US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell marks Memorial Day with Murph Challenge alongside Marines

close

Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for May 26

Fox News Flash top headlines for May 26 are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell marked Memorial Day in Europe with a very tough workout.

Grenell, 52, finished the Murph Challenge, and shared photographs online. “Year 2 of the @MurphChallenge in Berlin. Embassy Marines led the Challenge and I was happy to just finish again. #Americanheroes #humbledbythem #MemorialDayWeekend2019,” he tweeted.

The Murph Challenge consists of a one-mile run followed by 100 pullups, 200 pushups, 300 squats and another one-mile run, all while wearing a 20-pound vest.

Its namesake is Lt. Michael Murphy. He was a native of Patchogue, N.Y., and a dedicated New York Rangers fan. He was also an athlete and star student from Penn State who turned down offers to attend law school to join the Navy SEALs instead.

PENCE MET WITH ‘I LIKE MIKE’ STUDENTS AT TAYLOR UNIVERSITY

The Murph Challenge honors U.S. Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy, seen here in an undated file photo. (REUTERS/U.S. Navy photo/Handout)

He died in a 2005 firefight in Afghanistan that killed three SEALs in all. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor — “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life,” as the official citation read — and was spotlighted in the 2013 movie, “Lone Survivor.” He also was the first SEAL to have a ship named after him; the guided-missile destroyer Michael P Murphy was commissioned in the summer of 2011.

His father, attorney Daniel Murphy, told Fox News: “Michael did this CrossFit regimen, which he called Body Armor during his five years as a Navy SEAL as a training program, and he would do it with a 20-pound armor vest. His normal time would run about 32 to 33 minutes, but his best overall time was 28 minutes and change.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Murph Challenge gets bigger and bigger every year.

The challenge also includes Hollywood stars. Chris Pratt and John Krasinski do it every year, and they have dared their fans on social media to participate in the unremitting workout.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.