A former boss of the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) has defended Australian runner Peter Bol but has also backed a top official accused of being a “total disgrace”.
The Bol drugs saga resurfaced when previously secret evidence on the Olympian’s phone was aired during another athlete’s Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing in mid-May.
Ross Wenzel, WADA’s general counsel, said during a hearing regarding a Croatian footballer that a screenshot had been discovered on Bol’s phone in an investigation into what was initially, but falsely, categorised as a positive EPO test.
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In August 2023, Bol was cleared by Sport Integrity Australia (SIA), which WADA acknowledged at the time, after it was determined the Commonwealth Games silver medallist had recorded a false positive.
The screenshot raised by Wenzel was of an article that included a letter sent from Victor Conte, a convicted supplier of performance-enhancing drugs, to former UK sprinter Dwain Chambers, a convicted doper. The letter discussed micro-dosing with EPO in the off-season and how to trick the whereabouts system.
David Howman, who served as WADA’s director-general for 13 years and is now the chair of the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), was asked about the latest Bol development in an interview with Wide World of Sports.
Australian Olympic runner Peter Bol at the postponed Tokyo Olympics. Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images
“Ross Wenzel is a very good lawyer. I’ve got to say that at the outset. I don’t see him being the sort of lawyer who would ever try to manoeuvre in a wrong way,” Howman told Wide World of Sports over Zoom.
“I just find it a little bit unusual [the screenshot being raised] without understanding the full context.
“Peter Bol did not transgress the rules … He may have been a person under suspicion, but he’s not a convicted doper.”
Bol had agreed for details from his case to be used during Croatian footballer Mario Vuskovic’s hearing at CAS.
It was claimed during the hearing that Bol’s phone was found to be clean, which prompted Wenzel to comment on the screenshot found on Bol’s phone.
Paul Greene, the lawyer for Bol and the Croatian footballer, unloaded.
“They [WADA] are still defaming Mr. Bol in this hearing,” Greene said during the hearing, which can be viewed by the public on the CAS website.
“It’s just a total disgrace.”
David Howman, pictured during his 13 years as director-general of the World Anti-Doping Authority, has responded to the latest Peter Bol drugs development. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Howman admitted to WWOS it was “a bit of a shock” to read about the development in the media.
Wenzel said the screenshot was discovered on Bol’s phone a month and five days before the middle-distance runner returned what was eventually found to be a false positive.
“When he was interviewed about this and asked about the screenshot which was on his phone — it was not in his search history, it was actually something that had been saved on his phone — the answer was, ‘Oh, I read a lot of things, I am interested in learning and all that’,” Wenzel said.
Howman said he was concerned about the Bol case from the moment the Melbourne-based athlete was provisionally suspended.
“At the AIU we are now very cautious about provisional suspensions for … EPO cases because we are a little bit worried that in this area there can be Bs which don’t match the As,” Howman said.
“That concern can be seen as real when in Bol’s case the B did not match the A.
“… I’m not sure that concern is overcome yet. I know he’s back running … I was worried that nothing had been done to remedy the situation.
“Now, this thing worsens; it doesn’t remedy it.”
WADA provided a statement to WWOS.
“… WADA makes no further comment about Mr. Bol or his case except to say that following a review put in place in light of the peculiarities of that case, WADA continues to have no reason to question the validity of the analytical method used for recombinant EPO,” part of the WADA statement read.”
Sport Integrity Australia, Athletics Australia and the Bol camp all declined to comment when contacted by WWOS.
But Athletics Australia chief executive Peter Bromley spoke to The Age about the development last month.
“Sport Integrity Australia concluded their investigations on Peter last year and exonerated him,” Bromley said.
“From our perspective, this case is closed, and we support Peter and his ongoing preparations for the Paris Olympics.”