Whether you call it presence or have adapted with the times of aura, Matthew Denny has it. From larrikin to locked-in, the discus thrower’s focus serves as an ominous warning to his rivals and a timely reminder to fans that Australia can bring home athletics hardware at Paris 2024.
Matthew’s voice carries as much weight as the words it projects. The typically jovial character parks the banter for business, verbalising what has long lingered in his mind.
“My standard is winning; I have the capability which is the big thing for me. Obviously, to medal would be great and I don’t want to take anything away from that, but having the opportunity of being in this form at this time – I need to hold myself to that standard,” Matthew said.
“I feel like I have the throws that can win. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if it’s 67, 68 or 72 metres – it’s just about doing whatever is required to win. We are in good enough form to do all of that and the main thing for us is to compete and have fun.”
The discus throw is a balancing act. Reserved for the giants of global athletics and often mistaken for a contest of brute power and testosterone, the Australian record holder at 69.35m knows timing and an element of elegance is everything.
The pursuit is an art form for Denny, who regularly refers to “the throw”, which he can envisage but not yet find in his arsenal, with no greater place to produce it than the Olympic stage in Paris.
“In the last couple of sessions, I feel like I have figured it out. It’s been good to miss throws and still have them go far this year, which is what really excites me about Paris. We were aiming to be over 70m before Paris, it’s a big barrier in discus.
“Dale [coach] and I call it playing discus. The best me as an athlete is playing discus; being expressive and not second guessing what my brain is telling me.”
Hoping to harness the energy of the crowd at Stade de France and control the emotion of the occasion at his third Olympic Games, the 28-year-old is out for vengeance after his fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Games, where he fell just five centimetres shy of Olympic bronze.
“Even just seeing playbacks of coming fourth in Tokyo, my motivation comes from being responsible for closing the loop and finishing the story. I’m doing it for all the people who support me,” Matt said.
“All I will say is that they will know that I’m not here to participate when I walk into the call room. I have a lot of good mates in the field, but I’m here to do what I need to do, and they will know that.”
A proud product of Allora from the Southern Downs Region in Queensland, he was recently celebrated with a mural. The gentle giant is not afraid to admit that the thought of Olympic gold has dominated his late-night thoughts, leaving himself with one message as he prepares to step into the circle and send the discus into orbit.
“You can be disappointed, but you can’t be regretful.”
Matt is in Group A of Discus Qualification at 6:10pm on Monday 5 August (AEST). The Final will be held in the early hours of Thursday 8 August for Australians at 4:25am (AEST).
Lachlan Moorhouse
