Twenty-eight-year-old chiropractic student Pat Vellner had podium finishes at the last three Reebok CrossFit Games. In 2016 and 2017 he finished in third place, last year he came in second, and this year, he’s counting on dethroning Mat Fraser, the reigning Fittest Man on Earth™. Every year he’s podiumed, he’s watched Fraser take the gold. No more, he tells CNN.
It’s unusual for mainstream media to spend this much analyzing CrossFit, but you should watch this video that CNN produced a video about Vellner and his seriously impressive efforts at the CrossFit Games. This year he is on the ultimate quest to take down Fraser. Make sure to tune in to the 2019 CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin on August 1st through the 4th to see if he succeeds.
[Here’s how to watch the 2019 CrossFit Games.]
Below you can watch a preview for the segment:
Watch the full 2-minute 20-second video on CNN.
The full video starts off with Vellner’s second-place finish at the 2018 Games and explains how unlike some of his other competitors, he’s not a full-time athlete.
Vellner has been studying to become a chiropractor at CMCC in Toronto and uses the gym to escape from his schoolwork. “It keeps me sane,” he says in the video. CNN also highlights Vellner as an athlete many viewers and fans across the CrossFit community can relate to.
“I dust myself up and keep chugging forward and I think a lot of people can identify with that and appreciate that. It’s not a smooth line, and I don’t make it look easy, but I get it done,” Vellner said.
He also mentioned in the video how he thinks people are sick of seeing Fraser win, which he feels is a reason why many fans have gravitated towards him.
People are a little bit fed up with Mat winning all the time, they want someone else to win, and it’s cool to kind of be selected.
[The 2019 CrossFit Games are being streamed live from a world feed!]
As for how Vellner plans to take down Fraser? He said it’s really quite simple. “I’m going to score more points than him!”
Featured image from @pvellner Instagram page.