Copa Sur Chaos as Multiple Team Athletes Admit to Drug Testing Failures

July 12   |   POWERED BY

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• Chaos in Copa Sur: Multiple drug test failure admissions throw Semifinal into disarray
• Phil Toon said he tested positive for a banned substance at Granite Games
• The definitive guide for the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games
• Fittest in Cape Town organizer responds to questions around drug testing at event
• Check out these CrossFit deals for Amazon Prime Day

“Adventure is worthwhile.” - Aesop

Brazilian Copa Sur Semifinal Descends into Chaos as Multiple Admissions of Failed Drug Tests Surface

Drug testing admissions and issues continue to plague the sport of CrossFit as the South American Semifinal, Copa Sur, which took place June 10-12 in Brazil does not appear to have any teams who can now go to the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games.

Multiple teams from South America recently put forth various comments about failed drug tests and the end of their seasons:

• First place qualifier, Q21 CrossFit posted on their Instagram that Sabrina Dellaiustina failed her drug test at Copa Sur, and has subsequently been kicked out of the team. You can read the athlete’s statement in a post on her Instagram.
• Second place qualifier, CrossFit Ribeirao Preto posted on their Instagram account that a member of their team failed a drug test at Copa Sur. The post noted the substances were supposedly taken outside of the window of competition, however remained in the body as of time of testing.
• Third place finisher, CrossFit Berrini Team Treta posted on the Instagram story (of CrossFit Blacksheep), providing an explanation saying they are not going to the Games as they have not prepared or trained for the Games. Additionally they said they do not have visas and have not received an invite for backfill. Note: this team is also listed as “departed” on the Copa Sur semifinal leaderboard; so they may be ineligible in that regard anyway.
• Fourth place finisher, Kingbull CrossFit Paraguay posted on female team member’s Ines Alviso’s IG  that she was notified of a failed drug test on July 10 and that she is surprised and shocked but cannot pursue an appeal because of cost.

CrossFit has yet to release a statement on any drug testing failures related to the Copa Sur semifinal as of time of publication of this article.

Fallout

If it ends up being the case that all four teams are deemed ineligible, then we have a similar situation to what happened in Africa where teams might be in line for backfill invitations who were not tested at the Semifinal according to CrossFit’s official rulebook, however nothing has been made official at this point.

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In case you missed it: Lauren Kalil, the host of The Bottom Line, spoke to Chase Ingraham and Dex Hopkins about whether they think Roman Khrennikov is a top ten contender.

Busy guy: Serbia’s Luka Dukic, who narrowly missed qualifying alongside his brother Lazar for the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games, just came second at the Battle of Wermland.

More stars: The Madrid Championship, a CrossFit licensed event that will take place Sept. 9-11, just signed on a super team to compete that features Elliot and Jamie Simmonds, and Alec Smith and Dani Speegle.🇪🇸

Get some: The next Rogue Challenge of 2022 is here: The Mule, and it is a doozy.

New study: A plant-based diet has shown to reduce cancer in middle-aged women in a new study.

BREAKING: Phil Toon Announces Granite Games Drug Test Failure

CrossFit’s drug testing issues and admissions continues to grow as 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games rookie Phil Toon announced on his Instagram story that he received an email from CrossFit today notifying him that he tested positive for a banned substance.

The email stated the sample that Toon provided after the Granite Games tested positive for 2a-Methyl-5a-Androstan 3a-ol-17-one, a metabolite of drostanolone. The sample also contained traces of 19-norandrosterone and 19-noretiocholanolone which are both metabolites of nandrolone, a banned substance.

In his Instagram story Toon blamed his consumption of Finasteride prescribed through his doctor (under the brand names Propecia and Proscar) to combat male-pattern baldness. He also stated in his story that he accepted responsibility for knowingly taking Finasteride.

Remind me: Toon is considered one of this year’s promising athletes after an impressive 2021 season that saw him make it all the way to the Last Chance Qualifier. This season he was even more impressive after placing fifth in the worldwide Open and then followed that by placing 10th in the North America Quarterfinals. Last month he punched his ticket to Madison when he finished as the runner-up at the Granite Games Semifinals.

The bottom line: The 24-year old is the second individual Games qualifier to test positive for a banned substance after a Semifinal this season. Last week Canadian Nycolas Joyal admitted he knowingly took performance enhancers and that he tested positive after placing fifth at the Atlas Games. Toon’s announcement continues a troubling trend of positive drug tests resulting from Semifinals this season.

The Spectator’s Guide to the 2022 NOBULL CrossFit Games

In less than one month, thousands of fit fans will flock to the college-town capital of Wisconsin and home of the CrossFit Games for the fifth time: Madison. Last year, 57,000 in-person spectators made their way to the city famously named for the fourth U.S. President, which doesn’t include the 100s of volunteers, coaches, athletes, members of the media and support staff that will be present; all making the 5-day test of finding the Fittest on Earth possible.

While some plan their entire year’s schedule around the Games, for others, they’ve never had the opportunity to attend. If you haven’t been to the Mecca event before, buckle up: here’s a glimpse of what you can expect at the 2022 CrossFit Games.

CrossFit Fittest in Cape Town Organizer Responds to Drug Testing Legitimacy Questions, States Everything was ‘Watertight’ and ‘Done By the Book’

Remind me: Burns is part of the team that qualified for the Games from Fittest in Cape Town, however revealed that her urine sample tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, however, the doping control form associated with her sample lists the athlete as “SA Male Athlete 3.”

• Burns denies that the urine sample belongs to her: ​​“I never signed for a form which referred to me as a male athlete and that I signed for the alias known as SA Female Athlete 2 as I was the second female athlete to be tested.”
• CrossFit did acknowledge a clerical error in having Burns complete a form intended for a male athlete, according to email correspondence between CrossFit and Burns that was obtained by the Morning Chalk Up.

Going deeper: Visser shed additional light on the testing procedures following the conclusion of the event:

• CrossFit HQ was the one that requested that only the top team be tested, and all four athletes, as well as the individual male and female podium finishers (1st, 2nd and 3rd).
• All athletes were assigned a chaperone. “They never left their assigned athlete,” according to Visser.
• Visser: “Both [CrossFit] HQ representatives were present at, and for the whole duration, of the testing in the designated and controlled area.”

One big thing: Why weren’t the additional teams tested similar to other semifinal competitions as well as in accordance with the 2022 CrossFit Games season rulebook requiring all individuals and teams to be tested prior to receiving prize money or moving to the next stage of competition?

• Drug Free Sport received an email directing them to test additional athletes (one male and one female) from additional teams approximately one hour after the final team workout.
• Visser: “I personally went to get these athletes and escorted them to the controlled holding area. It was discussed and decided between myself, the 2 HQ representatives and the officer from Drug Free Sport, that the additional athletes should not be tested as they weren’t chaperoned and their samples would likely be contaminated.”
• Celestie Du Toit, a member of the second-place team CrossFit Tijger Valley Unit, confirmed that she was brought back with a male athlete from her team to be tested but that she was sent away “after waiting for a while.”
• Du Toit has since been tested (July 3) and said that the other three athletes are scheduled to be tested today. However, no Games invitation has been received as of the time of publication.

One more thing: Burns specifically alleges that athletes were given beer “in the testing station” while waiting to be tested: “A FICT representative brought a case of beer for all the athletes in the waiting area.” Visser, however, emphatically denies this.

• “I personally escorted those individuals out and then gave them a six pack of sealed beers (bottles) to apologize for the inconvenience,” Visser said referring to the other team athletes who were brought back for testing but were eventually sent home.
• Another team athlete who was in the testing area but eventually not tested said there was no beer in the testing area.

Top Amazon Prime Day Deals for CrossFitters

Editor’s Note: We will update this list as more deals become available. Check back or bookmark this page.

Amazon Prime Day, the annual Black Friday-esque event for Prime members has arrived. On Tuesday, July 12, and Wednesday, July 13, the site will feature exclusive deals on a massive variety of products, including TVs, security doorbells, and espresso makers. There are also several deals for CrossFit enthusiasts.

Gear

Yes4All

Yes4All has a significant number of discounts on equipment such as thick barbell grips, sandbags, and plyo boxes among many other items for the garage gym.

Gaiama

The Gaiam Essentials yoga mat is discounted by 6% for Amazon Prime day, making it $19.80 and ready for recovery sessions.

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• 🎂 Happy birthday, RJ Mestre and Shane Orr.
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• 🦘 Congratulations Deanna Chapline from CrossFit Dwala in Marietta, GA on the 50 inch box jump.
• Not CrossFit, Still Cool: Mike Aidala throws a 35-yard pass… to himself — think you could do it?
• Alex Gazan from Underdogs Athletics puts up a 185 pound/84kg snatch PR.
• Gracie Walton from Rev Barbell Club in Perth, Australia puts 231 pounds/105kg overhead for a clean and jerk PR.

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