It’s official. Roman Khrennikov will not compete at the 2018 CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin. Yesterday, we reported that Khrennikov had his visa application denied twice. Today, Khrennikov has announced that he will not be able to travel to the United States this year and is now focusing on preparing for another run at the 2019 CrossFit Games.
Khrennikov was the first Russian athlete to qualify for the CrossFit Games alongside Andrey Ganin. Khrennikov finished 1st and Ganin finished 4th in the Europe Regional. Ganin, however, failed his drug test and was disqualified from competing at the Games.
In an NBC News article from August 2017, the United States had suspended Russian non-immigrant visas in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to cut diplomatic staff. Whether this is order is still in place or not, Khrennikov was likely caught up in political tension between the two countries.
Let’s just hope this is all resolved by next year so that Khrennikov can come to the States and compete with the best in the world.
