Peter Bol sets Australian Record to qualify for 800m semifinals

Peter Bol has taken his domestic season form to Tokyo to set a new Australian Record and booked a spot in the 800m semifinal.

The WAIS graduate was all but unbeatable in the first half of the year in Australia, producing a series of consistent performances including the national title to book his ticket to Tokyo.

Bol looked in control from the start of the race and despite the high pace he had time to look around and ensure he was in the top three auto qualifiers, crossing the line second.

“It’s awesome to have the national record but today isn’t really about times. If I ran the national record and didn’t get through to the semi, then that would have been a bad result,” Bol said.

“It’s about getting to the next round, whatever it takes, that was my mindset, and it took the national record – I’m happy with that. I wanted to be aggressive, but controlled and relaxed. Just trying to balance it altogether is a hell of a combination.” 

“I didn’t think it was a 1:43 race, if I knew that I would have run a bit harder (and not looked around) then maybe have run a 1:43. There’s time for that in the semi. 

Bol will compete in the semifinal on Sunday.