According to the press release from CrossFit HQ, Lefteris Theofanidis is in breach of the CrossFit Games Drug Testing Policy.
The release states that Theofanidis “tested positive for banned substances prohibited from CrossFit competition.” The test in question was administered at the Dubai CrossFit Championship on December 12th, 2019, where Theofanidis finished in twenty-fifth place.
Theofanidis is currently appealing the results and CrossFit will not deliver any consequence or list specifics of the violation (specifically naming the banned substances) until the process of the appeal is complete.
According to the CrossFit Drug Testing Policy with regard to the appellate process, “athletes have 10 business days to submit their written petition of appeal explaining why they are not in violation of the Drug Testing Policy.“ Following review, CrossFit will respond in a “timely manner.”
In the scenario where Theofanidis’ appeal is denied, the sanction given will be at the sole discretion of CrossFit, Inc. And if Theofanidis is deemed to be in fact in breach of the CrossFit drug policy, then he could be facing up to four years of being banned from formal CrossFit competition.
Theofanidis, 30, currently ranks third in the 2020 Reebok CrossFit Games Open worldwide and first for Greece. He also won workout 20.1 which he completed in a blisteringly fast eight minutes and five seconds. He finished the 2019 Open in fourth place and was named the Fittest Man in Greece five of the last six years; the outlier being a bronze finish in 2018. He made his Reebok CrossFit Games debut in 2019 with a fifty-ninth place finish.
Theofanidis has not made any public statements on his social media with regard to his alleged breach of the CrossFit Drug Testing Policy, but we are on the lookout and will update this article accordingly if he does.
Feature image from Lefteris Theofanidis’ Instagram page: @theodesmo
