Pat Vellner on Getting Bumped Up to the Podium

The fallout from Ricky Garard’s failed drug test and removal from the 2017 CrossFit Games standings means that former 4th place finisher Pat Vellner has officially been recognized as the Third Fittest Man on Earth. While this is good news for the two-time podium finisher from Canada, Vellner explained that it was bittersweet in a recent post on social media.

“I am happy and proud to be now named to the podium. I am overwhelmed and excited and frankly a little giddy. However, I’m also disappointed,” said Vellner on Instagram. He continued, “Those precious moments at the Crossfit Games are ones that I work so hard all year for, and they are moments that I can never get back. I lost an event win, I lost the experience of having back to back podiums, and worst of all, I lost the chance to stand on that podium with a fellow Canadian.”

Vellner concludes, “Put down your PED and pick up a goddam barbell.”

Last night I was named the Third Fittest Man on Earth for the second consecutive year. Not to cheers of the Crossfit community, or to the joy of my family, but alone at home, sitting at my kitchen table doing homework. I am happy and proud to be now named to the podium. I am overwhelmed and excited and frankly a little giddy. However, I’m also disappointed. Those precious moments at the Crossfit Games are ones that I work so hard all year for, and they are moments that I can never get back. I lost an event win, I lost the experience of having back to back podiums, and worst of all, I lost the chance to stand on that podium with a fellow Canadian. I’m glad that Crossfit is catching some big fish and showing that their testing works, but I’m sad to see this stain on the sport. Integrity in sport is so important. When someone cheats, they aren’t simply cheating the sport, they are cheating the other athletes who have sacrificed a lot to get where they are. This is just sad and unfair. There are no shortcuts to success. Success is made at the gym on a Tuesday afternoon when you are one piece into a 5 piece workout and you want to just call it and go home to watch Netflix, but you don’t. Success is looking at the guy next to you and knowing if he works hard, you gotta work harder. It is built one rep, one grind, one workout at a time. So to anyone out there who thinks it might be a good idea to give him or herself that extra edge. Put down your PED and pick up a goddam barbell. Thanks everyone for the support. Let’s work for a better, cleaner 2018 season. #crossfitgames #crossfit #cleansport #integrity #HWPO #podium #bringon2018 #reebok #reebokcanada #beanathlete #makeitcount #proenergyfit @crossfitgames @crossfit @reebokcanada @reebok @hatlex_canada @forging_heroes @proenergynutrition

A post shared by Patrick Vellner (@pvellner) on Oct 4, 2017 at 10:26am PDT

Vellner has now finished 3rd at the CrossFit Games the past two seasons.