Olympic hero Peter Bol has been CLEARED of taking performance enhancing drugs after B sample tested negative: ‘This last month has been a nightmare’
- Peter Bol has been cleared of taking drugs
- The Aussie runner was suspended last month
- The B sample didn’t confirm initial test
Tokyo Olympics fan favourite Peter Bol has been cleared of taking performance-enhancing drugs, ending a ‘nightmare’ for the star runner.
The 28-year-old was provisionally suspended last month after a drug test returned a positive result for erythropoietin (EPO), but the B sample did not confirm the initial result and he is now free to return to the sport.
Bol, who won the hearts of Australians with a lionhearted performance for fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, always maintained his innocence, declaring the testing process ‘flawed’.
In almost every case an A sample tests positive, the B sample returning the same result is almost a fait accompli; but Bol in this case has been thoroughly vindicated.
Peter Bol, pictured after winning silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, has been cleared of taking performance-enhancing drugs
‘I was just informed that my B sample did not confirm my A sample,’ Bol said in a statement released on his Twitter on Tuesday.
‘My provisional suspension has been lifted by Sport Integrity Australia. The relief I am feeling is hard to describe.
‘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.’
When the Commonwealth 800m silver medallist was informed he had tested positive for EPO, the gobsmacked Aussie immediately requested that a B sample not only test using the same gel, but also conduct a second type of test the World Doping Agency uses.
Peter Bol captured the hearts of Australians when he finished fourth with a lionhearted performance in the Tokyo Olympics 800m final
As it turned out, that was a good decision.
‘Last month I told everyone I was innocent and asked that everyone in Australia believe me and let the process play out,’ Bol wrote in his statement.
‘I wish that the results had not been leaked but there is nothing I can do about that. I was hopeful that the process would exonerate me … I am relieved to report that it did.
‘To say it one more time: I am innocent and have not taken this substance as I was accused.
‘I have NEVER in my life purchased, researched, possessed, administered or used synthetic EPO or any other Prohibited Substance, and never will,’ finished Bol.
More to come…
