Peter Bol was left wishing the Commonwealth Games’ men’s 800 metres final was 820 metres after claiming a silver medal for Australia.
The former Thornlie resident and St Norbert College student broke onto the international stage at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finishing fourth in the 800 metres.
In Birmingham Bol waltzed through his heat, crushing the field in first position despite pulling up with 50 metres left to go.
It made expectations high that Bol would finish in the top three in the final, broadcast at 2am AWST.
With his family and friends watching on from their Thornlie home, no front-runner emerged, with the race significantly slower than his heat.
Bol and Kenya’s Wyclife Kinyamalke led the pack for the entire race, and with 200 metres to go Kinyamalke made his break, quickly pulling away.
Bol attempted to reel the Kenyan in and despite gaining on Kinyamalke, the finish line saw Bol claim silver, denied gold by less than a second.
After the race, Bol said it was a strange race.
“[the race was] super slow but that’s the 800, super tactical,” he said.
“I thought ‘stay relaxed, stay relaxed, stay relaxed’ but he’s so strong, he just kept going.”
“If we had maybe another 20m I could have won but we’re only running 800 not 820.
“You look at the start list and there are no frontrunners out there.
“I knew it was going to be tactical and I knew I was going to have to come home strong and I think we did, so I’m happy with that.”
Bol’s former teachers at St Norbert College in Queens Park were among the supporters who set alarms for 2am to watch the race live.
One of Bol’s former teachers, Maureen Tavani, came to know Bol in 2012 when he was a House Captain.
She said he impressed her then as a wonderful young man.
“From asking ‘How far is that?’ (when asked to run in an 800m race at school) to a fantastic silver medal in 2022. I keep saying it. I am so proud of you, Peter Bol,” Ms Tavani said.
College Principal Simon Harvey said the college community would continue to closely follow Bol’s career – with Paris 2024 now in sight.
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