Classy Peter Bol defies rolled ankle to stay on track for Commonwealth gold
by Courtney Walsh in Birmingham from World news | The Guardian on (#624NM)
- Bol qualifies fastest for 800m final at Birmingham Games
- Evan O'Hanlon wins gold; Brandon Starc takes silver
Resilience has been a feature throughout Peter Bol's extraordinary life and the Australian athlete was not going to let an injured ankle derail his Commonwealth Games dreams. The 28-year-old, whose family fled Sudan's civil war when he was four, has coped with the stress that comes with competing against the best in a gruelling event for the past decade.
There have been moments of brilliance, with his fourth-placed finish in the Tokyo Olympics last year an illustration. More recently, a seventh in the world championships was deflating. On Tuesday, when he rolled an ankle ahead of his appearance in a heat of the 800m in Birmingham, Bol would have been forgiven for fearing the worst.
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