UNBEARA-BOL WAIT
LESS than a tenth of a second is all Peter Bol had up his sleeve after a stressful world championships semi-final.
Bol will take his place in Sunday’s 800m final but he did it the hard way after missing the two automatic qualifying spots in the first semi-final.
A late surge from Olympic champion Emmanuel Korir ensured he went through with his Kenyan teammate Wyclife Kisasy which left Bol vulnerable in third in Eugene, Oregon.
Thankfully the Australian’s time of 1min45.58sec held up to allow him to take the last spot in the final by just .09sec.
Bol did have to anxiously wait for confirmation, with the third semi-final throwing up a faster third placegetter but luckily fourth over the line, Frenchman Benjamin Robert, stopped the clock at 1min45.67sec.
It was in stark contrast to the Tokyo Olympic Games where Bol announced himself by winning the semi-final before going on to finish fourth in the final.
A relieved Bolt took to Twitter less than an hour after the race, writing: “Damn that was close.”
He will be the first Australian to race in the 800m final at a world championships. Algerian Slimane Moula was the fastest qualifier, winning the third semifinal in 1min44.89sec.
There was drama in the women’s 800m with Australian record-holder Catriona Bisset winning a reprieve after falling during her heat.
Bisset was in third place and well placed to gain one of the three automatic qualifying places when the incident occurred on the final bend at Hayward Field.
In an attempt to move out, she appeared to step straight into the path of Slovenian runner Anita Horvat, who had little choice but to raise her arm, causing the Australian to crash to the track. The 30-year-old crossed the line in last place before leaving the arena in tears, with Keely Hodgkinson winning the heat.
The race jury viewed replays of the incident and quickly added Italian Elena Bello to the field for the semis after determining she had been the runner most adversely affected by the incident.
After further deliberation, Bisset was also promoted to the semis by the jury, just as Australian officials were about to lodge an appeal. Fellow Australians Tess Kirsopp-cole and Claudia Hollingsworth, 17, were eliminated in the opening round.