Perennial CrossFit Games athlete Patrick Vellner has finished on the podium three times. Is 2021 the year he takes the top spot?

In this video, Vellner talks with Sean Woodland about the 2021 Games season. Vellner describes what it was like competing with five-time Fittest Man on Earth Mat Fraser: “I always really enjoyed those opportunities to line up next to him and test your metal,” he says.

With the announcement of Fraser’s retirement, Vellner says he doesn’t feel added pressure to perform well and plans to train as he has in the past.

“I’ve been training to try to win (the Games) for years,” he explains. “The fact that he’s not there isn’t going to make me work harder in training in any way.”

When it comes to the Open, Vellner says, “I love to see everybody at the gym come and be competitors for a small period of time. It’s fun to see everybody get competitive for a little bit, because as people, I think we have a little bit of a competitive nature somewhere.”