Peter Bol may have finished fourth in Tokyo, but he won legions of fans and has an eye on more Olympics

When you’re an athlete and your initials are PB you’ve got to think it’s some sort of a sign that you’re going to make it.

Australia’s 800 metres runner Peter Bol raced three times in Tokyo for two PBs, two Australian records and an Olympic final in which he stepped up because nobody else would.

He led from the front for most of the race, doing the hard yards for the rest of the field.

He didn’t so much fade to fourth, he just didn’t have anything left in reserve when three others started their surge to the finish line.

From first … to second … to third … to fourth. An Olympic dream, within reach, can so cruelly slip away.

“I knew no-one was going to lead that race, the worst-case scenario was I was going to have to lead it,” Bol said as he made his way off the track and into the bowels of Tokyo’s National Stadium.

“I got out of trouble, you can see some of those guys — most of them are stronger, have faster PBs and they didn’t beat me, so it’s just one of those races, tough ones.”

No matter which way you frame it, fourth is not a position any athlete enjoys. It’s a kind of sporting hell — so close, but not close enough. 

In Japan, like some other Asian countries, four is an unlucky number … I’ll say.

If they ever think of tinkering with the rules of sport perhaps get rid of fourth. Just go from third to fifth, it might help alleviate some of the pain.

‘More nervous at Diamond Leagues’

But Bol wasn’t feeling any pain, not outwardly anyway.

In the five years since his last Olympic experience in Rio he has gone up and up, and he’s not finished yet. He sees the gains he’s making, he knows there’s still growth.

But as Australia’s first finalist in 53 years over the gruelling distance, the nation understands Bol has done something special.

“The goal was to win … we didn’t get the job done, but we’re proud of where we are,” he said.

“We are here and the best part about this is it’s been a journey not just by myself, we’ve had literally the whole nation behind me.

“And that’s power, that’s power in sport.”

The Olympic Games is full of people that come and go. They get one shot at it. Bol is not one of those. He belongs in this league. You can see how comfortable he is in it.

“You know what, I was reflecting today … this whole Olympics I haven’t been nervous one part.

“I’ve been more nervous at Diamond Leagues, heck, I was more nervous at nationals than here.

“Someone said did you feel the pressure of the whole nation behind you, I said no, I think I feel strength.

“No pressure, no nerves that I couldn’t control, and it was just one of those races you can’t win.”

Bol spent most of his school years determined to be a basketballer until a teacher convinced him to switch to athletics “because he kept winning races”.

That teacher had a good eye. So does his manager, James Templeton, who managed Kenya’s 800m superstar David Rudisha, champion at the last two Olympics in London 2012 and Rio 2016.

“Pete is an engaging character,” Templeton said.

“He has a great mix of calmness and humility together with great passion and focus.

“He is a man of courage; he’s not shied away one bit this week from the pressures and demands of the Olympic cauldron.

“To step up and produce what he has is incredibly impressive. I am sure people have a good sense of how special that is.

“I’m so proud of him and I’m thrilled the Australian sporting public has taken to him like they have this week and these last days in particular.”

Best mates as ‘Aussie as can be’

They say great champions come in pairs. It is in the nature of two competitive spirits to continually strive to overtake, to be better, to win, constantly pushing the other at the same time they push themselves.

Bol is one half of a pair. His best friend and training partner is Joseph Deng. It was his Australian record that Bol broke, twice, this past week.

“When we first moved here, we had to learn how to speak English,” Deng told Radio National on the morning of Bol’s race.

“Doing sports and athletics we made friends … it helped us cement our place in the Australian community.”

Sport has often provided the doorway to acceptance for those who arrive in Australia rather than being born in it.

As the reaction to the Olympic Games has shown this past fortnight, we still like our sport. We admire those who accept a challenge, no matter how tough that challenge might be.

“We’re as Aussie as can be,” Deng said.

Bol and Deng are more strongly linked to Australia’s Olympic heritage than many might realise. Australia’s first Olympic champion was an 800m runner named Edwin Flack.

He was an accountant based in London who heard there was a track meeting of sorts planned for Athens, so he took a holiday and travelled there at his own expense.

He had no idea beforehand that he was writing himself into history when he won the event — the first modern Olympic Games, Athens 1896.

In a letter to his father, he wrote:

“They tell me that I have become the lion of Athens. I could not go down the street without having a small crowd of people on all sides, I could hear people talk and hear my name mentioned. 

“Of course, you will not repeat what I have said as I should not like it known that I have written as I have, although it is quite true.”

One hundred and twenty-five years later, they run the 800m half a minute faster, and news travels a hell of a lot quicker.

Bol might not have won, as Flack did, but his name has certainly been mentioned in multiple dispatches this week.

However, like Flack, it’s not notoriety he seeks. 

It might be an Olympic final he’s just run in, but in the scheme of things, this isn’t the pinnacle, this is another episode in the journey of life.

“I probably won’t sleep tonight,” Bol said. “I’m just going to chill and speak to family.”

And what’s he going to say?

“We’re here.”

Tokyo has been a milestone for Bol, and Paris is now only three years away.