Morning session: 10am – 3pm
The second day of the decathlon continues Thursday at 10:00am AEST, with Ash Moloney sitting in second after a fantastic first day. Training partner and teammates Cedric Dubler was battling a serious hamstring injury but was determined to compete. He had a strong opening day, especially considering his injury. He sits in 14th spot and will be more relaxed when het gets through the opening 110m hurdles today.
Moloney, 21, is the youngest competitor in the men's decathlon and after 5 of the 10 events he is sitting second with 4641 points, behind Canadian Damien Warner on 4722 points. Pierce Lepage (CAN) is sitting third with 4529pts and French world record holder Kevin Mayer is on 4340 in fifth.
It was a personal best first day total for Moloney. In his first event he secured himself a new personal best of 10.34 in the 100m, followed by a 7.64m leap in the long jump and a 14.49m throw for the shot put. In the evening session he was the best in the high jump with 2.11m and he also won the 400m in 46.29 seconds.
After the hurdles the athletes will complete the discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m in what will be a long and gruelling day in the Tokyo heat.
Australia will field its strongest ever contingent of high jump athletes in the women’s high jump qualifier on Thursday at 10.10am AEST. Nicola McDermott became the first Australian female in history to clear 2.00m at this year’s Australian Track and Field Championships, and has since surpassed that record, when she raised the bar to 2.01m at the Stockholm Diamond League. Her Australian record is the third highest jump in the world since 2019, making her a strong chance at a medal.
The previous record holder and second on the Australian all-time list, Eleanor Patterson will compete alongside McDermott at her second Olympic Games. Patterson struggled with injury throughout the domestic season but cleared 1.96m in her final three competitions prior to the Games, and with uninterrupted training since then, there’s no doubt she’ll be up there with the best.
Afternoon session: 5.30pm – 8.30pm
Across to the north of Japan in Sapporo, our race walkers will be gearing up for the 20km race walk. Rio 2016 bronze medallist Dane Bird-Smith recently withdrew from the Tokyo team due to family health reasons, and now Olympic debutants Kyle Swan and Declan Tingay will have big shoes to fill. Australia has a rich history of success in the race walks, with a haul of four medals at the Olympic Games. The men’s 20km race walk will begin at 5.30pm AEST.
Evening session: 8.15pm – 10.45pm
Medals will be on offer on Thursday night, with the conclusion of the decathlon. Australia hasn’t had a top eight finish in this event since 1948, but with 21-year-old Moloney considered prodigious talent and Dubler as the experienced bull of the duo having competed in Rio, anything is possible.
A strong line up of Aussies will contest in the 4x400m relay at 8.25pm AEST and will be looking to emulate their Rio success, where they placed 8th in the final. Australian champion Bendere Oboya will line up for the second time at this Olympics in the 4x400m relay heats. Oboya will lead off then Kendra Hubbard, Ellie Beer and Rio Olympian Annelies Rubie- Renshaw to bring it home.
Two men reached the Olympic semi finals of the 1500m yesterday for the first time since 1984 and will contest again on Thursday from 9pm AEST. The fastest of the two in the heats, Ollie Hoare showed great tactics and positioned himself in a stacked heat to qualify, while the Australian record holder, Stewy McSweyn set the pace throughout his heat, taking the lead after 200m.
McSweyn is the Australian record holder and regarded as one to watch in arguably the most tactical event on the program, while US-based Hoare has quietly climbed the ranks, posting two qualifiers before the end of the Tokyo Olympic qualification period.
Sascha Ryner
