LOCAL NEWS, DELIVERED DAILY. Subscribe to our daily news wrap and get the top stories sent straight to your inbox every evening.
Nanaimo Chiropractor Pat Vellner finished in second place in the latest CrossFit games. The 31-year-old has had four top three finishes at the event in the past six years. (Johany Jutras/Deka Comp)
Perfectly Fit

Nanaimo’s Pat Vellner finishes second at 2021 CrossFit Games

Aug 8, 2021 | 10:03 AM

NANAIMO — A local chiropractor earned a second place finish in a gruelling international fitness competition.

Patrick Vellner excelled in the four day CrossFit Games which feature 15 different events of speed, strength and endurance.

Since 2016 the 31-year-old has two second places finishes and two third place showings at the games.

Vellner felt he could have taken first place but for a few hiccups along the way.

Considering the injury issues he dealt with in 2020 he’s happy with the result.

“This year was a good rebound year to come back and put together a really strong performance.”

It’s been a special year on another front as Vellner and his partner welcomed a baby in late June.

One of the truly challenging aspects of the CrossFit Games is not knowing what specifically to train for.

Athletes aren’t given much notice as to what the 15 events will be until just before they compete.

Vellner won three of the rather unique challenges.

“One of them was like a big heavy tire flip. You had to flip what was almost like a big heavy fridge, then do muscle ups and drag a sled. Another one was a bunch of rope climbs, reps on the ski erg and carrying a 200 pound husafell stone. The other was heavy deadlifting and free handstanding pushups.”

To maximize his training potential Vellner works with a coach and he enters other events throughout the year.

He said the down time and days off are very important to his success as well.

“You periodize based on when you want to peak your performance. Sometimes you pick two or three competitions where you want to be at your best and you work backwards from there. You have to organize your weeks to have the various different skills and tools sharpened at the right time.”

As he gets back to get work in his chiropractic office Veller admitted his CrossFit career is a conversation piece with patients.

“It may be a reason some people gravitate to seeing me as opposed to someone else. I get people who are interested and like to chat about it. As someone who’s had a lot of experience in sport and my fair share of little injuries I’d like to think it gives me some insight in how to help people.”

Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @NanaimoNewsNOW