Post-competition drug tests from the first week of Semifinals are coming in and it appears that at least one of the results has come back positive. According to Michelle Merand, a team member of CrossFit FBDV Mayhem Africa, shared on Instagram that one of her teammates tested positive for a banned substance.
CrossFit FBDV Mayhem Africa won the team competition at the Africa Semifinal and earned the only team invite to compete at the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Games. However, with a failed drug test, Merand and her team would not be permitted to compete.
There aren’t too many details available as this story is still developing, but an appeal has been filed with CrossFit and the team is waiting on a final ruling.Â
It is the second consecutive year the first place team from Africa has been hit with a positive drug test. Last year, Lize Burns received a 4-year sanction after testing positive for a sample that contained metabolites of GW501516. However, circumstances around Burns’ drug test and results were plagued by clerical errors by CrossFit.
According to Merand, she and her teammates did not knowingly take any banned substances and stated that she believes it is due to a contaminated supplement or testing error.
Michelle Merand was joined by Alan Foulis, AJ Visser and Angelique Connoway on CrossFit FBDV Mayhem Africa. Merand is a two-time individual CrossFit Games veteran.
If an appeal is not granted (or not promptly), Cape CrossFit Wolfpack would be in line to backfill the African team spot after taking second place at the Africa Semifinal.
Stay tuned to The Barbell Spin as we will continue to monitor this situation and provide updates as they become available.
