Australian runner Peter Bol’s provisional suspension for testing positive to EPO has been lifted, effective immediately, after a test of his B sample did not confirm the A sample result.
The 800-metre national record holder had strongly proclaimed his innocence after failing an out of competition test for EPO. He had been provisionally banned from January 10.
Peter Bol says his provisional suspension has been lifted.Credit:AP
“I was just informed that my B sample did not confirm my A sample,” Bol said on Tuesday.
“My provisional suspension has been lifted by Sport Integrity Australia. The relief I am feeling is hard to describe.”
Sport Integrity Australia confirmed that Bol’s suspension had been lifted but said: “the investigation into the matter remains ongoing”.
“Sport Integrity Australia will, as part of its investigation, proceed to consider whether any anti-doping rule violation(s) have been committed. It is not possible to provide a timeframe at this point,” the SIA statement read.
“Any decision made by Sport Integrity Australia is subject to appeal from the Athletics Integrity Unit and WADA in accordance with Australian National Anti-Doping Policy 2021 and World Anti-Doping Code 2021. Sport Integrity Australia is not currently in a position to comment further on the matter.”
Bol had been “hopeful that the process would exonerate me”.
“I am relieved to report that it did,” he said.
“Last month I told everyone I was innocent and asked that everyone in Australia believe me and let the process play out,” Bol said in his statement, released on social media.
“I appreciate the support I have received from my family, my team and from so many people from Australia and around the world. The last month has been nothing less than a nightmare.”
Bol’s US lawyer Paul Greene criticised Athletics Australia and Sport Integrity Australia’s handling of the case, saying the runner’s negative A test should never have been made public.
“There was a fatal mistake in the way this was handled that has put Peter Bol through unnecessary pain,” Greene said.
“The provisional suspension does not get made public, it should never be made public. You can say ‘well, it was leaked’, but there should be an investigation into how it leaked and people held to account.
“Athletics Australia and Sport Integrity Australia need to look inward at how this happened. People have a duty of confidentiality.
“USADA never announces a test until the B sample confirms the A. The athlete is provisionally suspended, but they just lay low until the B sample is confirmed.”
In January, it was announced that Bol had returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) in an out-of-competition doping control test on October 11 last year.
Sport Integrity Australia informed Athletics Australia on Tuesday, January 10 that the A Sample had returned an AAF for Erythropoietin Receptor Agonists (ERA): rEPO (rEPO).
Bol had asked not only to have his B sample tested using the same gel test that the A sample was subject to, but that a second type of test used by the World Anti-Doping Agency – an IED test – also be done.
Bol’s B sample was tested over three days at a laboratory in Melbourne two weeks ago, while some of the B sample was sent to Europe for testing, a process that is overseen by an expert from the WADA EPO working group.
Instances of athletes returning a negative B sample after a positive A sample are rare, but not unknown. Champion distance runner Bernard Lagat is the most famous athlete previously to have had his A sample overturned by a negative B sample.
Greene said he had been formally advised on Tuesday morning (AEDT) that the B sample did not match the A sample, so he had been officially cleared.
“We got the confirmation this morning, but we have still not got any lab documents from them. He has been put through the ringer and we have no documentation from the labs at all.”
Officially Bol and Greene have not been advised if both labs confirmed a negative B result, or only one.
Four world-leading biochemists and experts in sports doping from Oslo had cast doubt on the testing for EPO due to the subjectivity in the interpretation of results, as reported by this masthead earlier in February.
Bol, who came fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year, will be able to return to full training with his coach Justin Rinaldi and training partner Joe Deng.
He is now free to focus on the world athletics championships in Budapest this year.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
