Peter Bol says he’s no cheat after positive performance enhancing drug test
Olympic hero Peter Bol has pleaded with Australians to believe in his innocence after a shock positive test to a performance enhancing drug
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Olympic hero Peter Bol is pleading with Australians to believe his protestations* of innocence after testing positive to a performance enhancing drug.
The poster boy of track and field was told in mid-January that he’d failed an out-of-competition drug test in October 2022.
Athletics Australia suspended Bol immediately after it was informed by Sport Integrity Australia on January 10 of the positive A sample from a urine test.
The B sample is to be analysed over the coming weeks.
The 28-year-old was expected to be named Young Australian of the Year on Australia Day but the drug scandal almost certainly ruled him out of the honour.
Bol knows his career hangs in the balance and is hoping the B sample test comes back negative, though history shows that is highly unlikely.
In a long statement on social media on January 20, Bol wrote: “It is critically important to convey with the strongest conviction* that I am innocent and have not taken this substance as I am accused.
“I ask everyone in Australia to believe me and let the process play out. When I found out last week that the A sample from a urine test taken 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. I voluntarily turned over my laptop, iPad and phone to Sport Integrity Australia to prove this.
“I have requested the analysis of my B sample, which will take place in February. 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. 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.”
Australia’s track-and-field history has been relatively clear of drug scandals. The previous biggest involved sprinter Dean Capobianco, who was banned for two years in 1996 for taking anabolic steroids.
Bol’s agent, James Templeton, said they would continue to fight to clear the Olympic finalist’s name, saying the interpretation of these tests was still a “complex issue”.
“I believe in Pete’s innocence 100 per cent, and completely stand by him,” Templeton said. “From what we understand it was a marginal* reading, a single band rather than multiple.
“We can’t do anything but wait for the B sample results. If that’s assessed as positive it’s a long and difficult road ahead.”
Athletics Australia chief executive Peter Bromley said the positive test was “completely out of the blue”.
“We will support Sport Integrity Australia who are leading the investigation into the matter,” Bromley said. “Every athlete, coach and spectator wants and deserves a level playing field.”
The positive drug test has rocked the track-and-field community, given Bol has been its shining light since his heroics at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
He rose to national stardom when he led from the front to win the semi-final and then finished a gallant* fourth in the final, narrowly missing the bronze medal.
Last year he made the world championships final in the US before winning the 800m silver medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Bol’s remarkable story has been celebrated: he was born in Sudan and emigrated* to Egypt before his family gained humanitarian status through the UNHCR*, first arriving in Toowoomba in Queensland before the family settled in Perth.
He did not start athletics until 16 when a teacher at his high school approached him to compete in an aths carnival. He dominated and realised track and field, rather than basketball, was his path forward.
Within a couple of years he won the national junior 800m title, then in 2015 moved to Melbourne to be coached by Justin Rinaldi.
Bol made his Australian debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics and then wore the green and gold at the 2017 world championships in London.
Injury forced him to miss the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and he failed to get out of the heats at the 2019 Doha world championships.
Bol benefited from the Covid break and, with consistent training, his development skyrocketed in 2021. He set an Australian 800m record in the Tokyo Olympics semi-final, clocking 1min 44.13sec to take the honour off training partner Joseph Deng who had owned the record for three years.
Bol lowered his own record at the Paris Diamond League in June last year to 1min 44.00sec as he continued to prove he was one of the world’s best middle-distance runners.
GLOSSARY
- protestations: the act of protesting by saying strongly that something is true or not true
- conviction: a firmly held belief or opinion
- synthetic: artificial, man-made
- subjective: based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes or opinions
- interpreting: deciding what the meaning of something is
- exonerate: clear someone of blame or guilt
- provisionally: for the time being
- marginal: very small in amount or effect
- gallant: brave, heroic
- emigrated: left a home country permanently to go to live in another one
- UNHCR: stands for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the organisation that helps displaced people across the globe
EXTRA READING
Comm Games close on golden note for Aussies
Bol’s belonging boost for youth
Peter Bol’s inspiring Olympic run
QUICK QUIZ
- What performance enhancing drug did Peter Bol test positive to?
- How did Peter Bol describe his reaction to finding out he’d tested positive?
- Who is James Templeton?
- What distance does Peter Bol run?
- What made Peter Bol start doing athletics when he was 16?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. A fair competition
Carefully consider what a “fair competition” means to you. Does it mean that athletes should not be able to use performance enhancing substances? What about the differences in access to other medical help, financial assistance, training, etc? Do you think there is such a thing as a truly fair competition?
Write a paragraph explaining your thoughts about this topic.
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Ethical Understanding; Health and Physical Education
2. Extension
Discuss with a partner – what should the consequence be for athletes who are caught using banned substances? Once you have reached agreement, write down your ruling.
Compare what your pair decided with other pairs in your class to see how opinions on this differ.
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Ethical Understanding; Health and Physical Education
VCOP ACTIVITY
To sum it up
After reading the article, use your comprehension skills to summarise in a maximum of three sentences what the article is about.
Think about:
- What is the main topic or idea?
- What is an important or interesting fact?
- Who was involved (people or places)?
Use your VCOP skills to re-read your summary to make sure it is clear, specific and well punctuated.