Watch Roman Khrennikov’s 23.1 Unofficial World Record, But Will It Stand?

Roman Khrennikov posted a staggering 306 reps for 23.1 of the CrossFit Open. The 2nd Fittest Man on Earth completed one full round of the 200-rep chipper then completed another 60 calories on the Concept2 rower and was finally time capped after another 44 toes-to-bar. But…should Roman receive a penalty for his judge touching the rower monitor?

Let’s take a look.

Khrennikov, who moved to Cookeville, Tennessee, in December 2022 beat Cole Greashaber and Pat Vellner by just two reps over the course of the 14-minute AMRAP. However, there are some questions on whether Khrennikov’s score should stand.

According to the Workout Description and Scorecard, an athlete “may not receive assistance with their equipment during the test.” You can see the excerpt from the workout description below (in the red box below).

Vellner, in his workout video of 23.1, shared that he followed this clause as he talked through his workout. Vellner actually tried to turn on the monitor in the middle of his ring muscle-ups so that it would be ready when he was done with the muscle-ups, however, the monitor did not turn on.

Then, when he did finish the ring muscle-ups and sat down on the Concept2 rower, the monitor did not turn on for about 10 seconds, costing him valuable time.

But in watching Khrennikov’s video, Roman is seen pushing a button on the monitor to turn it on. But then his judge presses two buttons in what would likely be an attempt to get the rower to begin faster. Take a look at the screenshot below.

To make matters more confusing, the standards have changed over the years. The last time a rower was in the Open, 20.5, athletes were allowed to receive assistance in resetting the monitor to zero. Check out the workout description from 2020 below.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the leaderboard is currently unofficial and, to our knowledge, CrossFit has not reviewed and confirmed Khrennikov as the official winner for 23.1.

Based on the written rules for 23.1, Khrennikov may be subject to a minor penalty. We will continue to monitor the situation. But for now, check out Roman’s ridiculous work capacity below…