Former Refugee Peter Bol Is The First Aussie in 53 Years To Make The Olympic Men’s 800m Final

In a minute and 44 seconds, the whole country fell in love with Peter Bol.

Peter Bol will be the first Australian in 53 years to compete in the men’s 800m Olympic final, following his incredible qualification race over the weekend.

With a blistering run of one minute and 44 seconds, Bol set a new record time for Australia — and commentator Bruce McAvaney is convinced he can win gold in the upcoming final.

“Peter Bol — 1968 the last time we’ve had a finalist in the 800m,” said McAvaney, as reported by News.com.au. “He did everything right and takes the record again. He takes the Oceania record and runs his way into the final of the 800m. He can win the gold medal, that’s what he could do. He is in the mix.”

Bol has an incredible story which is a testament to the often-untold experiences of migrant Australians. He was born in Sudan in ’94, and at four years of age his family fled the civil war and spent four years in an Egyptian refugee camp before they immigrated to Australia — they first moved to Toowoomba, later Perth.

Bol will compete in the final on Wednesday night at 10.05 pm AEST. When asked about his chances in the final, he wasn’t getting ahead of himself.

“First thing’s first. Job’s done today but still a lot to go,” said Bol. “We can’t under-estimate any of these runners. Any day someone can come out. Stay humble, stay focused. Creating a lot of noise back home, got to stay humble. (My coach) said, ‘Don’t make me cry today’, he also told me not to slow down. Winning is pretty great. I’ll take winning any day.”

Naturally, the entire country has completely fallen in love with the runner.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Matthias Hangst