
On Wednesday night, Nagmeldin "Peter" Bol placed fourth in the Olympic men’s 800m final.
The 27-year-old led the pack for much of the race. It was only in the final 200 metres that he was overtaken by Kenyans Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir and Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich, and Poland's Patryk Dobek.
Give me a B, give me an O, give me an L!
— 7Olympics (@7olympics) August 1, 2021
PETER BOL IS THE FIRST AUSSIE SINCE 1968 TO MAKE THE 800m FINAL!!#Tokyo2020 | #7Olympics pic.twitter.com/19DyMyyYcJ
Bol's journey to the Olympics has been unlike many others. Here's what we know about Australia's new star of the track.
Peter Bol's upbringing.
Bol was born in 1994 in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. At age four, his family fled the war-torn country and emigrated to Egypt. They lived there for six years before migrating to Toowoomba, Queensland.
When they arrived, no one in his family spoke English.
From a young age, Bol remembers his father telling him stories about Sudan's conflict and their family's struggles.
"So [my father] always tried to push us a bit harder in whatever we do. Sudan has always had conflict and it wasn’t really a safe place to be," he told The West Australian in 2015. "So they saw that the best opportunity was to get their children out of there and work towards a better life.
"I’m pretty grateful to [my parents] because all of their circumstances worked to my favour. Life could be a lot different."
Peter Bol's family fled war-torn Sudan when he was four years old. Image: Getty.
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