Peter Bol becomes first Aussie to make 800m World Champs final

Aussie 800m star Peter Bol has made history at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon but it was by the skin of his teeth.

Peter Bol is chasing a medal. Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images for World Athletics

Aussie 800m star Peter Bol has already made history at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon but it was about as close as it gets.

The World No. 3 ranked 800m runner in a hot field for the semi-finals, racing against Kenyan duo World No. 1 Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir and No. 9 Wycliffe Kinyamal Kisasy.

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As the first two finishers automatically qualified, Bol faced a nervous wait as he ran in the first of three semi-finals after he finished third.

Bol pushed to the front early behind Kisasy but was overwhelmed by Olympic champion Korir down the straight.

However, his time of 1:45.58 was enough to get through to the final.

In the third semi-final France’s Benjamin Robert finished fourth and almost got ahead of the Aussie, falling just 0.09 seconds behind Bol.

The Aussie knew just how lucky he was to get through to the world championship decider.

Damn that was close 😅 😮‍💨

— Peter Bol OLY (@pbol800) July 22, 2022

But Bol has already made history, becoming the first Australian to contest an 800m final at the World Champs.

Bol is no stranger to history, having broken the Oceania record in a time of 1:44.00 in June.

Bol was also the first Aussie to compete in an Olympic final since 1968 at the Tokyo Games where he finished fourth.

It was so close. Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP

After a strong win in the heats where Bol qualified ninth overall, the 28-year-old revealed he felt he’d earned the respect of his competitors.

“When I saw I was world number three coming into the championships, it was like, ‘Wow’,” Bol said.

“You realise you are in a good place.

“After last year, my manager always says that the second year is the hardest to back up and I think I’ve done it well, I’ve already broken the Australian record again.

“There’s a lot more respect out there, for sure.”

Aussie women’s 800m competitor Catriona Bisset will race in the semi-finals despite being knocked to the ground in her heat.

Bisset was the last to cross the line, after coming around the final bend in second.

Bisset looked to be fading somewhat but tangled with Slovenian runner Anita Horvat, which left the Aussie sprawled on the ground.

Bisset left the stadium in tears but the jury promoted the Aussie to the semis just as the Australian team was preparing an appeal.