Ricky Garard has withdrawn from Dubai Fitness Championship less than a month before the competition. Nikita Yundov has been confirmed to compete in his place.
A total of 20 men and 20 women will be competing on December 2-4, 2022 at this year’s Dubai Fitness Championship. Last year, Laura Horvath and Roman Khrennikov won the tournament, but both are not returning this year.
Ricky Garard Withdraws from Dubai Fitness Championship
Ricky Garard, 3rd Fittest Man on Earth, broke the news that he will no longer compete in Dubai this year. On an Instagram post, he simply said he “pulled out of @dxbfitnesschamp to look after the body” and that the 2023 season is his focus.
Later, Garard’s coach Justin Cotler explained further why the Australian athlete was withdrawing from one of the biggest off-season competitions in the Sport.
“Ricky competing at Rogue, Down Under Championship, Dubai, and WZA all in a 3 month period is simply too much. He wanted to do it, but in the end we decided we want to set him up for a successful season and not run him into the ground.”
Nikita Yundov Filled In “Last Minute”
Nikita Yundov has been called to take Garard’s place at the Dubai Fitness Championship. The athlete from Belarus placed 14th at the 2022 Lowlands Throwdown Semifinal and has been to the CrossFit Games once, in 2019, where he finished 101st.
“I’m going to compete in Dubai,” he wrote on his Instagram stories yesterday. “Although it was last minute, I am not going to miss it.”
*freely translated using Google.
Source: Nikita Yundov's InstagramRead More: 2022 Dubai Fitness Championship Roster
Image Sources
- Nikita Yundov IG: Nikita Yundov's Instagram
- Ricky Garard and Nikita Yundov: CrossFit / Instagram