Matt Denny

BIOGRAPHY

Matty Denny, the boy from the Darling Downs is not only a favourite Queensland son, he competed at his second Olympic Games in 2021 and is regarded as one of the most consistent performers in global discus competitions.

After placing fourth at his second Olympics in Tokyo, then in 2022 winning the Commonwealth Games and placing sixth at the world championships, the 67-metre thrower made a major switch.

In 2023 Matty Denny changed coaches to Victorian-based Dale Stevenson. After a few months of transition, at the Budapest world championships things started to really click when he placed fourth, just missing a medal by 61cm. His throw of 68.24m broke the National record. A month later at the Diamond League final he won becoming just the fifth Aussie to win the Diamond League final. He again raised the National record, hitting 68.43m.

After a slow start to the 2024 domestic season, he capped it perfectly with a win at Nationals in his third National record throw of 69.35m. He continued the momentum finishing second at four Diamond Leagues in May and June – in Doha, Marrakech, Oslo and Stockholm.

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Growing up in the small town of Allora (population 1000), located 60km outside Toowoomba and 150km south-west of Brisbane, Matty Denny had lots of space to throw things. When he was in grade 1 at primary school, he threw bean bags as shot puts and vortexes as javelins. But his main focus as a kid until grade 8-9 was rugby league. 
But watching elder brother Jonathan end his career at just 22 due to injuries (five shoulder reconstructions), while he was moving through the grades at the Broncos, Raiders and Sea Eagles, Matty decided athletics might be safer – even though he’d broken his collarbone at 13.
When he started to develop in athletics in his teens, they built a home-made discus circle on his family’s rural property. When back home in Allora, he still trains in the circle.

Through his teens he developed into one of the finest junior throwers in Australian history. He dominated the record books and national title lists. He was also impressive internationally, winning the World Youth (U18) Championships discus title in 2013, followed by fourth the year after at the 2014 World Junior (U20) Championships. He also won a silver medal at the Universiade in 2015. 

In April 2016, he won the national discus title with a throw of 60.47m and the hammer title with 68.44m. He became just the second athlete in the near 100 years history of the event to win this double and the first since Keith Pardon in 1953 – 63 years earlier. 
Determined to qualify for the 2016 Olympics he travelled twice to the US, eventually qualifying with a mark of 65.37m, moving him to fifth on the Australian all-time list. In Rio, he threw 61.16m in the qualifying round.

At the Commonwealth 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 and also won the discus. With selection in both events he became the second Australia 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.

At the Commonwealth Games he won silver in the hammer throw with a PB 74.88m and was fourth in the discus. In 2019 he decided to focus on the discus and came close to his PB with three throws over 65m (and eight over 64m). In July 2019 he won the World University Games discus title and continued an outstanding year of consistent throwing placed an extraordinary sixth at the 2019 world championships in Doha. Only once previously at a global meet (Olympics and world championships) had an Aussie placed that high.

In February 2020 in Wellington New Zealand, he threw a personal best of 65.47m and was in a career purple patch before COVID closed the season. 

Set for a perfect lead-in to the Tokyo Olympics during the summer of 2020/21, there was a setback in December, when he hurt two ribs and strained his right Costochondral joint causing a pause to his season. He returned to competition in March 2021 and won the national title with 63.88. In his third competition in June he nailed his Olympic qualifier with a PB 66.15m. In Tokyo he was superb in the final. In the mix from the outset hitting an opening mark of 65.76m to take an early lead. He eventually finished fourth nailing a PB 67.02m on his last attempt – just 5cm from the podium. It was Australia’s best ever place in a men’s throwing event in Olympic history or in a men’s senior global discus championship.

Selected for the World Championships and Commonwealth Games in 2022, he performed well at both meets. In Eugene at the worlds, he threw 66.98m in the qualifying round and 66.47m in the final to placed sixth. In a close competition he was 1.08m from the podium. But He was very unhappy with the performance. 
“Excuse the French but last year p*ssed me off. I should have thrown further than what I did,” he told SBS Sport.
“I was in 68-high form, I warmed up with 68-high in the qualifying and did it easily. I thought, ‘OK, well this is going to be a year to go to 69, 70’, but I just couldn’t find the timing in the final. “I was upset by that, that really burnt. That was probably one of the most burning, frustrating performances of my life.

Two weeks later in Birmingham, he faced top competition to take the title, with two athletes owning superior PB to him, but he was equal to the challenge winning in a lifetime best of 67.26m, with a series where all his six throws would have won – stunning consistency. His winning margin was 2.27m.

Consistently world class: Matt Denny has a reputation as being able to performance when it most matters on the world stage. His coach Dale Stevenson spoke about this after his Eugene performance, noting some people are just “exceptional competitors.” His happy place,” according to Stevenson, “is out there competing against the top athletes. It brings the best out of him.”...Changes under coach Stevenson: There have been some adjustments to Matt’s technique under his new coach. One aspect they have named the ‘Steveo step’…Remote coaching: With Dale living in Melbourne and Matt in Brisbane there arrangement is: during peak performance weeks either Dale is in Brisbane or Matt is in Melbourne. Matt: ”We have found this decentralised model works quite effectively.”...Biggest challenge: Coming from a small country town far away from good training facilities…..Interesting facts: One of eight siblings...Occupation: host on Nova 106.9 on Saturday mornings with Angie Kent…Education: Business degree - Major in Sport & Entrepreneurship, Griffith University (2015-2021)

@ 4 June 2024 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au