Olympian Matt Denny is using the Festival of Athletics in Townsville to fine tune his throw for Tokyo

It has been a 12 months that Olympian Matt Denny would rather forget. But instead he will use it as motivation as he attempts to put the finishing touches on his throw in Townsville.

OLYMPIAN Matt Denny is determined to put all the frustrations and emotions of a “horrendous” six months into his charge to Tokyo.

Australia’s leading discus thrower was flooded with relief last week after he finally booked his ticket to the Olympics with a qualifying throw on the Gold Coast.

Now he is looking to consolidate his form in Townsville ahead of his journey to the Japan capital.

It has been one of the toughest years of the 25-year-old’s life after his journey to Tokyo hit roadblock after roadblock.

The Covid shutdown of competitive sport cruelled him from qualifying last year, before a busted rib robbed Denny of another chance when sport returned last December.

“I felt like the rug just kept getting taken out from under my feet,” he said.

Australian discus thrower Matthew Denny pictured at the QEII stadium training centre ahead of the Queensland Classic and State Championships last year.

“I was on the cusp of throwing a qualifying distance as Covid broke. I was in a competition, ready to go, and we all went into lockdown that week. That was unmotivating with training.

“Then I got back into really good form to compete in December, really I was in the best form of my life, but I injured my ribs. That was two and half to three months of getting back to normal. I had to completely rebuild my throwing. The last six months have been horrendous.

“To qualify finally last week after basically being on the cusp, to be shot in the foot for no reason each time, it was relief.”

The Darling Downs athlete, who was the first Olympic athlete to emerge from the small country town of Allora, competed in Australian colours as a teenager at the Rio Olympics in 2016, where he missed out on making the finals.

But this is not the same Matt Denny.

The former Youth World Champion has since gone on to finish fourth at the Commonwealth Games in the discus, won a silver in the hammer throw, and finished sixth at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.

Australia's Matthew Denny competes in a qualifying round of the men's discus throw during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

In the middle of that he also won gold for Australia at the World Universiade Games.

Denny is constantly improving his throwing technique and the muscle memory behind it. It is one of the main reasons behind the elite athlete taking to the field at the Festival of Athletics in Townsville this weekend.

The competition conditions in Townsville are some of the closest to the climate expected in Tokyo, but Denny also hopes it will help sharpen the mental side of his competition.

“It is about continuously competing and working on my throwing in competition,” he said. “When you compete in competitions, it is definitely different to the way you throw in training.

“The paces are ramped up when you are competing, it really puts pressure to make sure you are not fouling and you have that added pressure which is good to work with. It is about the neural adaptation, it helps with getting used to that kind of feeling ahead of the Olympics.

“I want to continue working on my technique and what I have put in over the past three months. Make sure that is solidified before I go to Tokyo, staying on top of it and keeping it there. I want to dial in my feel throughout the throw.

Olympic discus thrower Matthew Denny training in his gym at his home garage in Brisbane during the Covid lockdown last year. Photo: Glenn Hunt / The Australian

“Building on that every week and making sure I am technically focused. There is throwing hard and throwing technical, and it is when you combine the two that you get throws that will be competitive at the Olympics level.

“It’s about teaching your brain to make it very simplistic, really trying to make the throw as smooth and as easy as possible.”

The technical side of discus throwing is something many people struggle to get their heads around.

Denny said he believed the discipline is probably the most technical event in track and field. It is not as simple as walking up and letting rip so to speak.

“The crazy thing about being a thrower, you have to be as strong as an Olympic weightlifter, as in tune with balance as a ballerina and then also athletic, fast and explosive,” he said.

“You have to be exceptionally good at all facets of being athletic. It is a fine balance between so many different facets of sport. You are trying to do all of that while also making the technique perfect.”

Originally published as Olympian Matt Denny is using the Festival of Athletics in Townsville to fine tune his throw for Tokyo