Gábor Török of Hungary was one of five athletes in breach of the CrossFit Drug Testing Policy at the 2019 Reebok CrossFit Games after testing positive for banned substances.
Török tested positive for Stanozolol metabolite (16β-hydroxystanozolol), which is in the class of anabolic agents. The sample also tested positive for Clomiphene, which is in the class of hormone and metabolic modulators. He was consequently given a four year suspension, despite his official appeal. The test was administered on July 29, 2019 at the CrossFit Games. Currently, twelve athletes who have tested positive for banned substances have been given suspensions for violating the CrossFit Drug Testing Policy in 2019.
Török defended himself against his suspension in a statement on his Instagram where he denied ever taking the contested substances. After he qualified for the CrossFit Games, he claimed that he took supplements to help him recover from workouts, but those supplements were neither performance enhancing nor illegal. Addressing his suspension being upheld, Török writes:
(Translated from Hungarian using the Instagram translator app)
“I was suspended because of using a device I never picked up. I have officially informed them about this. I’ve submitted an appeal and gave you all the information they asked for. However, they decided to be banned for four years.”
The 28 year old Török qualified and competed in his first Reebok CrossFit Games this past August where he ranked 48th overall. His first appearance in the CrossFit Open in Hungary was back in 2015. He claimed back-to-back titles of Fittest Man in Hungary in 2018 and 2019.
Despite his suspension, Török does not intend to transition away from CrossFit training and remains dedicated to training athletes.
According to his statement on Instagram, Török does plan to compete in major European competitions in the future that are not organized by CrossFitHQ.
Feature image from @gabortorok Instagram page.
