Aussie discus champion Matt Denny secures dominant Diamond League victory
Australian discus champion Matt Denny triumphed in Doha on Saturday morning (AEST) as he kicked off his latest Diamond League title defence in dominant fashion.
The Paris 2024 bronze medallist asserted himself in the lead with an opening-round throw of 67.33 metres and iced his win with a throw of 68.97m in the final round.
Both of those throws were further than the longest conjured up by second-placed Swede Daniel Stahl, whose top throw was 67.06m, and the third-placed Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia, whose best was 66.92m.
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Stahl won Olympic gold at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and Ceh was crowned world champion in Eugene, Oregon in 2022.
Denny's defeat of such high-calibre throwers is another indication of his world-beating credentials.
"Workin' hard and throwing harder. For Dad," the Queenslander posted to Instagram after the Doha win.
Australia's Matt Denny in action at the Doha Diamond League meet. Marta Gorczynska/Diamond League
Denny, who hails from the small town of Allora in Queensland's south, broke through for his maiden global senior medal in Paris last year.
His beloved dad John died three months later.
"I was very happy out there tonight," Denny said of Saturday morning's (AEST) win.
"The goal at the moment is doing whatever is required to win.
"I didn't know what to expect from myself tonight having come off a heavy training block and getting off the plane, and it's always a weird dynamic when you go into that last round in the lead and then have to throw first, but I was able to go out there and get my best mark of the night and that's all I can ask for."
Australia's Cara Feain-Ryan (pink) running the women's 3000-metre steeplechase in Doha. Getty
Denny is shooting for his third Diamond League title in succession, having won the Eugene final of 2023 and the Brussels final last year.
Australia was also represented in Doha by Cara Feain-Ryan, who finished 12th in the women's 3000-metre steeplechase in 9:38.07.
Kenyan Faith Cherotich took victory in 9:05.08, edging out Bahrain's Winfred Yavi (9:05.26) in a thrilling sprint finish. Ethiopian Sembo Almayew took third in 9:09.27.
The Diamond League season will continue in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, on Monday, May 26 (AEST).
