French CrossFit junior star’s parents face doping investigation, girl in foster care

A 14-year-old CrossFit prospect from Montauban who finished 8th in the Teen 14/15 division at the 2025 Age-Group CrossFit Games is now at the center of a doping investigation, with her parents under judicial control and the girl placed in foster care.

The case moved quickly in early May. Her father was taken into custody on May 4, and both parents were formally charged on May 7 in Tarn-et-Garonne. The teenager was heard in a free hearing and denied doping, while her mother said she was not involved in her preparation. The father acknowledged giving her products, but said they were not banned substances.

Investigators first opened the inquiry through the Agence française de lutte contre le dopage after a report, then handed the file to the Tarn-et-Garonne judicial police. Their focus, based on the allegations, has included a sudden injury before a competition and the family’s refusal to let the athlete join the French youth weightlifting team. No in-competition tests have been reported in the case so far, which makes the inquiry especially notable in a sport where oversight often depends on testing around major events and credible outside reports.

That gap matters because the teenager was not just another junior entrant. French media described her as one of the best age-group athletes in the world after she climbed to 8th in Columbus, Ohio, at the 2025 CrossFit Age-Group World Championships, held August 21-24 at the Columbus Convention Center. In CrossFit’s teenage pathway, top athletes from in-affiliate semifinals earned their place in that field, making the result a sign of real competitive standing, not just local promise.

The broader concern reaches beyond one family. CrossFit blends weightlifting, endurance and gymnastics, and its youth ranks can place enormous pressure on teenagers who are still developing physically and emotionally. This case raises hard questions about who is watching the adults around junior athletes, how often minors are actually tested, and whether federations and anti-doping authorities are doing enough to spot suspicious patterns before young competitors are pushed too far.

The AFLD says it accepts confidential and anonymous reports of suspected doping through its reporting platform, and this case began with that kind of signal rather than a positive test. Searches also led to the seizure of products that are now expected to be analyzed, a step that could clarify whether the substances at the center of the case were prohibited.