Lefteris Receives Four-Year CrossFit Ban, Fisk Colón Granted Appeal Extension
In a press release on May 17, CrossFit HQ announced they had made decisions in the Drug Testing Policy cases of athletes Lefteris Theofanidis and Alanna Fisk Colón. Lefteris was found in breach of the policy and received a four-year ban from all CrossFit sanctioned competitions and activities. Fisk Colón was granted an extension to her appeal of her drug test findings.
The bottom line: Both athletes tested positive for banned substances during Sanctional competition. Lefteris was tested at the 2019 Dubai CrossFit Championship and Fisk Colón’s positive test came during the 2020 Wodapalooza CrossFit Festival.
- Lefteris tested positive for 19-norandrosterone, a metabolite of nandrolone. 19-norandrosterone is classified as an anabolic agent. He also tested positive for meldonium, a hormone and metabolic modulator.
- After infamously posting on social media that he did not agree with the positive test when it was first announced on January 29, Lefteris filed an appeal.
- HQ announced the appeals process concluded with Lefteris receiving the four-year ban.
- Fisk Colón filed her appeal after her positive test was announced by her on March 12.
- This is the first official announcement by HQ on her violation.
- During her extension, Fisk Colón is ineligible to compete in any CrossFit sanctioned events.
How this affects the Games leaderboard: These two individuals are the only athletes to fail drug tests this season. Both were in Games qualifying spots based on their Open finishes.
- Lefteris, the 2019 Greek National Champion and Games athlete, finished third in this year’s worldwide Open. He is still listed as such on the Open leaderboard.
- According to the CrossFit Drug Policy, paragraph 14, states “should an athlete violate the Drug Testing Policy during live competition, the athlete’s scores from the competition will be removed from the leaderboard, and his or her rankings will display as a DQ. Any athletes ranked below the disqualified athlete will move up in the overall rankings.”
- With the reset of the 2020 Games qualification process now based on Open performance and the elimination of national champion invitations, Lefteris’ invite will now officially be backfilled by an athlete outside of the top-20 qualifying spot.
- Either Alexandre Caron (23rd in the Open) or Elliot Simmonds (24th in the Open) would receive the invitation based on Brandon Luckett and Rich Froning declining their invitations and Roy Gamboa doing the same through the backfill process. Chandler Smith would be the next person in line to receive the invite through the Open (freeing up his invite from the Mayhem Classic which would now go to Luke Schafer).
- Fisk Colón is currently listed 21st on the Open leaderboard, but due to Annie Thorisdottir’s pregnancy, she would receive the final invitation to the Games.
- If Fisk Colón loses her appeal and if Andrea Nisler declines her individual invite to concentrate on the team competition at the Mayhem Madness, then those spots would go to Brooke Haas and Katrin Davidsdottir. Haas also could decline her invite for the team event and then that invite would be extended to Amanda Barnhart. Barnhart’s invitation from Wodapalooza would then go to Emily Rolfe.
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