Towards Tokyo: Jimboomba to Japan for our Ashley Moloney

Towards Tokyo: From Jimboomba to Japan - how the small semi-rural district of Jimboomba played a huge part in Ashley Moloney’s development that has led to Olympic Games selection.

He will be a medal chance at the Olympic Games, and to think Jimboomba Little Athletics had such a vital role in the development of Australia’s latest Olympian, Ashley Moloney.

Moloney, 21, is a sleeping giant of world athletics who came through the Jimboomba Little Athletics system before winning the 2018 world junior championship decathlon competition.

Indeed the boy from Heritage Park, Logan, said the expertise of the Jimboomba LA jumps program played a crucial part in his development.

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“I was still there until I was 17 and I just left before I was selected for the world juniors,’’ the Regents Park State School alumni said.

“As a kid I did all the jumps and sprints, but I wanted to specialise in high jumps.

“They had high jump every Friday afternoon and now I realise that was my door into decathlon.’’

Dream come true for UQ Sport athlete coach Eric Brown, with Ashley Moloney.

Moloney said learning to pole vault while doing little athletics was a junior was also critical because “if you can’t pole vault you can’t get the points.’’

Moloney said while enjoying his high jumping at Jimboomba, he also ramped up his sprint training under “Mrs Pitt’’ at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre.

But the big turning point was moving to UQ Sport where he met his current coach Eric Brown, a world renowned jumps coach.

It was Brown who really pushed Moloney toward decathlon.

Ashley Moloney high jumping.

“I wanted to expand on my sprints and high jumps which is where I came across Eric,’’ he said, saying Brown wanted him to specialise in decathlon.

“As much as I hated the 1500m, I loved it (the other nine events),’’ said Moloney, a Brisbane Boys College old boy.

Around the same time he moved to Brown, Moloney also started attending Brisbane Boys College which opened up a whole new world to him in terms of facilities.

“They gave me a platform, as I did not really have access to gyms and things like that,’’ Moloney said, recalling fondly the action pack GPS Track and Field meets.

Moloney did an Olympic qualifying time earlier in the year but nailed a place on the Australian team at the national track and field titles over the weekend.

Jimboomba Club’s Ashley Moloney as a little athlete.

Scoring a total of 8284 at the conclusion of competition, Moloney won six of the ten events, defeating his training partner at QU Sport Cedric Dubler and Alex Diamond (NSW) to stand atop of the podium.

“I’m so relieved that I did it. I’m also so relieved that Day 2 is done, it’s been a really stressful day for me,” Moloney said.

“I was mostly happy with Day 1, I learnt a little about myself, but I saw Cedric’s score creeping up today, and I just kept thinking, ‘Get away from me, I need the gap!’ but it was a good comp.”

Moloney heaped praise on Dubler, his training partner at UQ Sport. “I think a lot of my success comes down to training with an Olympian from 2016 (Dubler),’’ Moloney praised.

Cedric Dubler, with Ash Moloney on the far right Picture, John Gass

“He’s really guided me a long the way. He’s taught me a lot about mental stuff.

“Decathlon is not just about running, jumping and throwing, it’s keeping yourself together in one piece, it’s making sure you’re ready for the next event and taking one step at a time.”

Dubler said he was looking forward to building toward the Olympics with Moloney by his side on the training track.

Ashley Moloney Mens 100m open Queensland athletic state titles. Saturday March 13, 2021. Picture, John Gass

“It’s going to be really exciting preparing for the Olympics with Ash,’’ The Gap resident said.

“We’ve pushed each other for years. I remember when I could smoke him in training and now he’s pulling me along for bigger and better things, so hopefully in the lead up to the Olympics, we can keep leaning on each other and produce something special over there,” said Dubler, the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist.

Last year Moloney broke the Oceania record in the event to move him to second on the world ranking list for 2020 and remains a chance of an Olympic medal.