Olympic Games star issues ultimatum to drug testers following discovery of alleged screenshot: ‘I’ve got nothing to answer for’
- Peter Bol has expressed his frustrations about WADA
- He was acquitted after failing a drug test after Tokyo
- But a screenshot has put Bol back in the spotlight
Australian middle-distance runner Peter Bol continues to insist he has nothing to answer for after a potentially damaging screenshot on his mobile phone was made public in a separate anti-doping case.
Bol was provisionally suspended in early 2023 after a test revealed elevated levels of the banned synthetic erythropoietin (EPO).
That ban was lifted the following month when his B sample yielded an atypical finding, prompting the Tokyo Olympics finalist to demand a full exoneration.
A few months later, the case was officially dropped.
The case was in the news again earlier this year when Bol was named in a hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the alleged use of EPO by Croatian footballer Mario Vuskovic.
Bol and Vuskovic are both represented by American attorney Paul Greene.
Lawyers for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) argued that Bols’ case did not involve a false positive, but a downgrade of his sample between the A and B tests.
Nine newspapers also reported that anti-doping authorities said during the hearing that they had found a screenshot on Bol’s phone, dated September 2022, with information about the use of synthetic EPO.
Peter Bol has given an ultimatum to doping testers after his 800m series in Paris
After taking it a lot easier before the finish and finishing seventh in his 800m series on Wednesday, Bol ordered WADA to continue or stop.
“I don’t actually know exactly when they got that (screenshot) and where they got it from,” he told reporters.
‘I’ve read every article there is, and there are probably a billion articles.
‘I’ve read a lot about crime and they’ve decided to pick out only the item that appeals to them. They’re playing a political game again.
‘If I couldn’t have raced, they would have banned me long ago and now I’m still here.
‘I actually have nothing to answer for.
“I think you should ask the questions to WADA and they should respond to the comments.”
An alleged screenshot has come to light, but Bol says he doesn’t have to answer for it
Bol and his former training partner Joseph Deng, who now lives in South Africa, will participate in the repechage of the 800 meters on Thursday.
“I just let (WADA) do what they want and just try to focus on my own game. The things that I have no control over, I can’t really focus on,” Bol said.
“It’s just that I’m here running and I’m grateful for that.”
The 30-year-old Bol rose to fame when he broke the Australian record in the 800 metres at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing fourth in the final, missing out on a medal by half a second.