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Roman Khrennikov Arrives in the US

 
Morning Chalk Up

March 9   |   POWERED BY

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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • Roman Khrennikov is in the US
  • Canadian destroys chest to ground burpees record
  • How to watch Open announcement 22.3
  • Katrin Davidsdottir: “We Made A Change and I’m Committed to This”
  • Why did CrossFit ban Russian flags and names from competition?
 
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“What is called genius is the abundance of life and health.” - Henry David Thoreau

 
NEWS
  Roman Khrennikov Arrives in US  

Roman Khrennikov Arrives in US

Russian CrossFit athlete and potential Games podium threat Roman Khrennikov has arrived in the US after securing a visa to enter the country for any competition for the next five years.

Khrennikov and his manager Snorri Baron Jonsson spoke with the Morning Chalk Up after Roman arrived in Madison, WI where he is staying with friends and training.

Remind me: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign nation, has been almost universally condemned by the Western world and has resulted in unprecedented sanctions against the country from numerous nations. This has spilled over to private businesses and international companies who have announced they are closing stores, cutting ties and severing business relations with the country, which is led by president Vladimir Putin.

Explaining the tense geopolitical situation Khrennikov now faces, Jonsson said:

  • “He is sad about the situation and is worried about the people in Ukraine. Roman has been a long time ambassador for an Ukrainian CrossFit endemic tech company and he has friends over there so it is absolutely clear where his heart is at in this matter. He was one of the first Russians across all sports to speak his mind, which he did in a post on his social media the day after the invasion started. Doing posts like this is now, as I understand it, banned by law in his country and it can carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison. This understandably puts stress on him as far as addressing anything further related to this situation.”

Last week Khrennikov had to make a “split second” decision to leave his home as news was breaking that flights in and out of Russia were being banned as countries shut down their airspace to the nation.

  • “After four years of trying, [and] to have finally received the visa, I did not want to take any chances. I realized that the only realistic chance I had to salvage my 2022 CrossFit Games season was to travel to America right away and stay there for the rest of the season. It was a hard decision for me for many different reasons.“, Khrennikov said.

On the topic of Krennikov‘s travel to America, Jonsson added:

  • “Roman had to leave behind his pregnant wife, family and friends with no guarantees whether embarking on this journey would actually work out and furthermore with no guarantees on what situations they would be faced with in his absence. Their first child is set to be born in a few weeks and Roman will not be able to be present for that or to be there to assist his wife as she recovers from giving birth. This is an enormous sacrifice for him to make and a definite highlight of his life that he will not be able to experience. However he and his wife made this decision collectively as she 100 percent supports him in his sporting journey.“

Despite all of this, Khrennikov remains in a positive state given his situation.

  • “I am in good health and I am grateful to have finally arrived in America. For the next few weeks I intend to travel around. I am going to visit my coach (Nick Fowler of Brute Strength) and train with him in person for the first time. I am also going to train with a few athletes that I have always wanted to train with but haven‘t had the chance to until now.“

One big thing: Khrennikov is widely considered to be the fittest athlete to never have competed at the CrossFit Games in person, despite qualifying for the Games four years in a row. In 2020, he was able to compete in the online portion of the Games, finishing a respectable 13th. His in-person match-ups against similar Games athletes, however, have been much more impressive.

  • 2021 Dubai CrossFit Championship – 1st
  • 2021 Madrid CrossFit Championship – 1st
  • 2021 Butcher’s Classic (MM Team) – 1st
  • 2021 CrossFit Last Chance Qualifier – 1st
  • 2021 Russian Functional Fitness Championships – 1st
  • 2019 CrossFit Italian Showdown – 1st
  • 2019 Dubai CrossFit Championship – 3rd
  • 2019 Filthy 150 – 2nd

How he secured his visa: Jonsson said earlier this year that Khrennikov, who won the 2021 Dubai CrossFit Championship this past December, adding to a long list of impressive victories outside of the US, was approached by gym owners Pat and Roza Giles, who run Pat’s Gym in Madison, Wisconsin. He said they took a “special interest in Roman’s story and offered him a helping hand. A friendship was formed and the process that today proved fruitful was started.”

Khrennikov has tried multiple routes in the past to obtain a visa to attend the CrossFit Games, including applying for both a tourist visa and an athlete’s visa. CrossFit LLC has provided assistance on his behalf, writing letters detailing his role as an athlete and intent to compete at the CrossFit Games.

 
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SPEED READS

The Open is heading into its final week and we’ve got you covered. Check out our landing page for anything and everything as the 2022 season continues.

We’re back this Thursday with another Open announcement preview show, live with Lauren Kalil, the host of The Bottom Line. Check our YouTube page for the link and get ready for some more special and surprise guests, and if you missed it, we were all over 22.2 last week.

We are giving away prizes every week of the Open on the 2022 #morningchalkup leaderboard. Congratulations to the Week 1 winners of an outfit from PAINKLLR’s Know Zero apparel:

  • Anikha Greer
  • Anthony Luchansky
  • Molly Flanagan
  • Travis Nishida

Keep an eye out for Week 2’s winners later this week. 🎁

Show me the Money! 💰 The Madrid Championship will be offering approximately $184,000 dollars to the winners of the competition. The event takes place Sept. 9-11, but registration is not open yet.

Mayhem Mission will be heading back to Togo, Africa this April. If you or someone you know might be interested in going, or if you’d like to donate towards supplies for the trip, click on this link.

 
PROFILE
  Canadian Shatters Most Burpees in an Hour Record  

Canadian Shatters Most Burpees in an Hour Record

Issy Watson doesn’t know where she gets her physical drive from, all she knows is it seems to be burning like an endless fire.

  • “I’m not sure exactly where it came from, but I’ve always had this internal motivation to push myself and challenge myself,” said the 22-year-old Victoria, Canada resident.
  • “I always wanted to do hard things and to see how far my mind and body are able to take me. Even as a kid, I would always be outside running around and setting up gym circuits in my basement. My family was also pretty involved in sports so that definitely influenced me.”

Watson, who works as a nutritionist and personal trainer, and has done CrossFit since she was 16, decided it was time to put her endless drive to the test. About a year ago she got the idea in her head that she wanted to break the Guinness World record for the most chest to ground burpees in an hour. She said given the circumstances over the past 24 months, this was the perfect challenge to take on.

  • “The last couple years I have seen a few people in the news who took on this challenge, and it just seemed very fitting that I would attempt to break it. I had done CrossFit for six years prior to this record and did local competitions. Obviously during COVID there were no running races or competitions for me to do, so I wanted something that would kind of light the fire back into me and have a goal to work towards.”

She said after a while, beating the old record of 775 burpees in one hour became a thought she couldn’t shake. Finally, Watson said she applied to make an attempt and then last August, got down to business, shattering the record and pulling off 829 in 60 minutes flat.

  • “The best part about being an endurance athlete is that you tend to just get into that flow state and your mind is somewhere else,” she said about the actual hour of insanely hard work. “Not going to lie though, it was very mentally challenging but I just kept telling myself, “It’s only an hour.” I also use a lot of my past failures to give me fire and motivation. But overall, it is honestly all a blur.”

Guinness finally verified her accomplishment this month, and Watson said oddly enough, the day after, her neck and toes were the most sore parts on her body. One thing she did gain from the whole experience is that if you really want something, you just have to be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it.

    • “I still have so much time left in my fitness journey,” she added. “There are still so many goals and challenges that I want to accomplish and I have my mind set on a few ideas. I always believe that there’s no ‘right time’ in life. If I want to do something I’ll do it. Whether that be breaking more world records, an ultramarathon, or an ironman, I know that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.”
 
CROSSFIT GAMES
  How to Watch Open Announcement 22.3  

How to Watch Open Announcement 22.3

The 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games are heading into the final week and the 22.3 live announcement will feature two affiliate teams–a new super team in CrossFit Reykjavik and the best of the best from CrossFit Hendersonville.

Who are we talking about?: Earlier this season Annie Thorisdottir announced that she would be going team in 2022 and invited a roster of Games veterans to join her in Iceland to prepare for the season. That roster includes three Games veterans in Lauren Fisher, Khan Porter and Tola Morakinyo.

CrossFit Hendersonville has almost 300 people signed up for the Open this year and their team includes Lindsey McDuffie, a masters athlete in the 35-39 division with multiple years of Regionals experience, Alexis Morgan, a physical therapist who specializes in women’s health; Logan Martin; and Zac Morgan, who is also a physical therapist and married to Alexis.

One big thing: Featuring affiliate athletes was a mainstay of the live Open announcements for several pre-COVID years. The first time CrossFit highlighted everyday gym-goers was in 16.1 at NorCal CrossFit in Santa Clara, CA, when Chyna Cho and Emily Abbott were joined by Scott McCoy and Joanna Prado-Pacheco.

Worth noting: This will be the first time we’ve seen the Reykjavik team altogether and while it won’t be a team workout technically, we will get a chance to see their chemistry and comradery.

How to watch: Tune in to the CrossFit Games website for the live 22.3 announcement on Thursday, March 10 at 12 PM PT.

  • And as always, the Morning Chalk Up will provide workout strategy guides and full leaderboard coverage and analysis.
 
PROFILE
  How to Watch Open Announcement 22.3  

VIDEO: Katrin Davidsdottir: “We Made A Change and I’m Committed to This”

The Morning Chalk Up’s Patrick Clark sits down with two-time “Fittest Woman on Earth” Katrin Davidsdottir in Iceland to find out what she has been up to since her 10th place finish at the 2021 NOBULL CrossFit Games.

Davidsdottir discusses how her new training camp, The Training Plan under the watchful eye of Jami Tikkanen has been a breath of fresh air for the seven-time top-10 Games finisher, she goes on to talk about the weaknesses that have haunted her during her career and what she plans on doing to correct them.

Watch Now...
 
CROSSFIT GAMES
  How to Watch Open Announcement 22.3  

VIDEO: Why CrossFit Banned Russian Names and Flags From Competition | The Bottom Line

As the Russian military continues to invade Ukraine killing hundreds of civilians, CrossFit recently banned Russian and Belarusian flags and names from competitions. Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil sat down with Simon Chadwick, a Global Professor of Sport to breakdown CrossFit’s response and the humanitarian crisis that’s playing a huge part in sports around the world.

Video Breakdown:

  • 1:00 – Developments in international response within sports
  • 2:50 – History of sporting bodies creating bans
  • 5:00 – CrossFit’s ban on Russian and Belarusian names and flags
  • 6:55 – What this means for Russian athletes like Roman Kroman Khrennikov
  • 9:00 – What Russian and Belarusian athletes should do as the war continues
  • 12:00 – The bottom line for sports involved in the geopolitical crisis
Watch Now...
 
CROSSFIT GAMES
  CrossFit Reykjavik Debuts Team for 22.3 Open Announcement  

CrossFit Reykjavik Debuts Team for 22.3 Open Announcement

The 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games are heading into the final week and the 22.3 live announcement will feature two affiliate teams–a new super team in CrossFit Reykjavik and the best of the best from CrossFit Hendersonville.

Who are we talking about?: Earlier this season Annie Thorisdottir announced that she would be going team in 2022 and invited a roster of Games veterans to join her in Iceland to prepare for the season. That roster includes three Games veterans in Lauren Fisher, Khan Porter and Tola Morakinyo.

CrossFit Hendersonville has almost 300 people signed up for the Open this year and their team includes Lindsey McDuffie, a masters athlete in the 35-39 division with multiple years of Regionals experience, Alexis Morgan, a physical therapist who specializes in women’s health; Logan Martin; and Zac Morgan, who is also a physical therapist and married to Alexis.

One big thing: Featuring affiliate athletes was a mainstay of the live Open announcements for several pre-COVID years. The first time CrossFit highlighted everyday gym-goers was in 16.1 at NorCal CrossFit in Santa Clara, CA, when Chyna Cho and Emily Abbott were joined by Scott McCoy and Joanna Prado-Pacheco.

Worth noting: This will be the first time we’ve seen the Reykjavik team altogether and while it won’t be a team workout technically, we will get a chance to see their chemistry and comradery.

How to watch: Tune in to the CrossFit Games website for the live 22.3 announcement on Thursday, March 10 at 12 PM PT.

  • And as always, the Morning Chalk Up will provide workout strategy guides and full leaderboard coverage and analysis.
 
 
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HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise. Send us a tip.

  • 🤯 Tamara Walcott set a new Rogue Record in the Women’s Elephant Bar Deadlift at the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic with a lift of 641 pounds/291kg.
  • Vik Hawksley from Sydney, Australia gets mobile with these seated good mornings at 135 pounds/61kg.
  • Nathan Damron from California plays with “bumper plate bounce lifting” at 155 pounds/70kg. (Don’t try this at home.)
  • 💙 Morning Chalk Up staff member, Preslie Hirsch from Kawi CrossFit in Austin, TX hit a meet total PR at the Arnold Classic with a snatch of 154 pounds/70kg and clean and jerk of 178 pounds/81kg.
  • Dallin Pepper cycles 5 reps of 315 pound/142.5kg squat cleans. Pepper is unofficially in 6th place after two workouts in the 2022 Open.
  • 🥺  Joshua Cole from Springfield, IL took in this scared rescue pup and over time turned her into the goodest gym buddy.
 
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