#Rio2016 | WA Track Runners Selected for Rio

Published On: 13 July 2016

Western Australian track and field athletes Sam McEntee and Nagmelden (Peter) Bol have earned official selection onto the Australian Olympic Team for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The AOC named an additional 18 track and field athletes on Wednesday, taking the athletics team size to 61 competitors for Brazil.

The second round of selections were held for athletes that had met the qualification standard for official selection since the first round of selections were announced earlier in the year following the National Championships.

McEntee and Bol will both make their Olympic debut for Australia in Rio, with the former contesting the 5000m event, with Bol racing the 800m.

In April Sam McEntee defeated a crack field to win the national 5000 metres championships. He only needed to add a qualifying performance to secure automatic selection for his first Olympic Games; which he achieved in May at Stanford running 13:20.72. The importance of that nationals win would become relevant in July as five athletes sat on qualifiers for selectors to deliberate over.

After running in the US college system, with Villanova University (2011-2015), he returned to Australia where he had a strong 2016 domestic season running personal bests over 3000 and 5000 metres.

McEntee rates his college coach, Marcus O’Sullivan, the great Irish distance runner who ran over 100 sub-four minute miles, as the most influential person in his career.

The Science graduate, who was raised in Perth, now resides in Melbourne where he trains with the Nic Bideau squad.

For Nagmedlin Bol, he earned selection after smashing his 17 month-old 800 metre personal best at a meet in Germany in late June, moved Peter Bol into contention for Olympic selection. His time of 1:45.78 was an Olympic qualifier and promoted him to 17th on the Australian all-time list. He received the nod from selectors who deliberated over four qualified athletes, naming Bol to make his Olympic debut in Rio.

He is coached by former 800 metres runner, Justin Rinaldi, after he relocated from Perth to Melbourne.

Bol was born in Sudan and immigrated to Australia via Egypt at the age of six with his family. He is currently studying via correspondence a Bachelor of Construction Management and Economics from Curtin Uni.