Ash Moloney (Jimboomba Little Athletics) has secured a bronze medal and a piece of history in Tokyo, with the Australian Athletics Team’s first medal of the Olympics coming in the most Australian way possible – through sheer determination and mateship.
The decathlon is brutal. Ten events across two days, coupled with Tokyo’s heat and humidity to produce one of the most demanding of events on the program – yet Ash Moloney and teammate Cedric Dubler (Toowong/Aspley Little Athletics Centre) just crushed it to deliver Australia’s first ever Olympic medal in the event.
Moloney recorded a score of 8649 points on his way to the podium, demolishing his own Australian and Oceania record in the process to deliver a performance for the ages at his Olympic debut.
During the contest Moloney ran 100-metres in 10.34 seconds, jumped 2.11m in the high jump, ran 46.29 over 400m, cleared 5.00-metres in the pole vault and leapt 7.64m in the long jump – just to name a few.
The 21-year-old was forced to dig deep in the final event, the 1500m, as his training partner Dubler selflessly devoted his race to guiding and encouraging Moloney throughout the journey.
“Cedric was screaming at me. I can’t repeat what he said, but I could feel his voice bouncing in my cranium like a bat out of hell,” Moloney said.
Just two weeks earlier, Dubler had injured his hamstring and explored all measures to prove his fitness for the Tokyo Games – making his sacrifice even more admirable.
With Moloney sprawled on the track after clocking a new 1500m personal best, Dubler soon arrived on the scene to confirm that the two had pulled off a historic Australian performance that epitomises the nation’s values of mateship and resilience.
“I’ve been waiting to get out her for such a long time, I got to strut my stuff a little bit and now I’m an Olympic medallist,” Moloney said.
“My parents have supported me massively across the years. It takes a village and hundreds of people have been involved. To Cedric, he keeps me honest, calls me out when I’m slacking and I can’t thank him enough.”
Both Moloney and Dubler sang the praises of their coach Eric Brown, who is set the difficult task of coaching the duo across ten events – including sprints, throws, jumps and distance disciplines.
“Eric Brown is a one-of-a-kind coach, a beautiful man. He pretty much raised me on the track, took Cedric and I in when we were young and got us to the Olympics,” Moloney said.
What makes Moloney’s medal performance so special is the layers to his success, beginning first and foremost with his athletic prowess and versatility. But to have Brown in his corner who has been able to shape a prodigious junior into an Olympic medallist is a testament to his craft and diligence as a coach. And then there’s Cedric Dubler, who tonight is rightfully being celebrated as a national hero.
Oliver Hoare (Geelong Little Athletics) saluted in his semi-final of the men’s 1500m, with his time of 3:34.35 surpassing Herb Elliot’s mark of 3:35.6 as the fastest time in history by an Australian man at an Olympic Games.
Hoare was the fourth man to cross the line in the race, with the first five to automatically progress to Saturday night’s Olympic final. The 24-year-old says there is room for improvement in two days’ time, with his ability to close out the race in the home straight suggesting he had more to give.
“Tactically I didn’t run that race very well, I got caught behind and had to be patient and not panic. I was really happy with my last 100-metres,” he said.
Hoare is relishing the experience of his first Australian team, with this Olympic berth earning him his first Australian tracksuit – junior or senior.
“Expectations are high. We’ve had a terrific track and field performance so far, and I’ve been inspired be Peter [Bol], Linden [Hall], Jess [Hull] and Patrick [Tiernan]. Having those good people around, building a culture, it’s been really important,” he said.
Stewart McSweyn (Ballarat Little Athletics) soon joined his compatriot as an automatic qualifier for the men’s Olympic 1500m final, clocking 3:32.54 to finish in fifth place of his semi-final. The feat sees the dynamic duo become the first two Australians to make the same Olympic 1500m final since 1956.
McSweyn charged to the lead in trademark fashion to open up a significant gap, before taking the foot off the gas as the field quickly reattached and began to go around the King Island product.
But McSweyn found an extra gear in the home straight to navigate his way out of trouble.
“I did a lot of the work. There are a lot of good 800-metre guys in that semi, I didn’t want to leave it to a kick, so I thought I should string them out a little bit. The big thing was to get through, they don’t hand out medals in the semi,” he said.
“I’m confident I can bring it in the final. I’m riding momentum now and I think I can compete with the big guys in two night’s time.”
McSweyn’s time eclipsed Hoare’s performance as the fastest 1500m time at an Olympic Games by an Australian male – a record that could once again be lowered in Saturday night’s final.
Sapporo dished up gruelling conditions for the men’s 20km walk, but young gun Declan Tingay was as cool as ever when delivering a new personal best of 1:24:00 to finish in 17th place.
Tingay was brave in adopting an aggressive tactic, confident in his position alongside the world’s best race walkers despite being on Olympic debut – a move that saw the 22-year-old exceed his expectations.
“My goal was to finish among the top 30 and I obviously didn’t want to get disqualified. I guess I have under promised and over delivered,” he said.
“I’m sore, tired and hot. It wasn’t the most fantastic performance, but I had a very fun time out there.”
Kyle Swan (Knox Little Athletics) finished in 36th when clocking 1:27:55 to finish in 36th place en route to becoming an Olympian, embracing the significance of the occasion.
“It was challenging out there, so hot, but it was so much fun. I enjoyed competing on this stage and I’m happy with the result,” he said.
“I did everything I could in the last six months to make this a reality. It didn’t matter if I came first or last, I was going to be happy with the opportunity to be an Olympian.”
Nicola McDermott (Gosnells Little Athletics) and Eleanor Patterson (Leongatha Little Athletics) both looked sublime on their way to securing automatic qualifiers for the women's high jump final, both clearing 1.95m to progress to Saturday night's final.
McDermott did not record a blemish during qualifying, whilst Patterson's only miss came at her first attempt at 1.95m. The pair are the two greatest women in Australian high jump history wiht personal bests of 2.01m and 1.99m respectively, making them major contendors in the Olympic final and a chance to feature in the medals.
Patterson has been improving at a rate of knots as her season progresses, whilst McDermott has remained on cloud nine ever since becoming the first Australian woman to clear 2.00m at the Australian Track and Field Championships in April.
It was a tough night for the Australian quartet of Bendere Oboya, Kendra Hubbard (Doncaster Little Athletics), Ellie Beer (Gold Coast Little Athletics) and Anneliese Rubie-Rensahaw (Manly Little Athletics) in the first round of the women’s 4x400m relay, registering a time of 3:30.61 to finish in seventh place of their heat.
The team were in good spirits post-race, excited to have raced on the Olympic stage and acknowledging squad member Angeline Blackburn (Orbost, Woden, Boomanulla Little Athletics).
FRIDAY 6th AUGUST:
Morning Session -
6:30am: Men’s 50km Race Walk - Rhydian Cowley
Night Session -
5:30pm: Women’s 20km Race Walk - Jemima Montag, Katie Hayward, Rebecca Henderson
9:50pm: Women’s Javelin Final - Kelsey-Lee Barber, Kathryn Mitchell, Mackenzie Little
10:50pm: Women’s 1500m Final - Jessica Hull, Linden Hall
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Coles Little Athletics Australia acknowledges and pays respect to all traditional custodians of the lands of which we work, run, jump and throw throughout Australia. We pay respect to elders both past, present and emerging.
We are committed to a positive future for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and to honor their ongoing cultural and spiritual connections to this country and recognize the role and value of culture.
