Russian CrossFit Athlete Roman Khrennikov Denounces Violence in Ukraine, Calls for “Peace and Friendship”

Russian CrossFit Games athlete Roman Khrennikov joined in the chorus of international condemnation of the violence in Ukraine Saturday. Khrennikov is by far Russia’s most famous CrossFit athlete and the most accomplished in the sport. 

• “I feel very sorry for everyone involved in this nightmare. Personally, I want only peace and friendship,” Khrennikov wrote on Instagram translated from Russian using Google Translate. 

Three days ago, Russian military forces launched an attack on Ukraine sending in troops and bombing cities, which has been almost universally condemned by the international community as an unprovoked act of war. All seven CrossFit affiliates immediately seized operations indefinitely. 

• CrossFit Vinnytsia in Vinnytsia, Ukraine is inviting locals to use the bomb shelter inside their gym as needed. “Our club has a bomb shelter that will be open all the time If necessary, we invite you to use it,” they wrote on Instagram translated from Ukrainian using Google Translate. 

One big thing: It remains to be seen how this could affect Khrennikov’s ability to travel to the U.S. should he qualify for the 2022 CrossFit Games in August. 

• Khrennikov has already qualified the last four years but has been unable to compete except in the online portion in 2020 due to being unable to obtain a visa.
• Just two weeks ago, he finally secured a multi-year U.S. visa after nearly five years of attempts. 

Svetlana Kubyshkina, a Russian native who qualified for the 2021 CrossFit Games but was similarly unable to travel to the U.S. due to issues obtaining a visa, also posted to her Instagram with a simple message: “No war”.