Peter Bol’s lawyers claim ‘blunder of epic proportions’ after independent labs find no EPO

Lawyers for the Australian Olympic star Peter Bol have blasted anti-doping body Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) as “completely wrong”, in a letter alleging that Bol’s sample which tested positive for synthetic erythropoietin (EPO) never actually contained the performance-enhancing drug.

The letter declares that Bol “is innocent and always has been”. It calls on SIA to publicly end the ongoing anti-doping investigation and admit its mistake.

Bol, who rose to prominence with his heroics at the Tokyo Olympics, tested positive for the prohibited substance in his A sample in January. But last month his B sample returned an atypical finding, which saw his suspension from competition lifted, although SIA’s investigation remains ongoing.

The saga has now been reignited by the letter, from Bol’s American lawyer Paul Greene of Global Sports Advocates. In the correspondence, sent to SIA last week, Greene alleges that the government body was “wrong” to conclude that Bol’s A sample contained synthetic EPO, “wrong” to conclude that the testing had complied with international standards, and “wrong” to continue the investigation “when there is no evidence whatsoever that Mr Bol ever used synthetic EPO”.

The latest development in the Bol saga was first reported by Nine newspapers, and has been independently verified by Guardian Australia.

The claims are based on two expert reports provided to SIA by Greene, from Professor David Chen at the University of British Columbia and four Norwegian researchers, Professor Jon Nissen-Meyer, Professor Erik Boye, Professor Bjarne Østerud and Tore Skotland. Both reports conclude, according to the letter, that “there is no evidence to show the presence of synthetic EPO in [Bol’s] urine”. Guardian