Gutted Denny slips and slides to fourth in discus final
It was devastation for Matt Denny and delight for Samoan Alex Rose after a world championships discus final contested in torrential rain and a slippery circle.
Denny admitted he was lucky to escape serious injury or concussion in Tokyo after slipping several times in the circle, including on an opening throw he was allowed to retake following the first of several rain delays.
The 29-year-old Australian recovered his composure well enough late on Sunday night to finish fourth with a throw of 65.57m. But it was still another podium near-miss at a global championships for a man who has finished either fourth or sixth at the past four world titles.
Bronze at the Paris Olympics was a major breakthrough for Denny, but he had been expecting something even better in Tokyo after the best year of his career, during which he improved his personal best to 74.78m.
“I’m pretty fortunate that I’ve walked away without a concussion or an injury,” said the despondent Queenslander. “It’s obviously hard the way it went down in these conditions. I’ve never felt more ready for a comp, but it was a bit of a war of attrition. It was one of those things you can’t control.
“You had to give yourself to it and hope that you catch one—some boys did and some boys didn’t.
“I am fortunate to be one of the boys who was at least in the fight and could kind of manage.
“It really sucks and I feel for everyone as a collective because if that was dry, that was going to be the best competition of all time.”
It was a completely different story for Samoa’s Alex Rose, who became only the second athlete from an Oceania nation other than Australia or New Zealand to medal at a world championships.
The 33-year-old was born in the United States after his father emigrated from Samoa at the age of 19. The multi-talented Rose is a three-time Olympian who has won nine titles at the Oceania championships across the discus, hammer throw, and shot put.
“This is one of the greatest moments of my entire life and it’s been 20 years in the making,” said the former Central Michigan University student. “I was never the favourite.
“I didn’t throw 60m until I was out of college, and it’s been a really long road.”
The bronze medal was a dream come true for Rose, who has a four-year-old child and has struggled recently to find time to train.
“It is the culmination of so much effort for so many years,” he said. “I knew I had a big throw in me.
“I didn’t make a final until I was 30 years old and I almost quit so many times.
“The last time I was here, I failed to make the final. I fell on my face and almost quit the sport. It was awful.
“To come back here and do what I just did, there is no feeling like it.”
Rose moved past Denny into the bronze-medal position with a throw of 66.96m in the fifth round.
The only other Oceania athlete not from Australia or New Zealand to medal at a world championships was Lisa Misipeka from American Samoa. She won bronze in the women’s hammer throw in Seville back in 1999.
Swedish powerhouse Daniel Stahl won a third discus world title in Tokyo with a huge final-round heave of 70.47m. The silver medal went to world record-holder Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania, who threw 67.84m.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/gutted-denny-slips-and-slides-to-fourth-in-discus-final-c-20100895
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