He did some serious work for this year’s competition.
2022 CrossFit Games runner-up Roman Khrennikov aims to improve on that last place and overtake two-time defending champion Justin Medeiros at the 2023 games in Madison, Wisconsin, the week of August 1-6. Khrennikov qualified for the Games by placing fourth in the North America East semifinals.
He has made the most of the last month of preparation for the Games by devoting his time to training in various disciplines required for CrossFit success. Along the way, he documents his progress on Instagram and shares it with his 129,000 followers.
On June 30, 2023, Khrennikov posted a video in which he performed gymnastic ring muscle exercises with an added twist of the upper body. He made an extra jump before lowering himself for the next rep. The video clip doesn’t appear to show a full set, but Khrennikov can be seen performing four full reps of this advanced movement.
The elite CrossFitter also put the Metcon machines through their paces. Two days before his ring practice, Khrennikov demonstrated how he did a kick-row superset on an airbike. He disclosed neither the specific “calorie consumption” nor the time taken for either of the two exercises.
Last but not least, Khrennikov has shown he can still lift serious weight on strength-focused lifts, like this set of 93-kilogram (205-pound) snatches he lifted in three explosive reps. He shared this workout clip on June 19, 2023 and stated in the post’s caption that it was “[six] weeks before the CrossFit Games.”
Khrennikov is one of several athletes looking to oust Medeiros from the top spot and prevent a ‘three-pointer’ in the men’s games. Other top contenders who have finished runners-up at previous games include Patrick Vellner (2018, 2021), Samuel Kwant (2020) and Noah Ohlsen (2019), who each also qualified for the 2023 games.
Khrennikov’s second place finish in 2022 was his highest finish at the Games in his career. He finished 13th at the 2020 games but did not compete in that sport’s championship competition in 2021 or 2018 despite qualifying.
As for the current champion he’s trying to dethrone, Medeiros is working to become the third all-time men’s champion to win three straight titles. Mat Fraser won five titles (2016–2020) and Rich Froning Jr. won four titles (2011–2014). Both Froning Jr. and Fraser ended their careers as champions. Ben Smith won the only title that separated Froning Jr. and Fraser’s reigns when he became the World’s Strongest Man in 2015.
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