Australia's past antheral Olympic idiosyncratic golden medallist connected the track, Ralph Doubell, has agelong bemoaned a defeatist cognition among the country's men successful athletics.
But what he's seen of Peter Bol astatine the Tokyo Games en way to the men's 800m final, acceptable to beryllium tally conscionable aft 10pm (AEST) tomorrow, is renewing his faith.
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When Bol joins 8 different men connected the commencement enactment for the 800m final, the Sudanese-born jock volition strive to go Australia's archetypal antheral Olympic idiosyncratic golden medallist connected the way since Doubell clinched golden astatine the 1968 Mexico City Games.
Edwin Flack (1896), Herb Elliott (1960) and Doubell are the lone Australian men who person won idiosyncratic Olympic golden connected the track.
And portion Doubell is immensely arrogant of being a subordinate of specified an exclusive club, helium believes it's a unspeakable reflection of the authorities of Australian athletics.
Bol gave a uncommon glimmer of anticipation arsenic helium ran 2nd successful his opening-round 800m vigor successful Tokyo, successful which helium broke the Australian record, and again erstwhile helium won his semi-final heat, lowering the nationalist benchmark further to 1:44.11.
Doubell is beardown successful his stance that antheral Australian runners person agelong been satisfied with travelling the satellite to vie and qualifying for Commonwealth and Olympic Games, portion failing to worth winning.
Bol, successful Doubell's mind, is breaking the mould.
"We've spent a batch of wealth connected way and tract done Athletics Australia ... truthful it's astir clip radical started performing well," Doubell told Wide World of Sports.
"I deliberation 1 of the absorbing comments Bol made was he's recovered the joyousness of winning arsenic opposed to the joyousness of moving fast. I ever approached it you don't interest astir the time; you've conscionable got a contention to win. I ne'er raced for a clip ... It's clip that radical propulsion their digit retired and commencement performing.
"We should person had a mates of others (win idiosyncratic Olympic golden connected the track). (Legendary Australian long-distance runner) Ron Clarke should person won astir apt 2 golden medals but helium blew it successful Tokyo successful '64. Mexico (in 1968), helium didn't person overmuch of a accidental but helium should person won. I deliberation others person been close.
"It's a pugnacious job, we're lone a tiny state and we've done a beauteous bully occupation successful athletics overall.
"We similar to deliberation that we're bully astatine mediate distance, but the results connected the way haven't truly supported that for the past 20-odd years."
An Australian antheral hasn't won an idiosyncratic Olympic medal of immoderate benignant connected the way since Rick Mitchell, who died astatine 66 successful May, claimed metallic successful Moscow successful 1980.
Australian women person carved retired acold greater occurrence connected the way than men successful Olympic history, which the likes of 1500m stars Linden Hall and Jessica Hull are aiming to adhd to successful Tokyo.
While conscionable 3 Australian men person won idiosyncratic Olympic golden connected the track, 7 women person tasted glory: Shirley Strickland, Marjorie Jackson, Betty Cuthbert, Maureen Caird, Debbie Flintoff-King, Cathy Freeman and Sally Pearson.
"The section coaches look to deliberation that getting athletes into the Olympic Games, into the Olympic team, is the achievement," Doubell said.
"But that's 1 measurement retired of 10.
"The nonsubjective is to spell retired and triumph races.
"Too often it's been the athletes' nonsubjective to get into the Olympic squad oregon get into 4 Olympic teams and say, 'Well, I'm truly peculiar due to the fact that I've been successful 4 Olympic teams. I happened to neglect successful 4 of them, but I've been successful 4 truthful I deliberation I'm beauteous special'.
"I lone ran successful 1 Olympic Games, but I deliberation I did okay.
"People request to absorption connected winning and not conscionable turning up for the opening ceremony."
Doubell said Bol utilized to beryllium a culprit of that but had developed a much daring mindset.
"I deliberation he's changed," Doubell said.
"Previously he's been moving successful Europe and moving good but not winning each that galore races.
"In Australia, he's seemed to alteration and commencement going retired to triumph and I deliberation (on Sunday) successful Tokyo helium surely went retired to vie to win, arsenic opposed to conscionable trying to sneak done successful qualifying."
While Doubell's absorption was ever fixed intently connected winning, helium did clasp the Australian 800m grounds for 49 years.
The Victorian broke his ain grounds successful his gold-medal tally astatine the 1968 Mexico City Games, registering 1:44.30 arsenic helium pipped Kenya's Wilson Kiprugut.
It wasn't until 49 years and 278 days aboriginal that 1 of Bol's grooming buddies and adjacent mates, Joseph Deng, broke Doubell's grounds successful Monaco astatine a Diamond League conscionable successful July 2018.
A biography was released commemorating the 50th day of Doubell's unthinkable run, but the last section had to beryllium rewritten due to the fact that of Deng's Monaco heroics.
Doubell's 1968 show besides saw him adjacent the 800m satellite grounds of the time, the 1:44.30 acceptable by New Zealand athletics icon Peter Snell.
However, arsenic documented successful Doubell's biography, Michael Sharp's Do not worry, it is lone pain, the Australian's effect was little erstwhile told helium had equalled the satellite record, saying, "Well, that's nice."
"The main purpose for Doubell was to transverse the enactment archetypal and triumph the golden medal, not to tally a world-record time," the biography reads.
"The honour is not competing; the honour is winning," Doubell told Wide World of Sports.
And helium said helium would beryllium "very pleased" to spot Bol travel successful his way successful Tokyo.
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