Matthew Denny
![]() Denny in 2018 | |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Nickname | Matty |
Nationality | Australian |
Born | Toowoomba, Australia | 2 June 1996
Education | Toowoomba Grammar School,[1] Griffith University |
Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[2] |
Weight | 120 kg (265 lb) |
Sport | |
Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | Discus throw, hammer throw |
Medal record |
Matthew Denny (born 2 June 1996) is an Australian athlete specialising in the discus throw.[3] He won the bronze medal in the men's discus throw at the Paris 2024 Olympics.[4]
Early years
[edit]Denny grew up in the small town of Allora (population 1000), located 60 km outside Toowoomba and 150 km south-west of Brisbane. He had plenty of space to throw things. For example, in Grade 1 at primary school he threw bean bags as shot puts and vortexes as javelins. His main focus, though, until grade 8 or 9, was rugby league. Denny was one of eight siblings and just wanted to be as good as his rugby-playing brothers.[5]
In his teens Denny turned his attention to athletics and built a homemade discus circle on his family's rural property. In 2013, he won the World Under 18 Youth Championships discus title and then came fourth at the 2014 Under 20 World Junior Championships. He then won a silver medal at the 2015 Summer Universiade.[5]
Achievements
[edit]In April 2016, Denny won the national discus title with a throw of 60.47m and the hammer title with 68.44m.[6] He became just the second athlete in the near 100-year history of the event to win this double and the first since Keith Pardon in 1953 – 63 years earlier.[citation needed]
Denny represented his country in the discus at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro without qualifying for the final. Denny then competed at the Commonwealth Games trials in February 2018. With just 14 hours separating the hammer and discus events, he required just one valid hammer throw to claim the title and automatic Commonwealth Games selection. Denny also won the discus. With selection in both events, he became the second Australian athlete, and first in 68 years, to compete in both events at the Commonwealth Games, following Keith Pardon who competed in the same pair at the 1938 and 1950 Empire Games.[5]
In February 2020 in Wellington New Zealand, Denny threw a personal best of 65.47m. In March 2021 he won the national title with 63.88m, but still remained short of the Olympic standard. In June 2021 on the Gold Coast, Queensland he qualified with a 68cm personal best of 66.15m which moved him from fifth to third Australian all-time.[5]
Denny qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and competed in the final having thrown 65.13 m in his Men's discus throw qualification. He came very close to a medal, throwing 67.02 m which was just 0.05 m less than the bronze medalist, Lukas Weißhaidinger of Austria.[7][8]
In the Paris 2024 Olympics, Denny secured the bronze medal in the men's discus throw with a throw of 69.31 meters, earning him a spot on the podium alongside gold medalist Rojé Stona and silver medalist Mykolas Alekna.[4] His throw was amongst the longest in Olympic history.[9]
His personal best in discus is 69.35 m set in Adelaide in 2024. His personal best in the hammer throw is 74.88 m set in Gold Coast in 2018.
International competitions
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Congratulations to TGS Old Boy and Australian Olympian Matt Denny (2011-13)" (PDF). Omnibus. Toowoomba Grammar School: 30. August 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- ^ "Mathew Denny". Official Site of the 2016 Australian Olympic Team. Australian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 18 July 2016.
- ^ Matthew Denny at World Athletics
- ^ a b McCarvel, Nick (7 August 2024). "Paris 2024 Athletics Men's Discus Throw: All Results as Roje Stona Wins the Gold Medal".
- ^ a b c d "Matthew Denny". Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
- ^ "Matthew DENNY Honours Summary". World Athletics. Honours. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
- ^ "Heartbreak as Aussie misses medal by just 5cm". wwos.nine.com.au. 31 July 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
- ^ readJuly 31, rewMcMurtryless than 2 min; 2021 - 9:52pm (30 July 2021). "Tokyo Olympics live updates: Day 8". news. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "History of Olympic Results: Discus Throw – Men". Retrieved 7 August 2024.
External links
[edit]- 1996 births
- Living people
- Australian male discus throwers
- Australian male hammer throwers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
- Sportspeople from Toowoomba
- Athletes from Queensland
- Olympic athletes for Australia
- Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia
- FISU World University Games silver medalists for Australia
- Australian Athletics Championships winners
- FISU World University Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade
- Medalists at the 2019 Summer Universiade
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- 21st-century Australian sportspeople
- Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
- Sportsmen from Queensland
- Diamond League winners
- People educated at Toowoomba Grammar School
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Olympic bronze medalists for Australia