Olympic Games star issues ultimatum to drug testers following discovery of alleged screenshot: ‘I’ve got nothing to answer for’

Australian middle-distance star Peter Bol insists he has nothing to answer for after a potentially damaging screenshot on his mobile phone was made public in a separate anti-doping case.

Bol was provisionally suspended in early 2023 after a test recorded an elevated level of the banned synthetic erythropoietin (EPO).

That ban was lifted the following month when his B sample returned an atypical finding, prompting the Tokyo Olympics finalist to insist he was fully exonerated.

The case was officially dropped a few months later.

The matter returned to the headlines earlier this year when Bol was mentioned in a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing involving alleged EPO use by Croatian soccer player Mario Vuskovic.

Bol and Vuskovic are both represented by American lawyer Paul Greene.

Lawyers for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) claimed Bol’s case had not involved a false positive, but rather a degradation of his sample between the A and B tests.

Nine Newspapers also reported anti-doping authorities told the hearing they had discovered a screenshot on Bol’s phone, dated to September 2022, which contained information about synthetic EPO use.

After easing up well before the line and finishing seventh in his 800m heat on Wednesday, Bol put the onus on WADA to put up or shut up.

‘I’m actually uncertain when they pulled that out (the screenshot) and where they pulled it from,’ he told reporters.

‘I read every article out there and there’s probably a billion articles.

‘I read a lot on crime and they decided to pull out just the one that suited them; which is again playing a political game.

‘If I wasn’t able to race they would have banned me a while ago and I’m still here.

‘I’ve got nothing really to answer for.

‘I think you guys should be asking (WADA) the questions and they should be answering for those comments.’

An alleged screenshot has come to light but Bol says he has nothing to answer for

Bol and his former training partner Joseph Deng, who is now based in South Africa, will contest the 800m repechage round on Thursday.

‘I just let (WADA) do what they want to do basically and just try to stay focused on my game and the things that I can’t control, I can’t really focus on,’ said Bol.

‘The fact is I’m out here running and I’m grateful for that.’

Bol, 30, shot to prominence when he smashed the Australian 800m record at the Tokyo Olympics and finished fourth in the final, missing out on a medal by half a second.