Tokyo Olympics hero Peter Bol declares he is innocent after testing positive to performance enhancing drug EPO
- Running star Peter Bol has tested positive to a performance enhancing drug
- He will now await the results of a B sample after testing positive to EPO
- Bol is the national 800m record holder and finished fourth at the Olympics
Tokyo Olympics star and Australian Athletics poster boy Peter Bol has vowed to clear his name and assured his fans he is innocent after testing positive to performance enhancing drugs.
Athletics Australia has confirmed that Bol, the fastest Australian over 800 metres in history, returned a positive A sample to performance enhancing drug EPO and will now face a nervous wait for the results of the B sample.
Australian middle-distance champion Peter Bol has tested positive to the performance enhancing drug EPO
He has been provisionally suspended until those results are made clear.
Bol took to social media on Friday afternoon to protest his innocence.
‘It is critically important to convey with the strongest conviction that I am innocent and have not taken this substabce as I am accused,’ he posted.
‘I ask that everyone in Australia believe me and let the process play out.
‘When I found out last week that the A Sample from a urine test take on 11 October had tested positive for synthetic EPO I was in total shock.
‘To be clear, I have NEVER in my life purchased, researched, possessed, administered, or used synthetic EPO or any other Prohibited Substance.’
Bol competes at the Commonwealth Games where he shot to prominence before his giant-slaying performances at the Tokyo Olympics
Bol famously finished just short of becoming Australia’s first ever medalist in the 800m at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing fourth in the final.
The positive result has sent shockwaves through the Australian Athletics community as Bol has been a story of inspiration and rising above adversity since his huge display in Tokyo.
He became a household name when he surged to the front to lead all runners to victory in the semi-final before narrowly missing out on the bronze medal.
Bol has voluntarily handed over his phone and laptop to investigators while his oach Justin Rinaldi and agent James Templeton have also offered to surrender their devices.
‘I have requested that the analysis of my B Sample which will take place in February,’ Bol posted.
‘Given the subjective nature of interpreting this kind of test, I have asked that the lab perform a secondary confirmation.
‘Above all, I remain hopeful that the process will exonerate me.
Bol’s family cheer him from back home in Perth, Australia as the young middle-distance runner made national history at the Olympics
‘My career, hopes and dreams are literally hanging in the balance over these next few weeks, and I ask everyone to respect my privacy as I remain provisionally suspended.’
Born in Sudan, Bol’s family emigrated to Egypt before gaining humanitarian status through the UNHCR, first arriving in Toowoomba, before settling in Perth.
A talented basketball player, Bol didn’t even start athletics until he was 16 but quickly shot through the ranks.
The drugs scandal will likely have an impact on Bol’s potential selection as Young Australian of the Year next Thursday.
Bol reacts after finishing in first place during the second heat of the men’s 800m Round 1 athletics event at the Alexander Stadium at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games
He had been awarded Western Australia’s Young Australian of the Year for his work as a coach, mentor, keynote speaker, and philanthropist.
The drugs scandal will likely have an impact on Bol’s potential selection as Young Australian of the Year next Thursday.
He had been awarded Western Australia’s Young Australian of the Year for his work as a coach, mentor, keynote speaker, and philanthropist.
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