[ad_1]
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 a performance enhancing drug.
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
The statement that Bol released on Twitter protesting his innocence. Bol has surrendered his mobile phone and laptop and asked for two B Sample tests to be completed
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 became an overnight celebrity after his barnstorming run in the Tokyo Olympics 800m semi-final before falling agonisingly short in the final
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.
Athletics Australia chief executive officer Peter Bromley said the positive result was ‘extremely concerning’.
‘There are procedural fairness and investigative consideration that constrain how much we can say, and at this point it would be inappropriate for Athletics Australia or anyone else to speculate about the specific details or pre-empt any outcome,’ he said.
‘However what we can say is that learning about this adverse analytical finding was both extremely concerning and completely out of the blue, and we will support Sport Integrity Australia who are leading the investigation into the matter
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.
[ad_2]
Source link
