Nycolas Joyal is currently serving a 4-year sanction after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs while at the 2022 Atlas Games Semifinal. Joyal’s drug test came back positive for GW501516 sulfoxide and GW501516 sulfone, metabolites of GW501516, in addition to Ostarine.
Following CrossFit’s sanction Joyal admitted to knowingly using the banned substances for two weeks leading up to Semifinals. In a now deleted Instagram post, Joyal shared, “I made this decision alone and no one around me knew about it. My reputation is (and will remain) stained. I am deeply sorry.” He continued, “I knowingly used banned substances for precisely two weeks. This singular error will not dictate who I am nor the last nine years of my life. Despite all this, the need for help and the state of mind in which I was at the beginning of the year does not excuse anything.”
Joyal, who finished 5th and was headed to the CrossFit Games, forfeited his spot which was backfilled by Austin Spencer.
Joyal’s 4-year sanction precludes him from competing in CrossFit-sanctioned during that time. His sanction runs through June 12, 2026.
However, looking at the 2023 CrossFit Open leaderboard, Joyal sits in 1,098th worldwide and 313th in the North America East region. His current placement would be good enough to advance to the next stage, Quarterfinals.
On top of that, Joyal has uploaded his two workout videos as he has done them as an unaffiliated athlete. In the videos, Joyal is seen doing the workouts at L’usine CrossFit in Terrebonne, QC.
But while Joyal is submitting his scores, he is technically not supposed to be competing. It is unclear how CrossFit, Inc. will handle the situation at this time.
You can his workouts below…
https://youtu.be/naVg7c13MBI
https://youtu.be/POCOrdS7sxw
