Bol sparkles with new record, Olyslagers finishes third | Paris Diamond League

After famously breaking the Australian 800m record not once but twice at the Tokyo Olympics last year, Peter Bol has lowered his best once again to place second at Paris Diamond League this morning.  

Bol (Justin Rinaldi) stopped the clock faster than any Australian in history, setting an area record of 1:44.00 to eclipse his previous lifetime best of 1:44.11.

Bol took his time over the two-lap race, strategically making a move in the second half to ensure his place on the podium. The Australian ran out wide with 300m to go, taking down a field that included eventual third place getter Tony Van Diepen from The Netherlands, and France’s Gabriel Tual.

Only Frenchman Benjamin Robert could beat the Australian, clocking 1:43.75, but it was not without controversy, with the hometown hero disqualified and then reinstated after being accused of pushing through two athletes before crossing the finish line. 

Speaking while deliberations were still taking place, Bol said he was thrilled with the win but knows there is much more to come. 

“To be honest, I wanted to run 1:43 and give (my coach) Justin (Rinaldi) an early birthday present for tomorrow. I came a bit short but I’m stoked with the PB and the national record,” Bol said.

“My approach here was to stay calm no matter what and come home strong. With these Diamond League races, it’s rare that you get a clean run so the goal is always to stay calm even when things don’t go your way. We can definitely go 1:43.”

Humble in his victory, Bol credited his long term training partner, former Australian 800m record holder Joseph Deng for his boost in energy after meeting the qualifying standard in Lyon, France this week. 

“We’ve built this new level of confidence and when training is going well, there’s no reason why we can’t run those fast times and be competitive on the world stage. Training has been consistent, but at the same time nothing special. We’ve done no majorly fast sessions or PBs at training , we’ve been building strength and endurance. The difference is since Joseph ran his qualifier last week, the energy has been high and that’s a major benefit in itself.”

With a taste of victory in his mouth, Bol is now looking to continue his momentum and return to Australia with medals in tow from the World Athletics Championships next month and Commonwealth Games in August. 

“My goal for both Championships is to medal. Keep my head up, keep ticking off sessions and competing strong against any field. I believe medals are within reach.”

Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers (Matt Horsnell) found herself on the podium once again, recording another world class performance of 1.95m in the women’s high jump.

Olyslagers finished in equal third place with Yuliya Levchenko (UKR), disrupting an otherwise all-Ukranian podium consisting of World Athletics Indoor Champion Yaroslava Makuchick who surpassed her previous season’s best to win with a world-lead jump of 2.01m, while Iryna Geraschchenko placed second with 1.98m. 

The battle between Australia’s top javelin athletes continued, as Oceania champion Mackenzie Little (Cameron McEntyre) and Olympic bronze medallist Kelsey-Lee Barber (Mike Barber) came head-to-head, this time with an international field surrounding the pair. While neither of the Australians were able to finish on the podium, Mackenzie Little finished in fouth place with a throw of 61.23 While neither of the Australians were able to finish on the podium, Little’s first throw of 61.23m placed her fourth at her first Diamond League contest, while Barber’s fourth and final throw of 60.60m saw her place fifth. 

Liz Clay (Sharon Hannan and David Reid) made her mark at her Diamond League debut, with a run of 12.89 (-0.4) in the women’s 100m hurdles to place fifth. The race was won by reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Nigerian Tobi Amusan who recorded an area record of 12.41. 

Commonwealth Games champion Kurtis Marschall (Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick) continued his international campaign with his first Diamond League appearance of the season, finishing in fifth place with a final clearance of 5.65m. The 25-year-old elected to pass 5.75m and made a decision to retire from competition after two failed attempts at 5.80m.

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 19/6/2022