Ashley Moloney has won Australia’s first decathlon medal – with a little help from his friend Cedric Dubler in one of the best examples of Olympic values at these Games.
Moloney claimed bronze in the gruelling 10-event athletic discipline but wouldn’t have got on the podium without the selfless act of his team mate Dubler during the final 1500m leg in Tokyo.
Moloney entered the 1500m in third place on the points table but that looked under real threat as the 21-year-old struggled around the track in this last event.
Moloney felt he wouldn’t have made the podium without Dubler.
“He (Dubler) was screaming. I can’t repeat what he said. I could hear his voice bouncing in my cranium like a bat out of hell,” Moloney said.
“I started hitting a wall at 800m, and I was a bit concerned, but I was like, ‘Just stick to Cedric. Don’t let him get too far away’. He screamed … like a nutter.”
