A Port Elizabeth athlete has been banned from competing in an international CrossFit competition after testing positive for an illicit performance-enhancing drug – leading to his entire team being disqualified from the event.
Dean Shaw, 30, was listed in an article on the Reebok Crossfit Games’ website on Monday night as one of 14 athletes found to have contravened the games’ drug-testing policy, resulting in a four-year ban – unless his appeal is successful.
“It is still quite a sensitive matter and is under review with games officials as we speak,” Shaw said on Tuesday.
“To my knowledge, the presence of the substance was not due to any supplementation, food or medication I had taken.” 
Shaw submitted an appeal a few days ago, but could not say how long it would take before the outcome was known.
Shaw and his three teammates from Team CrossFit Valley Road secured a spot in the finals at the Meridian regional event in Madrid, Spain, in June.
The games, to be held in Madison, Wisconsin, US, from August 1 to 5, will feature the best CrossFit individuals and teams from across the globe.CrossFit combines a spectrum of disciplines such as weightlifting, high-intensity workouts, running and swimming.
Shaw, Tasquane Hufkie, 32, Sara Rudiger, 25, and team captain and CrossFit Valley Road owner Jaco van der Vyfer, 28, will now anxiously await Shaw’s appeal.
His four-year sanction is the result of clomiphene – a selective oestrogen receptor modulator – being found in his system.
The substance, also known as Clomifene, is used to treat infertility in women.
According to the US AntiDoping Agency, it is commonly used in female fertility brand name prescription medications such as Clomid.
In women, clomiphene acts on the pituitary gland to stimulate the release of hormones responsible for ovulation.
In men, clomiphene can alter testosterone levels.
“The first time I was made aware of traces of the substances being found in my sample was when I was notified by games’ officials last week,” Shaw said.
He said he was in the process of discussing certain “personal issues” with his teammates and would have preferred to do so prior to anything coming to light on social media.
“I feel that a lot of the people close to me need to hear from me before finding out about it on social media, because it puts me in a bad light, and people draw their own assumptions,” he said.
Shaw said he had been tested after the final event at the regionals, when one urine sample was taken and split into an A and B sample.
“Disappointed”, was his response when asked how he felt knowing the team would no longer be able to participate.
“It’s one of those things none of us saw coming, not knowing that it had been ingested – and there was no intention to do any banned substances that had the possibility of getting us disqualified.”
Shaw said publicising the matter now placed him under scrutiny and in a bad light.
Van der Vyfer said he had only became aware of the incident on Monday night.
“It got released to us [on Monday]. There is now a 10-day appeal process, so I cannot say anything until that process has been completed.”
Asked if he had spoken to Shaw, Van der Vyfer said: “Only shortly this morning about the appeal.
“I have been up and down seeing what I can do from my side and I haven’t had the chance to get much conversation out of him today [Tuesday].”
Later on Tuesday, Van der Vyfer said in a statement that, pending the appeal results, Shaw would be suspended temporarily from the team and the CrossFit Valley Road facility.
“CrossFit Valley Road distances itself from the alleged actions as we were unaware of any foul play.”
He said it strongly condemned the use of prohibited substances.
The Port Elizabeth team’s journey started in February when it competed in “The Open”, the largest online sporting event featuring almost half a million athletes.
To qualify for the regional event, it had to complete an unknown workout, released once a week, before submitting it for online judging.
The Open was contested over five weeks.
After completing all five workouts, the quartet secured their spot at the regional event in Spain, where they earned a third place overall and qualified for the games.
Sports scientist Ross Tucker said one way for the substance to appear in an athlete’s sample would either be due to a doctor prescribing it for “off-label” use, or if he had ingested something which had been contaminated by the substance.
“If a male is using this drug, it’s because it has been prescribed for off-label use.
“However, in normal situations, this drug would not be indicated for a man to use.
“That is not to say a prescription was not acquired from a doctor, because they can do that, but then there would be medical support to back up the argument.”
Another way the substance could be ingested, according to Tucker, is through supplement contamination as it has been reported that certain banned substances have shown up in supplements or black market products.
While representatives of the CrossFit Games could not be reached for comment on Tuesday, details about the banned athletes were posted on their website.
The statement read: “To protect the integrity of the competition and its athletes, CrossFit works hard to ensure a level playing field, in part by creating and enforcing the guidelines outlined in the rule book, and by strongly enforcing an anti-doping policy – an absolute necessity in order to crown the Fittest on Earth.”