It took less than two minutes – 1.44.11 to be exact – for the nation to fall in love with this Aussie runner, the nation’s first competitor in an 800-metres Olympics final in more than half a century. The can-do spirit that got him to Tokyo last year also steers his life off the track, which is more about exploration than destination.
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When Peter Bol wakes up this morning, something feels off. A weakness in his right foot. The need to favour his left. Almost as though he’s rolled an ankle.
The discomfort is barely discernible – so slight most of us would just go about our day. But in Bol’s world – a world that requires him to run 50 kilometres a week at breathless speed, a world in which his lithe frame can cover 800 metres faster than any Australian ever has – this everyday ailment is a real problem.
A trivial tweak of a muscle is an issue that Bol, 27, needs to consider with more than a little warranted care. And on this Saturday morning in January at George Knott Reserve in Clifton Hill – a running track in Melbourne’s inner north – it means Bol cannot cruise around the orange rubber-crumb turf with his training partners, but instead must remain cautiously hobbled by this fleeting, familiar affliction.
Peter Bol has a niggle…
Click here for full story from Good Weekend on Saturday, February 12, 2022
Photography by Kristoffer Paulsen
