Ricky Garard Responds to Failed Drug Test

Hours after CrossFit announced that Ricky Garard had failed an in-competition drug test at this year’s CrossFit Games and had been stripped of his podium finish, Garard took to Instagram to explain his actions.

“On the pursuit of becoming all I could be as a CrossFit athlete, I have obviously taken the rules & boundaries to the very edge. I looked into, researched & was willing to dabble into ways that could improve my performance legally and within the rules, with no intention whatsoever to be a cheat,” said Garard.

He continued, “I was taking the same supplements at The CrossFit Games as I did at The Pacific Regionals. Therefore, I didn’t feel the need to change anything. I thought I was legitimately competing within the rules with no unfair advantage over others.”

Garard ends by making a comment about CrossFit’s drug testing program and calling for them to “tighten up their procedures.” Garard comments, “I really hope The CrossFit Games continues to tighten up their testing procedures, enforce the same level of strictness to all other competitors like they have to me & they continue to strive towards a legit drug free sport.” It is unclear if Garard is implying that fellow competitors were doing the same thing as he was, but did not fail their tests.

As you can appreciate my world has come crashing down, it is heart breaking & it’s hard to comprehend that I am in this position. On the pursuit of becoming all I could be as a CrossFit athlete, I have obviously taken the rules & boundaries to the very edge. I looked into, researched & was willing to dabble into ways that could improve my performance legally and within the rules, with no intention whatsoever to be a cheat. I was taking the same supplements at The CrossFit Games as I did at The Pacific Regionals. Therefore, I didn’t feel the need to change anything. I thought I was legitimately competing within the rules with no unfair advantage over others. But, after further investigation & very specific testing it has been revealed that my research has failed me & I have received a positive test for SARMS. To be clear these supplements were taken in tablet form with nothing ever injected. Everyone in life makes mistakes, it’s how you learn from them that separates the great from the mediocre. These actions don’t define me, this sport doesn’t define me. It’s the lessons & growth of my character that truly matter. In time, I know this will be the best thing that ever happened to me. I wanted the title, I wanted to win and I was willing to do everything in my power to achieve that goal. Not for one second should you take away the hard work, sacrifice & dedication of my efforts. At 23 years old I have a lot of years left in my life, I have endured the process and I have become something because of it. In the end, I am apart of their sport, The CrossFit Games. They have rules, guidelines & policies to abide by. I have unintentionally fucked up, their evidence has proven me guilty & I will own my actions day by day for the rest of my life. I really hope The CrossFit Games continues to tighten up their testing procedures, enforce the same level of strictness to all other competitors like they have to me & they continue to strive towards a legit drug free sport. It’s tough to be on the receiving end when I know and have seen other top athletes in the sport intentionally out smarting the system, getting away with it & ruining the integrity of the sport.

A post shared by Ricky Garard (@rickygarard) on Oct 4, 2017 at 1:28am PDT

Garard’s Instagram post has garnered over 200 comments after just a few hours. Many of the comments are supportive of Garard and his explanation of what happened.

Ddelaney01💯 said, “respect brother. Keep your head high and proud to be an awesome Aussie athlete with passion that has inspired 1000’s of us to push past the boundaries of our fitness. Mate still a massive fan.”

Adamjphoenixincolour commented, “What an good honest fkn response! Class!”

Others, however, have been critical of Garard’s response. Reederface said, “you are obviously content to do whatever it takes to win…. and to a certain extent i get that… but done give us the BS that you researched and mixed it up.. you knew you were cheating and did it anyway..”

What side are you on? Do you buy Garard’s explanation or do you believe he knowingly was cheating?