Peter Bol failed drug test: Matt Shirvington lifts the lid on Olympic hero doping scandal that rocked Athletics Australia

Sprinting great Matt Shirvington has revealed what really happened following Peter Bol’s positive drug test last year – a situation he describes as a ‘devastating debacle’.

Peter Bol has failed a drug test

Australian sprinting great Matt Shirvington has lifted the lid on what happened in the days and weeks which followed Peter Bol’s failed doping test revealing the athlete produced 20 negative results

Shirvington referred to the situation as a ‘debacle’ that will be ‘devastating’ for the sport in this country.

Bol was told last week that he’d failed an out-of-competition drug test in October 2022 and was immediately suspended by Athletics Australia after they were 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 poster boy of track and field has pleaded his innocence and Shirvington says the whole situation is ‘debacle’.

“For Peter Bol to be caught up in a debacle like this is devastating for athletics in Australia,” Shirvington said on 7NEWS.

“His camp is very confused. Baffled by the situation.

“My understanding is that Peter Bol had not just this one test, but he has had 20 tests since this one (from October 11) as well, and only one of them has come back positive.”

The 28-year-old Bol was expected to be named Young Australian of the Year next week but the drug scandal is almost certain to impact that selection.

pic.twitter.com/8KUFlj9iLy

— Peter Bol OLY (@pbol800) January 20, 2023

Bol knows his career hangs in the balance and is hoping the B sample test comes back negative although history shows that is highly unlikely.

In a lengthy statement on his social media accounts on Friday afternoon, Bol said: “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 believe me and let the process play out. When I found out last week that they A sample from a urine test taken on 11 October had tested positive for synthetic EPO I was in total shock.

Australian Peter Bol tested positive for performance enhancing drugs

“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.”

A National Australia Day Council spokesperson said it was aware of a potential anti-doping violation involving the Young Australian of the Year from Western Australia, but would provide no further comment.

“The Australians of the Year will be announced on January 25,’’ the spokesperson said.

“To ensure the confidentiality of Australian of the Year deliberations and NADC Board processes, we will provide no further comment.”

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 for taking anabolic steroids in 1996.

BELOW: ATHLETICS AUSTRALIA’S FULL STATEMENT ON PETER BOL

Bol’s agent James Templeton said they would continue to fight to clear the Olympic finalist’s name saying the interpretation of these tests is 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 CEO 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, just missing out on the bronze medal.

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

Bol’s remarkable story has been celebrated, how he was born in Sudan and then emigrated to Egypt before his family gained humanitarian status through the UNHCR, first arriving in Toowoomba, before the family settled in Perth.

Bol rose to fame at the Tokyo Olympics

He didn’t start athletics until 16 when a teacher at his high school approached him to compete in the athletics carnival. He dominated and realised track and field was his path forward rather than basketball.

Within a couple of years he won the national junior 800m title and then in 2015 he moved to Melbourne to be coached by Rinaldi.

Bol made his Australian debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics where he was run out in the heat and then again 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 sky-rocketed with 2021 his coming out parade.

He set a new Australian 800m record in the Tokyo Olympic semi-final, clocking 1min44.13sec to take the honour off his training partner Joseph Deng who had owned the record for three years.

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.