‘It’s a disgrace’: Peter Bol’s lawyer slams leaking of drug test results, accuses Australian authorities of ‘covering their tracks’

Peter Bol’s lawyer has labelled Australian sporting authorities a “disgrace” for leaking the athletics star’s drug test results, as a grim theory about the timing emerges.

Peter Bol insists his name has been cleared. Pic: Getty Images

Peter Bol’s lawyer has slammed the public leaking of his positive A sample as a “disgrace” and accused sporting authorities of “trying to cover their tracks”.

Bol’s world was flipped upside down in January when results of an October drug test returned a positive reading for EPO. The announcement meant the Aussie athlete was suspended from training and competition.

Almost a month later the 800m track star has had his suspension lifted after his B sample “did not confirm” his A sample.

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Bol, 28, maintained he had not taken any drug, having reportedly passed “20 tests” after the positive sample in January.

Bol’s lawyer, Paul Greene, criticised sporting authorities for their handling of the process on Monday, and he doubled down on the Today Show on Tuesday morning.

The American lawyer slammed Sport Integrity Australia and Athletics Australia for making a statement about Bol’s positive A sample in January, arguing they should have waited until his B sample came back.

Peter Bol insists his name has been cleared. Pic: Getty Images

“It is a disgrace in my opinion,” Greene told Today.

“I will say it before and I will say it again. An atypical finding is the same as a negative. “Neither one provides any evidence that Peter did anything wrong.

“That’s what everyone needs to understand. There are many atypical findings every day in the anti-doping world. They don’t mean anything as it relates to actually anything as it relates to actually being charged with an anti-doping rule violation.

“It means something atypical or not completely within the norm. We don’t know what that is because we haven’t had the chance to have Peter have his results looked at or anything because they haven’t given us any laboratory documents.

“Peter is innocent. He never took anything. They can say whatever they want. They have no evidence that he did anything wrong. And they are never going to get any evidence because he didn’t. So I don’t care what they say.”

Bol’s lawyer is furious his test results were leaked. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Greene pointed out that Bol was forced to publicly plead his innocence and despite the B sample coming back negative, the rest of his career risks being overshadowed by this doping saga.

“The anti-doping world is looking after their own interests,” the lawyer continued.

“They are supposed to look after the interests of athletes. I have done this stuff for almost 20 years. They don’t look after the interests of the athletes. They will circle the wagons and protect their own every time. That’s what they are doing here.

“I mean, let’s be clear. They are the ones that leaked this when it never should have been leaked. I am not sure who it was, whether it was Sports Integrity Australia or Athletics Australia. It doesn’t matter.

“It should never have been leaked, it never should been released. And yesterday all they should have said was the B did not confirm the A. That’s it. There’s nothing else. There is no evidence that he did anything wrong.

“But that statement is failing to acknowledge that basically they messed up the whole thing from the beginning. They are clearly trying to cover their tracks.”

The doping scandal threatens to overshadow Bol’s career. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

The timing of the public statements about Bol’s positive A sample have also raised eyebrows.

The athletics star had been named Western Australia’s Young Australian of the Year and was a favourite to be awarded Young Australian of the Year in recognition of his speaking and charity work, but that honour is now in doubt.

But the leaking of his test on the eve of the Australian of the Year Awards has sparked a theory that athletics authorities didn’t want Bol to be awarded the gong only for him to potentially at the centre of a drugs scandal just a few weeks later.

The question has to be now with Peter Bol how was the A sample result leaked, or in other terms before the process was finished. This was costly for Peter. He was booked to go to Canberra and very likely was going to be named Young Australian Of The Year before the news broke.

— Luke Dennehy (@LukeDennehy) February 14, 2023

A wonderful outcome. It's a shame that it might've cost Bol the chance to be named Young Australian of the Year but having his name cleared and being able to continue his career must be a huge relief. https://t.co/Q77bQxArA4

— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) February 14, 2023

Bol rose to prominence at the Tokyo Olympics when he won his 800m semi-final and finished just outside the medals in fourth in a gutsy performance in the final.

He set a new Australian 800m record in the Tokyo Olympic semi-final.

Bol then lowered his own record at the Paris Diamond League in June last year to 1:44.00sec as he continued to prove he was one of the world’s best middle-distance runners.

Last year he made the World Championships final in Eugene, Oregon before winning the 800m silver medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Originally published as ‘It’s a disgrace’: Peter Bol’s lawyer slams leaking of drug test results, accuses Australian authorities of ‘covering their tracks’