'Trying to continue making him proud': Aussie discus champ Matt Denny fights tears in live TV tribute to late father

Australian discus champion Matthew Denny has delivered an emotional tribute to his late father, who died last November.

Denny became a household name in Australia when he won bronze at the Paris Olympics.

After winning the medal last August, Denny's father John appeared on Nine's Today from his home town of Allora, south west of Brisbane.

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Battling a horrific delay between Allora and Paris, John and host Karl Stefanovic briefly got stuck into each other after the host revealed he had no idea where Allora was despite growing up in Queensland.

On Today on Friday morning, Denny revealed his old man had conducted the interview from outside hospital.

"Not many people know, Dad was actually in hospital and he was sitting out the front of the hospital when you guys interviewed him," Denny said.

"The fact that he was still sitting there chatting away and putting it up you as well ... it was a bit of a testament to how much fun he had and how good of a bloke he was."

Like many parents of elite athletes, John played a crucial role in his son's early development, carting him around the state to various meetings.

Denny looked as if he was fighting back tears as he remembered his old man.

"A lot of my career is basically, from now on, just trying to continue making him proud," he said.

"It's made my projection in the sport a little bit different."

Denny said he would continue to carry a "no tolerance attitude" in his preparation and competition.

"Whatever the task is, get it done," he said.

Denny made the appearance on Today fresh off a record-breaking performance in the Oklahoma Throw Series, held in the tiny town of Ramona, population 500, about 45 minutes north of Tulsa.

A week after the 28-year-old became the first Aussie to break the 70m-mark with a 72.07m effort to shatter his own national record of 69.96m, Denny obliterated that mark with a 74.78m throw.

It would've been a new world record, had Lithuanian Mykola Alekna not already bettered his previous world record of 74.35m in the same event last year.

Alekna threw 74.89m with his first throw and then 75.56m with his final effort.

Denny said the set-up in Ramona felt very similar to his home set-up in Allora.

"It was a great week of competitions. I think out of the 18 throws I had, 15 of them were over 70m. So it was nice to get over that barrier a fair few more times," he said.

Denny said Australian athletics was experiencing a boom, led by teen sprint sensation Gout Gout, which is good news ahead of the home Brisbane Olympics in 2032.

"By the time we get to Brissie, we'll have so many more athletes," he said.

"I'll be rolled out in a wheelchair or something like that ... I'll be old and nearly done.

"But athletics is in a really great place in Australia and I think everyone's also enjoying that.

"The comp we did in Melbourne for the Maurie Plant Meet was unbelievable. 10,000 people ... it's a top-three moment in my career out there."