Joseph Deng the Sudanese refugee who can win 800m medal

Joseph Deng’s journey to a Commonwealth Games final is much further than the 800m he will run tonight.

Kenya's Wycliff Kinyamal leads England's Kylie Langford, left, and Australia's Joseph Deng to the finish line in their men's 800m heat at Carrara Stadium. Picture: AP

Joseph Deng ran 800 metres in smart time to put himself in contention to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games. That he is even on the Gold Coast owes much to a mother who made an even greater journey to save her family from the ravages of war-torn Sudan more than a decade ago.

Deng was born in a Kenyan refugee camp, his mother Rebecca having fled Sudan as the country was in the throes of civil unrest. Stories that emanate from Kenyan refugee camps are mortifying.

In Kakuma, one of the largest refugee camps in the world, an average of eight children die each day. Deng was one of the lucky ones — he and his family finding their way out when he was six.

They landed in Toowoomba and Deng then moved to be with his uncle, attending Ipswich Grammar School and coming under the guidance of coach Di Sheppard. Sheppard was at Carrara Stadium yesterday as Deng (1:45.72m) finished third in his heat, good enough to secure a place in tomorrow night’s final.

His current coach, Justin Rinaldi, was there as well — Deng moved to Melbourne three years ago where another Sudanese athlete, Peter Bol, was also training.

“The courage of not only his mum, but I think there were tens of thousands, maybe 20,000 who fled Sudan — it is pretty amazing the courage they showed to get there,” Rinaldi said.

“He doesn’t identity himself as Kenyan. Everyone says he was born in Kenya. But he identifies himself as Sudanese, he identifies himself as Australian. He is definitely appreciative of the effort his mum went to, walking from Sudan to Kenya, to give her family a chance to have a better life.”

Deng’s selection was among the more controversial on the track and field team. He was handed the third spot in the 800m after selectors opted to overlook three-time Olympian Jeff Riseley, even though the latter finished third at the national trials.

Deng won the B final at the selection trials in a time that would have won a bronze medal at the Glasgow Games four years ago. As a result, selectors plumped for the 19-year-old over the more experienced Riseley.

Deng still had an anxious wait to find out whether he would retain his spot after Riseley launched an appeal against the Australian Athletics selection process.

Riseley’s appeal ultimately failed and Deng responded yesterday morning with a run that ensured he would join compatriot Luke Mathews (1:46.03) in the final. Both will be chasing Botswana’s Nigel Amos, a silver medallist at the 2012 London Olympics

“I was happy with that,” Deng said. “It was good. I knew I had a chance. I imagined it would be like this. The crowd was awesome. I had a heap of my schoolmates here.”

Rinaldi is reluctant to put pressure on his young charge but he believes if Deng keeps improving at his current rate, medals will be a formality. They may even arrive tomorrow, although he will need everything to go his way.

“You don’t want to jinx people but if you look at comparisons of where people who win medals were when they were 19, he is on that same trajectory,” Rinaldi said.

“If he can keep improving a bit each year, he can do anything.

“He will go out there and, if the pace is fast, he will go with it and give himself every chance to run a time and win a medal. He may come unstuck in the last 100 metres but that will set him up for 2019 and 2020.”