3rd-Ranking Athlete Tests Positive: Lefteris Theofanidis

BREAKING NEWS: CrossFit announced in a press release on Wednesday that Lefteris Theofanidis – the National Champion of Greece who recently placed third overall in the 2020 CrossFit Open – has tested positive for a banned substance.

In the press release, CorssFit mentions the test was administered on December 12th while Theofanidis was competing at the Dubai CrossFit Championship. Included in the release is a comment that CrossFit will announce sanctions after Theofanidis completes the appeals process with the organization.

Missing from the release were details as to which substances Lefteris tested positive for.

Theofanidis was the target of community scrutiny during the 2020 CrossFit Open after questionable measurement tactics were used in his video submission for a workout, followed by minimal penalties from CrossFit. This failed drug test, along with the recent sanctions placed on Anna Fragkou for a failed drug test, puts Greece in the spotlight when it comes to performance enhancing drugs in the sport.

To read the full text, visit the CrossFit Games site.

By Ben Garves

Ben Garves is a digital product expert, author, entertainer, and activist. His portfolio of thought leadership in digital marketing and web experiences has included major clients like Microsoft, Google, Twitter, eBay, and Facebook. He’s also a freelance health and fitness journalist with over 400 stories written since 2018, a podcaster with 200 episodes to his name, and runs a YouTube channel with over 100 fitness and activism-oriented videos and live streams. Ben has founded the Fitness is for Everyone™ initiative to raise awareness about social injustice in both racial inequality and socioeconomic disparity in access to quality fitness and nutrition options around the globe.