Bol ploughs through the rain in 1000m race at Stawell
John Salvado |
Olympic finalist Peter Bol has finished a soggy second in the 1000m invitational handicap race as severe thunderstorms played havoc with the program on finals day at the Stawell Gift carnival.
Minutes after Stawell Gift favourite Endale Mekonnen clocked the fastest semi-final time of 12.23 seconds in the feature 120m event on Monday, heavy rain started falling at Central Park.
Organisers chose to push ahead with the 1000m invitational handicap, with Bol charging home from the scratch mark to finish a close second behind Riley Bryce.
“Crazy weather but what a great event,” said Bol, who was fourth in the 800m at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I haven’t raced in rain like that since I was a kid.
“Congrats to Riley. I just left a little too much to do off the last bend.
“I felt I had a chance to catch him, but he was just a bit strong.”
But with thunder and lightning in the local area and surface water covering the grass track in the middle of the oval, the men’s and women’s Gift finals were put on hold.
The men’s final was initially scheduled to take place at 2.24pm (AEDT), but was pushed back several times as intermittent lightning strikes continued.
Meet organisers and broadcasters the Seven Network remained hopeful the men’s Gift final could take place at 4.30pm, which would coincide with the halftime break of the marquee AFL Easter Monday match between Hawthorn and Geelong.
But racing at Stawell would not be able to resume until the lightning passes and the grass track dries out.
Since its inception in 1878, only World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 have prevented the Gift from taking place.
AAP
