Australia’s Peter Bol cruises into Birmingham Commonwealth Games final after dominant heat win

National record holder Peter Bol has ignored a pre-race injury scare to cruise into the men’s 800 meter final at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Bol rolled his ankle when stepping on the curb at the training track on Tuesday.

But the threat of injury did not hamper the Australian in his 800m heat on Wednesday night AEST.

Bol went to the lead with 250 meters to run and enjoyed the luxury of easing right down in the final straight before crossing the line first in one minute and 47.01 seconds.

After clocking the fastest qualifying time, Bol now has a full four days to reset ahead of the final, where he will be among the gold-medal favourites.

“I rolled my ankle yesterday and I was limping on the way back and today I’m perfectly fine, so it’s a massive thanks to the medical team at Athletics Australia,” said Bol, who was fourth at the Tokyo Olympics.

“I wasn’t playing basketball, I promise.

After finishing a disappointing seventh in the final at the recent world championships in Eugene, Bol was thrilled to get the tactics just right in his Birmingham heat.

“I always say it’s a strange race, the 800, because it’s so unpredictable,” he said.