me. My wife and I are used to doing everything together. We are very close and she has been a very important part of my journey as an athlete. Not being able to see my son is something I can't even describe. I have no words for that. For them to be here with me now, that's the last thing I needed before the Games. I have never been as motivated as I am right now. I do all this for them,” Roman said. The whole world was surprised by the great participation of the athlete in the Games, who managed to win two competitions and obtain a total of 1157 points on the leaderboard, only 27 points behind Justin Medeiros. It is rumored that if the athlete continues to give that performance, he could win the title as The Fittest On Earth this coming 2023.
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