Tokyo 2021 Olympics: Men’s athletics results, Peter Bol 800m runner time

Ralph Doubell — Australia’s last 800m Olympic champion — says whether Peter Bol can deal with the weight of a nation will determine his Tokyo medal hopes.

TOKYO, JAPAN – AUGUST 01: Peter Bol of Team Australia reacts after competing in the Men's 800 metres Semi-Final on day nine of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 01, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

It is the 53-year-old Olympic gold medal that has become the talk of Australian athletics but it’s not as if Ralph Doubell is flaunting it.

“I’m actually not sure where it to be honest,’’ Melbourne-based Doubell, 76, said of the iconic 800m gold he won at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

“I think my wife had put it away somewhere. I mean it’s not as if I wear it around all the time.’’

“Not since Ralph Doubell …’’ are words which have echoed around Australian athletics for half a century.

That Olympic gold medal — wherever it is — is the last one awarded to an Australian male track runner (though Jared Tallent won a walking gold) and it’s a drought Peter Bol will try and snap in Tokyo on Wednesday night.

Ralph Doubell wins the 800m race at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

Doubell reckons there is one big difference between the day he sliced through Mexico’s thin air to glory and the challenge confronting new star Bol in steamy Tokyo.

Dobell, much to his relief, felt like the Invisible Man when he stormed to an upset win.

Bol, by contrast, has had his cover blown by an excellent semi-final and is gradually becoming the focus of a locked-down and locked-in nation.

“He has two more days to worry about it and unfortunately he will get all sorts of pressure from the media,’’ Doubell said.

“He is not used to that so he has to step up and manage that. In the gap of a few days you can start questioning whether you are good enough and what other people are going to do.

“I was in the fortunate position of no-one knowing who I was. I had no press pressure.

“When I ran it was on October 13, 14 and 15 and there was no rest because it was wham, bam thank you Sam and you didn’t have time to worry about it.

“To me I was one of the favourites but the Australian press didn’t think I had a chance.

“Track and Field News – the bible of the sport – said I was a possible gold medallist but no-one in the Australian press read it. There was no great external pressure on me but you do build it up internally.

Peter Bol is rated a genuine medal hope.

“But Peter has got a chance and he has run very well. I liked the way he raced his opposition in the semi-final rather than the clock.’’

Doubell’s world record time was also an Australian record for 50 years.

Bol has broken it twice including the Sunday’s semi-final.

“The world record has come down three and a half seconds since I set it but the Australian record hasn’t fallen much at all. Australia has spent a lot of money but has not got a lot of results.

“If you say Australia has spent $100 million over the last 20 years. That is five million a year and divide that four ways between male and female and track and field. The returns have not been great. I think in the last 11 Olympics we have had 11 men make finals. That is not a big return on investment.

“But I am very pleased to see Peter do well.’’

There is a theory that old time athlete’s trained harder than modern stars but Doubell did admit to one novel routine.

“My coach and I used to have lunch at Jimmy Watson’s Wine Bar every Friday and by the time we had finished I felt I could beat anyone in the world.’’

BRUCE ANOINTS BOL AS GOLD MEDAL HOPE

Scott Gullan and Brianna Travers

Commentary great Bruce McAvaney has anointed Aussie Peter Bol as a genuine gold medal hope as he seeks to end a 53-year drought in tonight’s final.

Speaking on Channel 7, McAvaney said: “Peter Bol, 1968 the last time we’ve had a finalist in the 800m.

“He did everything right and takes the record again. He takes the Oceania record and runs his way into the final of the 800m.

“He can win the gold medal, that’s what he could do. He is in the mix.”

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW

Bol’s family went ballistic during his latest run, as heartwarming footage shared by the runner shows.

The footage captures his jubilant family and friends celebrating at his mum’s house throughout his incredible winning race.

By qualifying for the men’s 800m Olympic final, Bol has become the first Australian to do so since Ralph Doubell, who won gold at the 1968 games.

Bol, 27, fled Sudan’s civil war when he was a child and then emigrated to Egypt with his family for six years before immigrating to Australia.

Bol is aware of Australia’s history in the 800m at Olympic Games and rather than be daunted, he’s excited about the synergy.

On Wednesday night Bol will go into the 2021 final as the form runner of the field after lowering the Australian record in consecutive races.

Peter Bol won his 800m semi-final.

After taking the record off his training partner Joseph Deng in Saturday’s heats, the 27-year-old went lower again clocking 1min 44.11sec to win his semi-final.

It was once again brilliantly controlled running from the front with Bol even having time to celebrate with a pointed finger as he crossed the line.

Bol revealed his decision to delay coming over to Europe, which had been made by his coach Justin Rinaldi and manager James Templeton, had paid off.

“How good is that? I am just so happy right now,” he said.

“I went to Europe for three weeks, raced two races and they probably weren’t the best in terms of positions.

“But it was the best preparation in terms of getting ready and when I went to Gateshead and ran third I said to James and Justin, ‘I think we can win a medal’.

#tokyo2020 how is this for a celebration?!

Aussie Peter Bol's family and friends cheer him on in the 800m semi-final 🇦🇺 💪

(📷: @pbol800 instagram) pic.twitter.com/TuNWOvOYTi

— Herald Sun Sport (@heraldsunsport) August 2, 2021

“They said, ‘Don’t get too excited, you have to get in a final first’. Now we are here, making history, two Australian records in a row.

“The plan stays the same (in the final) we are here to race, not chase times and records. They can go but championships and gold, they stay with you forever and that is all we are chasing.”

Peter Bol cledars out from the chasing pack to take the 800m semi-final.

Bol’s journey to an Olympic final is extraordinary. He was born in Sudan before his family immigrated to Egypt due to that country’s civil war.

The family then immigrated Australia when Bol was eight. He only turned his hand to running at the age of 16 when he lived in Perth.

Veteran Jeff Riseley hit some trouble in his semi-final with a fall in front of him at the top of the straight ruining any chance he had of qualifying while US-based Charlie Hunter also failed to progress.

Originally published as Tokyo 2021 Olympics: Men’s athletics results, Peter Bol 800m runner time