Richard Bohlken will not be competing in the South Regional this weekend, after being suspended from the 2015 CrossFit Season.
The 16th place finisher at the 2014 CrossFit Games tested positive to a banned substance last month and will be taking no further part in this year’s season.
Bohlken was notified on April 24 that he failed a test for the banned substance Ostarine and in a recent interview with CrossFit, he claims his positive test was due to unknowingly taking a contaminated workout supplement provided by his sponsor FitnEssentials.
Despite the supplement company taking full responsibility, Bohlken’s season is now finished. He took to social media to notify fans, putting up this post on Instagram:
“As many of you have already heard, on April 7th I tested positive for Ostarine. I am a victim of cross contamination. The supplement manufacturer that produces Fitnessentials Pre and Post products also mixed and distributed Ostarine for a separate entity. This substance was in the factory and mixed prior to the Pre and Post workout I was distributed. The result of this was my supplement being contaminated and testing positive for a banned substance. I want you all to know that I take full responsibility for what I put into my body. This is a very tough lesson for me. I want to make you all aware so the same thing does not happen to you. I’m the end I am a victim o someone else’s mistake, costing me my quest to get back to the@crossfitgames. Something honestly pursued day in and day out. That is something only I have to live with as I prepare to return to the Crossfit Games in 2016. I ask for continued support through this situation. It is very important to me that something positive comes out of this. Please be protective and aware of what you put into your body.”
CrossFit has been quick to point out that this isn’t the first time Games athletes have failed drug tests. In 2010, CrossFit New England’s team, which finished second overall at the CrossFit Games, had its medals revoked after two of its athletes tested positive for a banned substance that came from an over-the-counter supplement.
Athletes are advised to follow the TUE procedures outlined in the Drug-Testing Policy even if they take a drug for a valid medical reason. Legally prescribed medication can still result in a positive drug test.
You can check out Bohlken’s interview with CrossFit’s senior writer Mike Warkentin in the video above.
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