Peter Bol will contest the John Landy mile in Melbourne in February

Peter Bol’s path to the Paris Olympics will now include a race in Melbourne in February.

Olympic finalist Peter Bol is set for his first race in Australia after being cleared of a doping violation when he runs in the John Landy mile in Melbourne in February.

Bol, who is on a path to the Paris Olympics, has not raced at home since his provisional doping ban for an elevated level of EPO was lifted in February last year.

That came after he protested his innocence when his reading was found to be atypical and amid furore from many in the sport that had left his career in limbo.

But the 29-year-old, who made the final in the 800m of the Tokyo Olympics, the first time an Australian had achieve that feat since 1968, has been confirmed as a starter at

the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne in mid-February.

Rather than run his 800m event, Bol is trying his hand at the longer distance race in a loaded field which also includes former 1500m world champ Jake Wightman from Britain, Kenyan Eliud Kipsang, and fellow Australians Stewart McSweyn, Cameron Myers and Jye Edwards.

“I’m pretty pumped about the John Landy Mile at the Maurie Plant Meet,” Bol said in a statement.

“I’ve got to be honest, taking on Stewy, Jake, Cam, Jye and others over the mile distance makes me a bit nervous.

Race again in Paris? 😅@DjokerNole v @pbol800

#AusOpen • #AO2024pic.twitter.com/jXgTyzhhbE

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 11, 2024



“But in a good way, the thought of the distance has me focused on being strong.”

After being cleared of any wrongdoing last July, Bol returned to racing in Europe but was eliminated in the 800m heats at the world championships in Budapest in August after his limited preparation.

He has been training in Melbourne, even taking on AFL players at a recent training session with reigning premiers Collingwood and taking on world No.1 Novak Djokovic on a charity night before the Australian Open.

Bol made his Olympic debut in 2016 before going on to twice break the national 800m record and finishing fourth in the final in Tokyo, the best result by an Australian in the event in 53 years.