Australian 800m runner Peter Bol will have to go through the repechage to avoid elimination in Paris, after finishing seventh in his first round heat on Wednesday. The Tokyo finalist took the opportunity after the race to defend himself against those who continue to question his record on drugs.

The 30-year-old was provisionally suspended in 2023 after returning an adverse analytical finding for synthetic EPO, a performance enhancing drug, but the ban was lifted shortly after his B sample returned an atypical finding.

Yet his reputation was returned to the spotlight in May in a hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport relating to a separate athlete. Bol’s case was raised in a discussion about the effectiveness of testing, and Wada general counsel Ross Wenzel told the tribunal anti-doping authorities had discovered a screenshot on Bol’s phone, saved in September 2022, five weeks before the initial positive sample was collected, containing information about synthetic EPO use.

Bol addressed the screenshot with reporters for the first time after his heat. “I’m actually uncertain when they pulled that out and where they pulled it from,” he said.

“But, I mean, I read every article out there, and there’s probably a billion articles on [my phone]. I read a lot on crime, and they decided to pull out just the one that suited them, which is again, playing that political game.

“If I wasn’t able to race, that would have been a while ago, and I’m still here, and I’ve got nothing to really answer for. I think you guys should be asking them the questions, and they should be answering for those comments.”

In his heat at the end of the straight, Bol was already out of contention for the top three qualifying places, and slowed down in the knowledge he has a second chance in the repechage on Thursday.

“Try to play it a little bit safer tomorrow, and see if you can come back home stronger, and just put yourself in a position to stay relaxed until the last 150,” he said. “Just watching all those heats, it seems like most races are won in that last 150.”

Joseph Deng, Australia’s 800m record holder, moved to South Africa to train this year, but has had his preparation interrupted by injury. He finished sixth in his heat and will also run in the repechage.

But 19-year-old Peyton Craig was a surprise, finishing third in his heat to book a place in the semi-finals on Thursday. He was a national swimming, athletics and triathlon champion as a child, but said he chose athletics for these moments.

“Mate, 80,000 people out there, that race then describes why I picked athletics, there’s nothing like it. Two laps of the track seeing who’s the best, and in front of a crowd like that, so much excitement and just so much enjoyment in the sport.”

He said those who might only be seeing him for the first time should expect someone who is always going to give 100%. “Mama didn’t raise a quitter, I think that’s the best way to put it.”