PETER Bol will realise his dream of being an Olympian after being named for the 2016 Rio team as an 800m runner.
Bol, who was living in Thornlie until he moved to Melbourne, was born in Sudan and immigrated to Australia via Egypt at the age of six with his family.
He qualified for the games after smashing his 17-month-old 800m personal best at a meet in Germany in late June, with a time of 1min 45:78.
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READ NOWThe former St Norbert College student is currently studying a Bachelor of Construction Management and Economics at Curtin University, via correspondence.
He thanked his current coach Justin Rinaldi on Facebook as well as his family for their support.
“The support behind me has definitely been noticed and kept me pushing to achieve better times and to qualify this year,” he said on Facebook.
“The work has just began and there is more to come.”
The athletics for the Rio Olympic Games will begin in the second week on Friday, August 12.