Tokyo Olympics 2021: Australian Peter Bol finishes fourth in 800m final
New cult hero Peter Bol came so close to executing the perfect 800m race, but one huge tactical factor counted against the Aussie.
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Australian track star Peter Bol says he’s already recovered from the initial disappointment of just missing out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics after his rivals killed his chances of winning the gold by deliberately going too slow.
Bol, who has become a cult hero with his inspiring performances in Japan and heartwarming backstory since emigrating to Australia, finished a courageous fourth in the 800m final when he was overtaken in the sprint to the line after doing all the hard work up front.
The 27-year-old feared he would be a sitting duck when he went to the front halfway through the first lap, but said he had no choice because no one else wanted to lift the tempo.
“That was the worst case scenario,” he said.
“I was hoping to sit second if the pace was fast, but the pace wasn’t fast at all.
“It was 53 seconds (for the first 400m). I would have liked to see 50 on the clock because that kind of spreads out the field at the same time.”
Under the circumstances, Bol did an incredible job to hold on to fourth spot and although he missed out on the podium, he had no qualms with his rivals or his own’ tactics.
“The 800m is always a tactical race,” he said.
“I was not nervous, I was not under pressure. I was on my game.
“They were just better than me and that’s why I can be at peace with my race. Although the goal was to win, I raced to plan, I executed my race.”
Bol has become an instant celebrity in Australia, with millions tuning in to watch his race and his family’s spontaneous celebrations at their Perth home.
He rang them straight after the final while he was in doping control, but couldn’t get any sense out of anyone so called back the next day when everyone had calmed down.
“All I could hear was yelling and screaming, so I just screamed back. It seemed like they were having a pretty good party,” he said.
“The support from everyone has just been unreal. My mum did call me and said that you lifted the community and my dad said ‘No, I think you lifted the nation,’
“It just shows how much power there is in a story and how important it is to share your stories individually and to follow your dreams. Your story is unique, my story is unique, everyone’s story is unique.”
While winning gold at Paris in 2024 is his long-term goal, Bol said he was looking to get on the podium at next year’s Commonwealth Games and world championships.
He is also heading straight to Europe after the Games to compete in the lucrative Diamond League series before finally heading home in September.
HOW BOL’S RESULT COULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT
Australia’s last 800m track gold medallist Ralph Doubell hopes Peter Bol will inspire a new era in athletics despite missing a medal in Tokyo.
Doubell retains the honour of being Australia’s last male track individual gold medallist when he stormed to an upset victory at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
The 76-year-old stayed up until after 10pm to watch Bol run an honourable fourth in the 800m final in Tokyo on Wednesday night.
“I know a lot of people watched Peter race and I am hoping that it triggers a new dawn in Australian athletics,’’ Doubell said.
“In the last 11 Olympics I think we have had only about 10 or 11 men make finals but this was different because he was right in contention for a medal. He did well.
“Hopefully it will inspire others to get that medal. Not just in the future but even in these Games because I think Stewart McSweyn in the 1500m will be lifted by what he saw.’’
Doubell said because the race was run so slowly it became a race of tactics.
“It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Peter had taken off with 300m to go. Had he gone really hard from that point I wonder whether it could have made a difference.’’
BOL’S EPIC RUN
He wasn’t going to die wondering and Peter Bol certainly did that, running a daring Olympic 800m final only to just fall short of the medals.
The Australian ended up finishing fourth, which many regard as the worst possible position at a major championships given how close it is to a life-changing medal.
Unfortunately for Bol the race didn’t pan out the way he wanted but he still had millions of Australians at home on the edge of their seats when he kicked for home at the bell.
On Thursday, Bol told Sunrise that racing in the Tokyo Games was a calmer experience than when he competed in Rio.
“I don’t know if it is the crowd or the experience and maturity behind it running at this Olympics has been so much more enjoyable than Rio was,” he said.
Bol’s friends and family were cheering him on after pouring into his parents house in Perth to watch the race unfold.
Asked how important it was to have made them proud, he responded: “Very important.
“As I saw them all at the house I was just thinking, I think they probably need a bigger house.
“There were so many people watching at home and I’ve been so proud, my parents have always been invested in me as a person and they called me a week before and said, ‘you’ve already made us proud’, and my dad said, ‘no, I think you made the whole of Australia proud and whatever you do from here is just you, have fun with it,’ and that was so important to me.”
“It was an emotional moment seeing them up on the screen. They have been handling the media so well. There is a few fans of them online as well so that has been cool to see.”
Bol was still in the lead going around the final bend but the pressure was coming on his outside from the eventual winner, Kenya’s Emmanuel Kipkuni Korir.
It was soon obvious he wasn’t going to repeat Ralph Doubell’s effort of winning gold in 1968 but hopes of a medal remained until the final 20 metres, where reality hit.
By that stage another Kenyan Ferguson Rotich had gone past and when Poland’s Patryk Dobek gained ascendancy over him on his outside, Bol’s body language noticeably changed.
Korir won the gold medal in 1min 45.06sec which was significantly slower to the time Bol ran to win Sunday night’s semi-final where he lowered his own Australian record (1:44.18sec).
“I put myself in with every chance.” Bol, who ran 1:45.92sec, said. “I came here to win and that’s what I did. I tried to win. I came up short but we are in an Olympic final and there is more to come.
“I think the only thing I regret was the last 100 tiring up a little bit. I kind of went out and didn’t want to be at the back. I knew no one was going to lead that race and, in the worst case scenario, I was going to have to lead it.
“I got out of trouble, some of those guys are stronger, have faster PBs and they didn’t beat me.
“I mean, I’d be lying if I said I’m pretty happy right now. The goal was to win. At the same time, I think today I didn’t know if I was going to win but I knew one thing for certain, that the whole of Australia was watching and that carried me on.
“I loved that part about it. I’m grateful to Australia, I’m thankful to everyone in Australia. We’re human at the end of the day. We inspired the whole nation. That’s the goal.”
Bol, 27, said he was surprised he wasn’t nervous coming into the biggest race of his life.
“I was reflecting today on this whole Olympics. I haven’t been nervous in one part,” he said. “I have been more nervous at Diamond Leagues and nationals than here.
“I don’t know where this strength has come from. Someone said do you feel a lot of pressure with the whole nation behind you and I said no, I feel a lot of strength.
“No pressure, no nerves, it was just one of those races. Absolutely I am disappointed with fourth at the Olympics but five years ago I ran 1.49 and got knocked out.
“I’ve been to two world championships and got knocked out in the first round … we know there is now more to come.”
After the race, Bol was shown a video of his family cheering him on.
“Oh man,” Bol said.
“That’s my brother, it’s his birthday today, happy birthday.
“That’s my whole family, I could probably name every single one of them. I love you guys and I appreciate you so much. Thank you for following the journey.”
Bol’s appearance in the 800m final was the first time an Australian had made it since Doubell’s memorable victory in Mexico City.
The only other Australian medallist in the 800m was Edwin Flack who also won gold in 1896.
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