7 Athletes Suspended From CrossFit Competition For Positive Drug Tests

The CrossFit Open 20.1 workout is officially underway after the announcement earlier today, but some other unfortunate news surfaced today after CrossFit released details regarding seven CrossFit athletes; who were banned from competition for violating the organization’s drug policy.

And this news came shortly after we learned that Katie Trombetta was recently banned for 4 years from competition following a failed drug test of which she was notified via email and you can read her response below which she posted on her Instagram page…

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I’ve typed up this post quite a few times over the past month, and every time I abandon it because I can’t get my words right. I’d like to be completely transparent and honest about what has been one of the hardest periods of my life thus far. • At the end of August I got notification that I failed my drug test at the CrossFit Games. They found metabolites of GW1516 and Ostarine in my sample. The email was sent to my old email that I rarely check, and I missed the 72 hour deadline to dispute CrossFit’s findings. When I finally saw the email in September, I asked for an extension, and it was denied. I got one phone call to notify me of the results, and was coaching when it came through, didn’t recognize the number, so didn’t think anything of it. • I did not knowingly take these compounds they found in my system. GW1516 and Ostarine are two of the most common substances found in contaminated supplements. If you don’t know anything about the supplement industry, it’s very loosely regulated, and 1/3 to 1/2 of all supplements have something in them that isn’t listed on the label. I admit I was not as careful as I could have been leading up to the Games. I used other people’s pre-workouts, protein, creatine, and I take over the counter melatonin, calcium, and vitamin C. Anything I was taking could have had these compounds present. It’s upwards of $1000 per sample to test for unknown substances, and that is impossible financially for me. • I understand I’m responsible for what I put in my body, but I also have been unable to convince CrossFit to allow me to see my lab results to get an idea of the amounts in my system at the time. Since I missed the deadline, my B sample was refused as well. It’s very likely I will never know the cause of the positive test. • I have a 4 year ban from CrossFit. I won’t be competing after the 4 years. I’ll be 32. I’m too impatient and too angry with the sport that’s harshly punishing me for a mistake to wait that out. I am still allowed to compete in Sanctionals (if the individual sanctionals approve), or any competition not ran by CrossFit, but I can’t do the Open or compete to go to the Games. -continued in comments…

A post shared by KT Trombetta (@kt_trombetta) on Oct 8, 2019 at 6:34am PDT

The following athletes were banned from CrossFit competition alongside Trombetta according to the CrossFit website…

Franky Wood, who was the 87^{th –}ranked individual at the 2019 Games, tested positive for 3-hydroxy-4-methoxytamoxifen, which is a metabolite of tamoxifen. And he also tested positive for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

Wood’s test was administered on July 29, 2019, at the CrossFit Games and he’s suspended for four years.

Achilleas Pantazis was the 126^th-ranked individual at the 2019 Games and he tested positive for GW1516 sulfoxide and GW1516 sulfone, which are metabolites of GW1516. His test was administered on July 29, 2019, at the CrossFit Games he’ll be suspended for two years.

Anna Fragkou was the 9^th-ranked individual at the 2019 Games and she tested positive for a metabolite of oral turinabol (4-chloro-18-nor-17β-hydroxymethyl,17α-methyl-5α-androst-13-en-3α-ol).

Her test was administered on Aug. 2, 2019, at the CrossFit Games and she’s banned from competition for four years.

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During my career I have made myself ever so proud and have proven over and over again that this quiet little girl from Greece is capable of great things when she puts her mind to it. My career as a crossfit athlete has come to an end and I will now be chasing new dreams and new adventures. A chain of events, some in my control and others beyond my control, has lead to this. I feel like it's not worth the mention to talk about these events or my feelings either. Thank you everyone who has supported me and stood by me through the years. No matter what happens next I will always be grateful for all the amazing experiences I have had and all the amazing friends I have made along the way. The people and brands that have sponsored me deserve a special mention. Without you I would not have reached this far and this I will never forget. I will keep on grinding until I figure out my next move. I know that there are better days ahead. Yours truly, Anna

A post shared by Anna Fragkou (@anna.fragkou) on Oct 10, 2019 at 12:20pm PDT

Hylie Thompson was the 4^th-ranked Masters 55-59 at the 2019 Games and she tested positive for GW1516 sulfoxide and GW1516 sulfone, metabolites of GW1516. 

Her test was administered on Aug. 4, 2019, at the CrossFit Games and she’ll face a four-year suspension.

Mauro Acevedo was the 3^rd-ranked individual in Argentina after the 2019 Open and he tested positive for oral turinabol and its metabolite 6β-OH-Dehydrochloromethyltestosterone. Plus, GW1516 sulfone, which is a metabolite of GW1516.

His test was administered on Aug. 19, 2019, at the FitLand Fitness Festival and he’s banned for four years.

Juan Sforzini was the 16^th-ranked individual in Argentina after the 2019 Open and he tested positive for stanozolol metabolites (4β-hydroxystanozolol and 16β-hydroxystanozolol). His test was administered on Aug. 19, 2019, at the FitLand Fitness Festival he faces a four-year suspension.

We’ll continue to update with more CrossFit-related news for the 2020 season.