Peter Bol is a man of his word. He is also a man for these times. As he had promised, the first Australian to reach an 800m final at the Olympics since 1968 led from the front on Wednesday night. Bol was not going to be left wondering.
The 27-year-old went early and he went hard, knowing that Kenyan duo Emmanuel Korir and Ferguson Rotich would benefit from a slow start. In the end, Bol’s legs fell just short – he struggled to stay with Korir, Rotich and Poland’s Patryk Dobek as they lifted the pace in the final stretch. If there was an Olympic 700m race, Bol would have secured gold – but the final 100m dash cost him a spot on the Tokyo 2020 podium. Fourth was an immensely creditable result.
The outpouring of support for Bol on social media in the past 24 hours, and particularly after his race on Wednesday, underscored the inspiration he has offered the Australian public. “I didn’t know if I was going to win, but I knew one thing for certain – that the whole of Australia was watching,” he told Channel Seven. “That carried me on.”
