Nagmeldin "Peter" Bol (born 22 February 1994) is an Australian

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

who specialises in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

. He placed fourth at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

and won the silver medal at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

. Bol represented Australia in the men's 800 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He is the Oceanian record holder for the event. In January 2023, it was announced that he had been provisionally suspended by

Athletics Australia Athletics Australia is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Sport Australia for the sport of athletics in Australia. First founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 registered ...

after failed out-of-competition doping test, with the test showing signs of synthetic EPO. On 14 February, it was reported that his suspension had been lifted as his B sample returned an atypical finding (ATF) for EPO, but

Sport Integrity Australia Sport Integrity Australia is an executive agency of the Australian Government which commenced operation on 1 July 2020. The agency was established by the Parliament of Australia from the recommendations presented in the ''Report of the Review ...

would continue investigation.

Early life and education

Bol was born on 22 February 1994 in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. His mother is Sudanese, and his father from the region that is now

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

. His family fled the civil war in Sudan when he was four. In 2016, it was falsely reported that they lived in an Egyptian refugee camp for four years before emigrating to Australia. In August 2021, Bol wrote in ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' that "despite what some people have said and written, we never lived in a refugee camp." According to '' Media Watch'', the false story originated with a 2016 article in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

''. At the age of eight, Bol arrived in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. He grew up in Perth and attended St Norbert College on a basketball scholarship. In 2017, he completed a degree in construction management at

Curtin University Curtin University, formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, ...

. , he was intending to train as an engineer.

Athletics career

Bol was a promising basketballer in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. When he was 16, a teacher at St Norbert College suggested he try

running after a promising cross-country race. In 2013, Bol won the junior men's 800 m at the

Australian Athletics Championships The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athlet ...

in a personal best time of 1:48.90. In December 2015, he moved from Perth to Melbourne to train with coach Justin Rinaldi, who also coached joint national record holder Alexander Rowe. In 2016, he ran two Olympic qualifying times (1:45.78 and 1:45.41) and was selected on the Australian team for the 2016 Rio Olympics. At the Games, Bol finished sixth in his heat with a time of 1:49.36. At the

2017 World Championships in Athletics Seventeen or 17 may refer to: * 17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japane ...

in London, he finished seventh in his heat in a time of 1:49.65. In June 2018 at an IAAF meet in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, he set a personal best of 1:44.56 in the 800 m defeating training partner Joseph Deng. He was eliminated in the heats of his signature event at the 2019 World Championships held in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

, Qatar, running 1:46.92. At the postponed

, Bol came first in his semi-final with a personal best time of 1:44:11. He then came fourth in the tactical final missing out on a bronze medal by 0.53 of a second. The winning

Emmanuel Korir Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir (born 15 June 1995) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner. He is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and 2022 World champion in the 800 metres. Korir won the silver medal in the event at the 2018 African Championships in Athletics. As o ...

's time of 1:45.06 was slower than the time that Bol had accomplished in his heat. He set a new Oceania and Australian record of 1:44.00 in June 2022 at the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

. This was the third time he has lowered the national record in the 800 m. That year Bol finished seventh in his specialty at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

held in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

with a time of 1:45.51 before claiming the silver medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 1:47.66. Bol also is the

Claisebrook Cove Claise Brook is a stream which empties into Claisebrook Cove before running into the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia. The area surrounding the stream is on the outskirts of the Perth CBD and is part of the suburb of East Perth. Claise ...

parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...

course record holder, with a time of 14:40 over 5km.https://www.parkrun.com.au/claisebrookcove/results/fastest500/

Achievements

International competitions

Circuit wins, and National titles

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

: Stockholm BAUHAUS-galan (800m) *

** 800 metres: 2019, 2021, 2022

Personal bests

600 metres The 600 metres is a rarely run middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. It is most often run at high school indoor track and field competitions. All-time top 25 *i = indoor performance *A = affected by altitude *h = ha ...

– 1:16.26 (

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...

2019) *

– 1:44.00 (

2022) Oceanian record ** 800 metres indoor – 1:47.70 (

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

2019) *

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

– 3:35.86 ( Décines 2022)

References

External links

*
Peter Bol
at Australian Athletics Historical Results *
Peter Bol Biography
at ICMI {{DEFAULTSORT:Bol, Peter 1994 births Living people Australian male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia Australian people of South Sudanese descent Sportspeople of South Sudanese descent South Sudanese refugees Sudanese refugees Athletes from Perth, Western Australia Australian Athletics Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Sportsmen from Western Australia