Australia will have three men in Saturday night’s 800m final after Peter Bol, Luke Boyes and Peyton Craig claimed three of the eight lanes in Glasgow’s semi-finals.
Bol did it the hard way in a windy Semi-Final 1, sitting equal last at the bell before getting boxed in through the third 200m and taking a check with just under 200m to go. Entering the straight in fourth, the two-time Olympic finalist’s experience shone as he worked his way clear of the pack and sprinted home for the second automatic spot in 1:45.25, behind Kenya’s Wycliffe Kinyamal (1:44.91).
Bol knows Kinyamal well. It was the Kenyan who denied him gold in Birmingham four years ago, kicking away with 250m to go to win in 1:47.52 with Bol taking silver in 1:47.66. Kinyamal is now chasing a third consecutive Commonwealth 800m title, having also won on the Gold Coast in 2018. Saturday offers Bol the chance to finally turn the tables.
“Man, Kinyamal did impress me, he’s going to be a tough man to beat in the final, but I’m going to rewatch that tape and see what we can do to adjust,” Bol said. “I just need to do a little bit better and you can’t afford to make any mistakes in the final.”
With the first three in each semi advancing automatically and the next two fastest across both races joining them, Boyes and Craig knew exactly what was required in Semi-Final 2: a top-three finish, or times inside 1:45.42 and 1:45.51.
They left nothing to chance. Fourth and fifth with 200m to go, the pair scrapped their way home down the straight, Boyes taking second in 1:45.11 behind Kenya’s Kelvin Lotti (1:45.09) and Craig grabbing the third automatic spot in 1:45.25.
The biggest casualty of the round was England’s Max Burgin, who missed the final in fifth place in his semi. With a personal best of 1:42.25 and a season’s best of 1:42.98, the Briton came in as one of the fastest men in the field.
The final will be run on Saturday night at Scotstoun.
