Fourteen athletes have been sanctioned for an anti-doping rule violation during the 2018 CrossFit Games season, reports BarbellSpin. The 14 included five athletes that qualified to compete at the 2018 CrossFit Games, all of which were sanctioned with a four year ban expiring in June 2022. They are: Emily Abbott, Dean Shaw, Laura Hosier, Marina Ceballos, and Andrey Ganin.

“I am beyond disappointed and frustrated that the organisation I have dedicated so much of my life to has basically ignored my explanation for my inadvertent exposure to ibutamoren”, said Abbott in an Instagram statement (below). “I have proudly represented the sport as an advocate of clean eating and a healthy lifestyle, and would never knowingly take any banned substance.  I strongly disagree with this unfair decision, and will be exploring all of my options.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, July 16, 2018 Calgary, Alberta, Canada The CrossFit Games issued its decision suspending CrossFit athlete Emily Abbott from competition from June 22, 2018 until June 21, 2022. Despite her detailed explanation and supporting evidence of how ibutamoren came to be in her sample, the CrossFit Games entirely disregarded Ms. Abbott’s explanation and imposed the maximum possible sanction, without even granting her a hearing. In responding to the CrossFit Games’ decision, Ms. Abbott stated as follows: “I am beyond disappointed and frustrated that the organization I have dedicated so much of my life to has basically ignored my explanation for my inadvertent exposure to ibutamoren.  I have proudly represented the sport as an advocate of clean eating and a healthy lifestyle, and would never knowingly take any banned substance.  I strongly disagree with this unfair decision, and will be exploring all of my options.”

A post shared by Emily Abbott (@abbott.the.red) on Jul 16, 2018 at 2:08pm PDT

‘Today I received an email from @crossfitgames informing me that I had tested positive for higenamine’, read an Instagram statement from Hosier (below). ‘A compound found in the pictured preworkout I had taken. I take full responsibility for consuming this product. I drank it. It was delicious. It was blue. And that was about all I knew about it. I bought it at a local shop and didn’t think twice. In retrospect I should have. I am embarrassed and appalled that my ignorance is costing my teammates their shot at competing at the Crossfit Games. I am sorry to everyone who helped and supported me on this journey.’

Today I received an email from @crossfitgames informing me that I had tested positive for higenamine. A compound found in the pictured preworkout I had taken. I take full responsibility for consuming this product. I drank it. It was delicious. It was blue. And that was about all I knew about it. I bought it at a local shop and didn’t think twice. In retrospect I should have. I am embarrassed and appalled that my ignorance is costing my teammates their shot at competing at the Crossfit Games. I am sorry to everyone who helped and supported me on this journey. I fucked up.

A post shared by Laura Hosier (@lahosier) on Jun 18, 2018 at 6:01pm PDT