Joseph Deng sets new national record with fastest 800m in Australian history

Joseph Deng has burst out of training partner Peter Bol’s shadow to become the fastest 800m runner in Australian history, setting a new Australian Record in Lyon overnight.

Joseph Deng has broken his training partner Peter Bol’s 800m Australian record in an Olympic qualifying time. Picture: Instagram

HE‘S been the forgotten training partner but now Joseph Deng is back as the fastest 800m runner in Australian history.

After several years in the wilderness where he was almost lost to the sport, Deng has burst out of Peter Bol‘s shadow to claim his good friend’s national record.

Deng, 25, produced a career best 1min43.99sec in Lyon, France on Saturday night to go under Bol’s record by .01sec.

He had previously owned the Australian record back in 2018 when he ran 1:44.21sec, breaking the mark which had stood for 50 years.

Olympic gold medallist Ralph Doubell had set the previous Australian mark of 1:44.40sec at altitude at the 1968 Mexico City Games. It was then equalled by Alex Rowe in Monaco four years ago.

Deng owned the mark for three years before Bol, who he trains alongside under the guidance of Justin Rinaldi in Melbourne, smashed it at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics where he finished fourth in the 800m final.

But after finally overcoming injuries and motivation issues, Deng has put together his best training block for years and the results have flowed.

Last month he booked his ticket to the world championships in Budapest by running 1:44.48sec – his fastest time for five years – to nail the 1:44.70sec qualifying standard.

In Lyon, Deng kicked clear of the field down the home straight to break the magical barrier he‘d been searching for all his career.

“!: 43,99 is something that Pete, Justin and I have been working towards for a few years now,” Deng said. ”To finally have one of us under 1:44, it‘s a relief.”

Deng and Peter Bol both train under Justin Rinaldi in Melbourne. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Deng and Bol, who ran the qualifying time in Barcelona on Wednesday night, are the only Australians to have qualified in the 800m for the world titles in Hungary, starting August 19.

While his teammate was stealing his record, Bol stepped up at the same meet and produced a career best of his own in the 1500m, clocking 3min34.52sec.

He finished second in the race with 17-year-old Canberra wonderkid Cameron Myers just a step behind him in third place, also in a personal best time of 3:35.01sec.

Myers has been a revelation this season and is now just .82 of a second outside the world championships automatic qualifying mark in the 1500m.

It has been a big week for Aussie athletes in Europe with pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall producing a career best 5.95m to rocket into medal calculations for Budapest.