We will not have a complete field of athletes with 40 men competing at the 2024 CrossFit Games this year. That is because Ilya Makarov, a Russian athlete invited to the event in August, has had his Visa application denied.
A quick reminder of the saga:
Ilya Makarov placed 5th at the Asia Semifinal this year. Although only the top 2 athletes from that event would get the invitation to move on to the CrossFit Games, 3 athletes among the top 5 in the Asia Semifinal had been tested positive for illegal substances, including winner Ivan Kukartsev.
Ilya Makarov then received a backfill invitation, the last athlete tested for the illegal substances and possible candidate to go to the Games, rushed to get his documents in order and apply for a Visa to enter the United States.
Now, after a series of Instagram stories posts, we learned that Makarov has had its Visa denied and will not be able to fly to the country to compete among his peers for the title of Fittest Man on Earth.
With no one else to take his spot, Artur Semenov will be the only male athlete competing at the 2024 CrossFit Games from Asia.
Because of political differences, usually Russian citizens have a hard time getting a Visa to enter the United States of America. Recently, KT CrossFit Kolesnikov Team, who won Asia Semifinals this year, won’t be able to participate at the CrossFit Games because one of its members, Andrei Fedotov, had his Visa application denied.
Visa issues are a recurring problem for Russian athletes and teams trying to make it across the globe into the United States. The most notable one is Russian powerhouse and current 3rd Fittest Man on Earth Roman Khrennikov.
The elite CrossFit athlete has a long history of qualifying for the CrossFit Games, only to fail to get clearance to travel to the United States due to his Visa being denied. It happened 3 times already: in 2018 he won Europe Regionals, in 2019 he finished 5th at the Dubai CrossFit Championship and in 2021 after finishing 1st at the Last-Chance Qualifier. All the instances above granted him a spot at the Games, but he was not able to travel to compete in the United States.
