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Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I’ve never seen any life transformation that didn’t begin with the person in question finally getting tired of their own bullshit.” — Elizabeth Gilbert
POP GOES THE WEASEL.
WHAT HAPPENED?
The rookie phenom and Third Fittest Man on Earth, Ricky Garard got popped for using two performance enhancing drugs — testolone, and a beta-2 agonist (AKA endurobol).
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Ricky’s 2017 performance at all levels of competition (Open, Regionals and Games) will be stripped from the leaderboard, his bronze medal will be going to Patrick Vellner and his invitation to the CrossFit Invitational revoked. James Newbury will likely take that fourth spot on the Pacific team.
He’s also banned from competing in any CrossFit sanctioned event through the 2021 season and has to return the $76,000 he took home from the CrossFit Games.
WHY’D IT TAKE SO LONG?
One word: appeal.
All podium finishers at both the CrossFit Games and Regionals must submit to immediate drug testing. Remember back in late July when HQ announced that two team athletes and one individual failed their drug tests? Those athletes were caught during screening at Regionals.
So after HQ tested Ricky Garard and discovered two illegal substances in his sample, further testing was required and the lengthy back-and-forth between Ricky and Co. and CrossFit HQ started.
All of that concluded today when the evidence clearly showed Ricky used banned substances.
ANYONE ELSE?
Masters 55-59 athlete Tony Turski who finished second in the Masters 55-59 division and Josée Sarda, who won the 50-54 division tested positive for selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), ostarine and testolone.
Still think HQ is lax on testing? This brings the 2017 total to 11 Games athletes across all divisions who failed drug tests and were disqualified.
Here’s a piece of advice from CrossFit Games GM Justin Bergh: “Any athlete who uses performance-enhancing drugs is directly attacking his fellow competitors, our community and our sport. It is our responsibility, along with athletes themselves, to identify those threats and remove them. All athletes can be confident that CrossFit will aggressively pursue and punish anyone who attempts to use drugs to gain an advantage in competition.”
Translation: you can run but you can’t hide.
CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU HIT THE BOX
ROUNDUP — Cody Anderson can do triple-unders for days. Ben Smith deadlifts 500 pounds. Reebok has partnered with Barbells for Boobs to release two limited edition pink colorways for the Nano 7.0 Weave and Grace shoes. Santiago Perez of CrossFit Wynwood in Miami, FL used CrossFit to tackle Mount Everest. Christmas Abbott is kicking off her 30-day physical and mental strength challenge. Hafthór Björnsson back squats 770 pounds for a triple.
TEAM SERIES CHAMPIONS — The official announcement from HQ won’t be released until after the affiliate deadline to validate scores (tonight), but from the looks of the leaderboard it appears that Annie Thorisdottir and Katrin Davidsdottir won the Female/Female division, Travis Mayer and Noah Ohlsen won the Male/Male division, and Alex Vigneault and Carol-Ann Reason-Thibault won the Male/Female division. All three teams will be taking home $10,000 a piece.
LAUNCHING — The Awaken Training Series, Marcus Filly’s 12-weeks of Functional Bodybuilding programming kicks off October 9th with limited spots. This program is designed for athletes with a couple years under their belts feeling a little stagnant and burned-out with their training or if they’re rehabbing an injury and want to re-develop that base layer of strength.
WHAT TO TELL YOUR FRIEND WHO RECEIVED SOME BAD NEWS…
Never give up. When the Armada’s had their son Mason, they was told he would have no personality or imagination after a prenatal stroke split his left and right brain. But through his infant years, they worked with physical therapists of all kinds to help little Mason out. “Not only is he becoming stronger physically, but mentally, he’s building up confidence, and that’s what we want to encourage him to be- mentally and physically strong,” Stacy Armada said of her 6-year-old. Oh and the Armada’s both co-own Morrisville Community CrossFit in North Carolina so giving up really isn’t in their vocabulary.
THINGS TO…
WATCH: The Professor, Brent Fikowski
Brent Fikowski missed the Games podium in 2016 by just one spot. He came back in 2017 to take second place. Here’s how he attacking his weaknesses to prepare for 2018.
THE PROFESSOR.
HEAR: Obese to Beast
John Glaude weighed 360 pounds at the ripe age of 20-years-old. After years of struggling with his weight, John was sure he was headed toward a future of significant morbidity, yet he didn’t believe he was capable of changing his course. He sits down to share his story on this episode of Pursuing Health with Julie Foucher.
TUNE IN.
EAT: BBQ Salmon and Mango Cabobs
If you’re holding onto that little last bit of Summer (like us here in Southern California) then fire up the grill one last time and bid adieu to your tan and tasty treats like these.
END OF SUMMER.
CHALK UP AFFILIATES
Got Veterans Day Plans? — Introducing the Emerald Coast Honor Games, a 2-person team competition in Destin, FL on November 11. The competition takes place underneath the world’s largest American Flag and raises funds to support the families of men and women serving on the front lines. If you’re in the neighborhood, there’s still time to grab a swolemate and register to compete.