Roomies Deliver as Tiernan Becomes an Instant Hero
Published Fri 30 Jul 2021
Best mates and room mates Matthew Denny and Brandon Starc were the shining lights on day one of a blockbuster athletics program at the Tokyo Olympic Games, whilst Patrick Tiernan won over the hearts of Australians as he embodied the Australian and Olympic spirit.
Denny (Ben Thomson) was expected to advance to the final of the men’s discus but his second-round throw of 65.13m was an emphatic statement to his competitors that the Australian is the real deal.
The performance surpassed Benn Harradine’s mark of 64.00m as the furthest throw by an Australian in the event at an Olympic Games, with Denny qualifying in fourth place across the two groups. It’s a record that may not last long, with the man-mountain saying he has “more to give” in the final.
“Pretty good for nine o’clock in the morning, I’m not usually a morning guy,” he said.
"It is a testimony to my team. We did really well to go back from that [injury] and we are just really focused on the Olympics and we got back to the level that I wanted to be.”
Confessing he is not an early riser; Denny may have been half asleep as he attempted to find the call room – taking a wrong turn and ending up in the coaches area before rushing back to confirm his presence.
Starc (Alex Stewart) was almost flawless, only failing one attempt at 2.25m on his way to his 2.28m qualifying performance. The Australian record holder looked in sublime form throughout the competition, clearing 2.28m on his first attempt as he cruised towards Sunday’s Olympic final.
"I felt really good out there. Run-up was good, take-off was good, got the job done and that’s all I needed to do and now move on to Sunday,” he said.
“I didn’t even worry about the placing, just height and how I was feeling out there. One miss, pretty good.”
The 27-year-old holds a season’s best of 2.33m – a mark that only three men have bettered this year, leaving him optimistic ahead of his first Olympic final.
“All I know is I’m feeling good now and going into the final I’m pretty confident,” he said.
Whilst Denny and Starc established themselves as medal contenders in their respective events, a host of other Australians were in action throughout the day when achieving mixed results – with all of them able to hold their head high.
The men’s 10,000m final witnessed Patrick Tiernan (Mark Rowland) win over the nation. Tiernan demonstrated pure grit to hang tough with the lead pack throughout proceedings and all the way into the final two laps, before the final lap saw the Australian become the victim of a gruelling pace and conditions.
Tiernan stumbled at the top of the home straight before collapsing with the finish in sight, picking himself up and wandering over the final 50-metres to ensure he finished the race. Post-race Tiernan was wheeled off by officials as he shook his head, and whilst the final lap may not have gone to plan – he delivered a historic Olympic performance.
The record books will show his name in 19th place in a time of 28:35.06, but that will never do his performance in the men’s 10,000m final justice.
Not much more could be asked of Ben Buckingham (Nic Bideau) as the lawyer turned runner punched in a career-best performance in his heat of the 3000m steeplechase – only to be disqualified shortly after the event for a lane infringement.
Post-race, a confused Buckingham took the adversity in his stride saying he achieved everything he had hoped for.
“I had an awesome run. I wanted to come here and have a really strong performance and walk off proud – and I’ve done that,” he said.
But the Olympic debutant’s morning took a quick turn after being reinstated as the seventh place finisher in his heat, being rightfully accredited his shiny new 8:20.95 personal best – the fourth fastest time in Australian history.
In the same race, Matthew Clarke (Adam Didyk) finished in 13th place in a time of 8:42.37. Clarke threw everything he had at qualifying for the Olympic Games – a taxing bid that allowed him to realise his childhood dream.
In an earlier heat of the 3000m steeplechase, Ed Trippas (Jason Vigilante) clocked 8:29.90 in brutal conditions that were worsened by a challenging pace set by the world’s best barrier-men. The US-based Australian was one of the surprise packets of the qualifying period, rightfully earning his Olympic debut.
800m runner Catrina Bisset (Peter Fortune) suffered in a typically tactical Olympic affair, finishing in fifth place of her heat in a time of 2:01.65 – unlucky not to make the semi-final.
Bisset was one of the fastest non-qualifiers and looked to be in a good position rounding the bend for home but being clipped by a competitor proved to be a costly blow as she lost momentum in a crucial moment. Despite the result, the Australian record holder is in career-best shape.
Morgan Mitchell (Elizabeth Mathews) also did not advance passed the first round of the women’s 800m, clocking 2:05.44 for sixth placing in her heat. The appearance made Mitchell a two-time Olympian after she made the 400m semi-finals at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The fairy-tale season of Hana Basic (John Nicolosi) came to a close in the heats of the women’s 100m, with the resurgent sprinter clocking 11.32 to finish in fifth place of her heat.
With her sights set on becoming the first Australian woman to make the Olympic 100m semi-finals since 2000 in Sydney, an emotional Basic fronted the cameras post-race.
“I’ve shown all the highs of the season but it’s super important that I do show the lows. I’m pretty disappointed because I had big expectations, but I’m at the Olympics and that was incredible,” she said.
“Twelve months ago I was a completely different person off the track and I went through a lot in the last twelve months. To be here and to reflect on the season, I can’t wait to have two weeks in quarantine just to soak it all in.”
It was a challenging evening for Australia’s 5000m women in brutal conditions for distance running. The trio of Rose Davies (Scott Wescott), Jenny Blundell (James Fitzgerald) and Izzi Batt-Doyle (Nic Bideau) took on the brilliance that is global 5000m running in 2021.
Davies was valiant in heat one when hanging on to stop the clock in 15:50.07 despite losing contact with the main group, finishing in 18th place. The 21-year-old gains invaluable experience on her Olympic debut and will be one to watch in the coming years.
In heat two, Blundell adopted an aggressive strategy to lead the race and control proceedings. It was a bold and admirable strategy from Blundell at her second Olympic Games – one that resulted in a time of 15:11.27 and 11th for a respectable performance.
Batt-Doyle managed to fight on to finish in 15th place in a time of 15:21.65 and like Davies will be better for the experience after enjoying her first Olympic Games and European season.
Day two of the athletics program is set to be just as enticing:
Morning session -
10:24am: Women’s 400m Hurdles Heat 4 - Sarah Carli
10:40am: Men’s Pole Vault Qualifiyng - Kurtis Marschall
10:50am: Men’s 800m Heat 1 - Peter Bol
11:06am: Men’s 800m Heat 3 - Charlie Hunter
11:14am: Men’s 800m Heat 4 - Jeff Riseley
11:53am: Women’s 100m Hurdles Heat 2 - Liz Clay
11:55am: Women’s Discus Qualifying - Dani Stevens
Night session -
8:10pm: Men’s Long Jump Qualifying - Henry Frayne
8:45pm: Men’s 100m Round 1 - Rohan Browning
9:15pm: Men’s Discus Final - Matt Denny
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 30/07/2021
