Charis Chan Suspended from Competition by CrossFit Games

While she hasn’t been officially sanctioned or suspended by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), on April 1st the CrossFit Games website announced Charis Chan was suspended from CrossFit competition for the 2016 season.

It looks like the 29 year old’s 2016 Open results have already been removed from the California leaderboard. Though Chan appears to be fighting her suspension after a rumored positive test at the 2015 American Open Championships (which the CrossFit Games post references), this step ends Chan’s bid to compete at Regionals and potentially beyond.

UPDATE: Charis Chan has addressed her suspension and allegations in an Instagram post from earlier today (see below). 

In December I was informed that my sample collected at the 2015 USA Weightlifting American Open tested positive for a prohibited substance. This came as a huge surprise and shock to me as I have never taken a drug or steroid, and have no idea where this substance came from. I’ve taken drug tests in the past for various competitions and they have always tested negative. CrossFit has decided to suspend me for the rest of the 2016 season and take down my scores from the leaderboard. This is heartbreaking for me because I am a clean athlete and performed these workouts to the best of my ability. This year I finished 10th in Northern California, my best finish to date, and I stand by my hard work and this placing. I know most of you only know me through social media, but those who know me personally would tell you that I am an honest person. I believe in taking responsibility for all actions, whether good or bad. I would never cheat or lie to get ahead and taking any kind of performance enhancing drug or prohibited substance is completely against my morals. The accolades and titles are appreciated, but at the end of the day it is about giving 110 percent and achieving goals through hard work and persistence. I am doing everything in my power to determine where the prohibited substance came from and am in the process of appealing the test with USADA. Additionally, on January 26, 2016 USADA performed a random drug test and that test came back negative. I have trained non-stop for the past four years and have devoted endless hours in the gym. What first started as a fun hobby has transformed into a career and a huge part of my life. My goal was to become one of the top athletes in CrossFit and weightlifting, while also remaining honest and humble. It is also equally important to me that I continue to help and inspire others through coaching and being a good role model. I want everyone to believe that anything is possible regardless of size, gender or ethnicity. There’s still a lot of unknown information at this point, and I will try to provide updates. I will continue to train both in CrossFit and weightlifting, and I will not stop doing what I love to do…

A photo posted by \'shə • rēs\😊😈 (@charischan) on Apr 2, 2016 at 8:53am PDT

Chan has twice competed at the CrossFit Games Regionals, and last year she won Event 7 in a stacked California Super Regional, though she missed out on Games qualification by several points.

She’s is also the American Record Holder for the snatch in the 53 kilogram category, hitting an 86 kilo lift at 2015’s American Open in Reno. While USA Weightlifting still has that lift listed as the weight class record, that could change if her suspension is upheld.

Charis Chan’s suspension from the 2016 Games season is the second publicized suspension to be handed down from CrossFit HQ this year, joining Natalie Newhart, whom CrossFit suspended on March 18th.

Below is a video of Chan’s American Record lift, courtesy of Hookgrip.