Peter Bol's sad admission after near-miss at Commonwealth Games
Aussie runner Peter Bol fell agonisingly short of a gold medal in the 800m final at the Commonwealth Games after admitting it was a 'strange' race.
Bol was looking to become the first Australian in more than 40 years, since Peter Bourke, to win the 800m event after finishing fastest in qualifying.
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However, the race didn't go as planned with the slow and sluggish pace hindering Bol's tactics.
The Aussie jumped out in front early, but defending champion Kenya's Wycliffe Kinyamal powered past Bol on the home straight to take out the gold medal in 1:47.52.
Bol's silver was the first medal for the runner at a major championships.
Kinyamal became the first athlete to defend the Commonwealth Games 800m event.
Following the race, Bol admitted it was a tactical race and it unfortunately didn't work in his favour with no frontrunners pushing the pace.
"I will take second. It was a strange race again, super slow," Bol admitted after the race.
"That's the 800, so tactical.
"I raced the best race I could and came up a little short," Bol added.
"But we still got a medal at the Commonwealth Games."
It's 🥈 for Peter Bol! 🙌
What a race in the 800 final #B2022 pic.twitter.com/uOMyM7Xxnb— 7Sport (@7Sport) August 7, 2022
Bol then thanked his support team in a heartwarming message to those back home and with him in Birmingham.
He also wanted to find a special fan in the crowd that had supported him during the race.
“We speak of this journey and we have different people from different years, I want to say a massive thanks to my family, especially my parents … I’m so grateful for them," he said.
"This is for them, this is for my family, this is for the country.
“There’s a kid out there with a Peter Bol sign so definitely for him. I have to go find him.”
Aussie erupt over Peter Bol medal
Following the race, fans took to social media to praise Bol for his remarkable feat in winning silver at the Commonwealth Games.
SILVER FOR PETER BOL! 🥈
A solid race from Peter and did incredibly to grab a medal, just could not chase down Kinyamal from Kenya. #B2022 #CommonwealthGames— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) August 7, 2022
Peter Bol you star 🌟 🥈
Silver in the Commonwealth Games 800m final pushing Kenyan Kinyamal all the way to the line 👏
1:47.66 his time@CommGamesAUS #ThisIsAthletics #BoldInGold pic.twitter.com/sLt1LLylNK— Athletics Australia (@AthsAust) August 7, 2022
Great news to wake up to... congratulations Peter Bol https://t.co/cXhQ4TefVw
— Anne O'Keeffe (triple vaxxxed) (@Anne_OKeeffe) August 7, 2022
PETER BOL SNAGS SILVER! 🥈
The beloved Australian finishes second in the 800m final.
Kenya’s Wycliffe Kinyamal captures gold in 1:47.52 as Bol takes silver in 1:47.66.
It’s Bol’s first medal at a major global championship.
Key moment in his career.#CommonwealthGames— Zachary Gates (@_zacharygates) August 7, 2022
Congratulations Peter Bol. Well worth the 4.30am wake up call! The 800 is such a brutal race with nowhere to hide but he ran his heart out and the family celebrations back home were priceless. 🇦🇺 🇸🇩
— Nick Johnston (@nickj_vic) August 7, 2022
So close. Silver for Peter Bol. Gave himself every chance, and ran a smart race. Closed quickly carrying the weight of a nation. The defending champ Kinyamal goes back-to-back.
— Tom Nickson (@tom_nickson) August 7, 2022
Luke Matthews was the last Aussie in the 800m race to win a medal when he came third in 2018.
Kris McCarthy won bronze in 2002 before that.
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