Confidentiality key in doping allegations: Seb Coe
John Salvado |
World Athletics boss Sebastian Coe says that while confidentiality is paramount, there are occasions when athletes accused of doping are identified before their B samples are tested.
Coe is in Bathurst for Saturday’s world cross country championships, an event being overshadowed in the host nation by the ongoing Peter Bol saga.
The national 800m record holder came out hard again on Tuesday proclaiming his innocence after it was revealed that his B sample for synthetic EPO had returned an “atypical finding” – meaning it was neither positive or negative.
His provisional suspension was lifted, although Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) made it clear the investigation was ongoing.
The Sudanese-born Bol – who shot to prominence when he finished a gallant fourth in the 800m at the Tokyo Olympics – had been banned on January 10 after testing positive to EPO on October 11.
News of the positive test broke on January 20, before Bol’s B sample was tested.
SIA and Athletics Australia (AA) have both denied being the source of the leak, which has been slammed by Bol’s US lawyer Paul Greene.
Coe stressed he was unable to comment specifically on Bol – or any alleged individual doping case – as such matters were now overseen by the Athletics Integrity Unit, which was set up by the sport’s governing body back in 2017.
“It’s not that I will evade (questions about Bol) but I don’t know the answers because the Integrity Unit now has jurisdiction over that,” Coe said at the official pre-event media conference for the world cross country championships.
“And as you know, from the way we’ve treated recent cases, reputation doesn’t count for anything, the size of the federation doesn’t count for anything, we are very clear and the Athletics Integrity Unit has done a very good job.
“And confidentiality of course is very important.
“There are some balances there, that the Athletics Integrity Unit does on occasion talk about an A sample, simply because of the proximity to a championship and giving complete clarity.
“… I can’t really get into a individual case but confidentiality is not something that should really ever be compromised.”
Chief executive Peter Bromley defended AA’s decision to confirm Bol’s original positive test and provisional suspension in January once it became public.
“We anticipated that his absence from training and published start lists for upcoming events would lead to questions and media reporting, as it did,” Bromley said in a statement.
“At all times our primary considerations have been the welfare of Peter Bol, ensuring procedural fairness and abiding by the Australian National Anti-Doping Policy.”
Because he has been unable to train for a month due to suspension, Bol is almost certain to miss the national titles in Brisbane, which double as the trials for August’s world championships in Budapest.
If SIA decides that Bol did not commit an anti-doping violation, the 28-year-old is likely to head to Europe chasing the 800m qualifying standard for the world championships.
AAP
