Peter Bol breaks own Australian Record to become first Australia in 800m final in more than 50 years

A day after becoming the fastest Australian in history over 800m, Peter Bol was back lowering the Australian Record even further to 1:44.11

After sitting second coming in to the final 200 metres, Bol then turned on the after burners to take the lead coming in to the finish. Again having time to look around to confirm he was among the top two automatic qualifiers Bol cruised to the line. His apparance in the final will be the first by an Australian since 1968.

With two Australian Records in as many days Bol is shaping up as a contender for the medals on Wednesday.

“Man it was a weird race but I backed myself and I put myself in the best position to qualify, so even if I didn’t I would have been happy with myself. It paid off,” Bol said.

“That is a big call,” he added when asked about Bruce McAvaney’s comment he could win gold. “Job is done today but I would still love to go. We can’t underestimate any of these runners, top of the world any day, someone can come out and beat you so have to say focused and stay humble.”