A Historic Day in Tokyo | Day Two Review

It was a day that just kept getting better and better. Beginning with a rush of Australians advancing to Olympic semi-finals and finals, Peter Bol turned things up a notch with an Australian record before Matt Denny and Rohan Browning made history.

Matt Denny (Ben Thomson) has become Australia’s most successful male discus athlete at an Olympic Games, throwing a huge personal best of 67.02m in the sixth round to finish in fourth place of the Olympic final.

The performance was bittersweet for the man-mountain, who fell five-centimetres short of claiming an Olympic bronze medal.

“To be so close to making so much history really hurts. Just five centimetres off – the size of a beer can” he said.

“To me it was just like a clinic. I just kept hitting them and didn’t miss, didn’t foul and delivered when it counted.”

Denny threw an exceptional series with all six throws over 65-metres – a genuinely world-class performance on the biggest occasion of his life.

“I am glad to throw my best at an Olympics but my goal is to win and to do my best,” he said.

Rohan Browning (Andrew Murphy) has been touted as Australia’s next great sprinting hope all season long, and if you had any doubts – he just ran 10.01 to win an Olympic 100m heat and topple Jamaican superstar Yohan Blake.

The time eclipses Matt Shirvington’s mark of 10.03 to make Browning the second fastest Australian man in history – only behind Patrick Johnson’s national record of 9.93.

The 23-year-old was far from surprised with the performance post-race after establishing himself on the world stage.

“I doubt a lot of those guys would have any idea who I am. I have been patient this year and I’ve been dying for world class competition,” he said.

“I thought I had one of the stiffest heats but you would rather do it the hard way because it’s more satisfying that way, and you have to front up to everyone at some stage anyway.”

The time is easily the fastest by an Australian at an Olympic Games and places him within reach of becoming the first Australian to make an Olympic 100m final since Hec Hogan in 1956.

Browning is set to compete in semi-final two at 8:23pm AEST on Sunday night, with the top two men in each heat and the next two fastest to progress to the Olympic final later that night.

Earlier in the day, Peter Bol (Justin Rinaldi) set a new national and area record over 800m when clocking 1:44.13 to progress to the semi-finals with ease. The time surpasses Joseph Deng’s mark of 1:44.21, with Bol quick to acknowledge his teammate.

“Big credit to my boy Joseph Deng for holding that record and I can’t wait to have him with us soon,” he said.

Bol cruised down home straight to make his record performance even more astonishing, demonstrating that he can become the first Australian man to run 1:43 – and 1:42 is not out of the question either.

The 27-year-old was optimistic post-race, confident of his chances in tomorrow night’s semi-finals.

“That’s the best I’ve felt all year! It’s the Olympics; anything can happen right?” he said.

“I stopped chasing times and started chasing top two because that’s what you need at the Olympics, it’s not about times it’s about the positions.”

Charlie Hunter (Ben Thomas) traded the green and gold of Oregon University for the green and gold of Australia, soon following suit when progressing to the next round of the men’s 800m. Hunter stopped the clock in 1:45.91 but was checked and lost momentum at a key moment of the race – happy to progress despite the infringement.

Jeff Riseley (Justin Rinaldi) made it three from three when he also advanced with a time of 1:45.41 at his fourth Olympic Games. Riseley activated his usual surge in the home straight to navigate his way through the field and pick off vital competitors and seconds. It is the first time in Australian Olympic history that three men will feature in the semi-finals of the 800m.

Liz Clay (Sharon Hannan) joined the semi-final party when she embraced the occasion of her Olympic debut, clocking 12.87 in the 100m hurdles to clinch second place in her heat. The performance has calmed the nerves of Clay, who is set to attack tomorrow night’s hurdles with a rush of confidence.  

“I know how to get the job done and that’s what I did in the end. My goal was to make the semi and I’ve done that, so I’ll go harder tomorrow night,” she said.

“I’m meant to be here, this is my stage and I need to make the most of it. I’m really proud of myself for doing that.”

Kurtis Marschall (Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick) made his way over 5.75m on his first attempt in the men’s pole vault to qualify for the Olympic final, but his performance was not without drama. Marschall failed on his first two attempts at 5.60m before a clutch third-attempt clearance saw the two-time Olympian advance to his first final.

Sarah Carli (Melissa Logan) officially became an Olympian when lining up in the women’s 400m hurdles heats, making her way around the track in a time of 56.93.

The result was never the defining factor of a successful campaign for Carli, who overcame a life-threatening injury in February to recover in time for the Tokyo Olympics.  

“I’ve had six weeks of full training and did my first race four weeks ago, so that time is quite good considering,” she said.

Despite that, the performance left the resilient Australian confident in her ability heading forward.

“When things like this happen it really makes you think about what’s important and for me it’s my athletics. Give me three years with that sort of mentally and I’ll see what I can do,” she said.

It was a challenging day for Australian co-captain and four-time Olympian Dani Stevens (Dennis Knowles) in the women’s discus qualifying, managing to throw 58.77m to finish in 22^nd place overall.

Stevens overcame significant adversity to earn her fourth Olympic tracksuit, rehabbing a career-threatening neck injury in time to be competitive at the Games. The 14-time national champion has been a terrific influence and resource for her Australian compatriots with a wealth of experience under her belt.

Henry Frayne (Gary Bourne) produced his third best performance of the season in the men’s long jump when registering a leap of 7.93m in the qualifying round. The jump was not enough for Frayne to progress to a third consecutive Olympic final.  

Day two was better than day one, but can day three be better than day two?

SUNDAY 1st AUGUST:

Morning Session -

10:40am: Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Heat 1 - Georgia Winkcup

10:50am: Women’s Long Jump Qualifying Group A - Brooke Stratton

10:55am: Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Heat 2 - Genevieve Gregson

11:10am: Women’s 3000m Steeplechase Heat 3 - Amy Cashin

11:45am: Men’s 400m Heat 1 - Alex Beck

12:09pm: Men’s 400m Heat 4 - Steve Solomon

Night Session:

8:10pm: Men’s High Jump Final - Brandon Starc

8:23pm: Men’s 100m Semi-Finals - Rohan Browning

8:53pm: Women’s 100m Hurdles Semi-Final 2 - Liz Clay

9:25pm: Men’s 800m Semi-Final 1 - Charlie Hunter

9:35pm: Men’s 800m Semi-Final 2 - Peter Bol

9:45pm: Men’s 800m Semi-Final 3 - Jeff Riseley

10:50pm: Men’s 100m Final - Rohan Browning (if he is to advance)

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 31/07/2021