'Shortcut' suspicions raised amid Bol drug saga

1 year ago 80

Leading Australian athletics cause James Templeton has raised an alarming question successful an intriguing dive into the Bernard Lagat and Peter Bol cause trial controversies.

Templeton was Lagat's cause and is besides Bol's manager.

Lagat, an Olympic metallic medallist and a five-time satellite champion, was provisionally suspended successful September 2003 aft returning a affirmative A illustration for the cause erythropoietin (EPO), earlier being cleared to resume competing erstwhile his B illustration produced a antagonistic effect astir a period later.

The vocation of Bol, the Australian men's 800-metre record-holder and a Commonwealth Games metallic medallist, besides took a drastic crook erstwhile he returned a affirmative A illustration for the aforesaid cause 20 years later. Bol was provisionally suspended successful January, but had his prohibition lifted erstwhile his B illustration registered an atypical finding, which means neither affirmative nor negative, successful February.

One fascinating nexus betwixt the Lagat and Bol cases is the beingness of "two stubborn men", successful the words of Templeton.

Twenty years aft Dr Hans Heid from the German Cancer Research Centre was an autarkic witnesser for the investigation of Lagat's B sample, persisting done 22 hours of processing crossed 3 days, Templeton played the aforesaid relation during the investigating of Bol's B sample.

Not each jock tin spend to person their B illustration tested. Having an eagle-eyed witnesser peering implicit a tester's enarthrosis connected their behalf is adjacent much rare.

The question Templeton is pondering is whether testers run with conscionable arsenic watchful an oculus during their analyses of archetypal samples.

"At the opening of Lagat's B illustration successful Cologne, earlier Dr Hans Heid went into the laboratory arsenic perceiver for 3 days, I was amazed however assured helium was that the illustration would crook retired negative," Templeton told Wide World of Sports.

"He believed helium knew wherever shortcuts were being taken successful the lab.

"Heid insisted that helium would beryllium contiguous for each 22 hours implicit 3 days that the Bernard Lagat B illustration was being worked connected and that his beingness would guarantee that the nonstop protocols would beryllium followed to the letter.

"I'm surely nary scientist, but connected February 1, 2023 I determined to bash the aforesaid for Peter Bol. It seemed evident that my beingness for those 22 hours would besides guarantee that they would travel to the nonstop specifications of the protocols."

Templeton said that portion helium "didn't recognize the galore agelong and analyzable processes", helium was capable to "tick everything disconnected the tally expanse of protocols".

"To a non-scientist it's hard to accidental thing different than however shocked I was astatine however analyzable the full process is," Templeton said.

"This is nary modular cause test; this is simply a precise hands-on, analyzable operation. It's disposable for anyone to spot online. It's agelong and analyzable and past is subjectively assessed. What could perchance spell wrong?

"There are galore coincidences successful life," Templeton added.

"Who knows however important it was that 2 stubborn men 20 years isolated sitting done 3 days of tedious laboratory enactment led successful immoderate mode to those B tests not coming backmost positive?"

The precocious Dr Werner Franke, who successful the 1990s combined with his woman to exposure East Germany's state-sponsored performance-enhancing drugs program, peppered with questions Lagat, his woman and Templeton aft Lagat returned his affirmative A sample.

Dr Franke finished the interrogation convinced that Lagat was innocent, earlier his main antheral successful the lab — Dr Heid — took up his task arsenic autarkic witness.

The beingness of Templeton successful the laboratory for the investigation of Bol's B illustration seemed to guarantee 5 radical were monitoring the tester: Templeton, a Sport Integrity Australia official, 2 laboratory managers and a information guard.

"All I cognize is the WADA satellite was precise amazed astatine the effect successful 2003, and I'm assuming they were besides past month," Templeton said.

"Few different B samples person travel backmost arsenic variance to their A and it tin lone beryllium wondered what quality it would marque if much radical sat doggedly done 22 hours of processing.

"It's hard not to deliberation the process isn't incredibly flawed."

Wide World of Sports contacted Sport Integrity Australia but the governing assemblage declined to comment.

WWOS besides reached retired to WADA, but is yet to person a reply.

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