How Matthew Denny, a 'typical country kid' from Allora, claimed Olympic bronze in 'very unlikely' sport
Matthew Denny grew up in Allora, a tiny town two hours west of Brisbane.
Its main street has an IGA supermarket, cafe, chemist, hardware store, a post office, and not much else.
He grew up playing rugby league and swimming, and just generally being outside. It was a "typical country kid" childhood.
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But on Thursday morning (AEST), 16,494km away in Paris' Stade de France, he became an Olympic medallist - a bronze in the men's discus final.
"It's a very unlikely sport ... I was just kind of an athletic kid," he told Nine.
"A typical country kid. I was just out doing stuff."
Matthew Denny is now an Olympic bronze medallist. Getty
The bronze was his first medal at a major meeting, having finished fourth in Tokyo and at the World Championships last year.
"Can confirm it's better than fourth," he said with a laugh.
He wasn't great when he started throwing the discus - he said he finished plum last in the state in grade six and seven.
But as he got a coach and he started seeing improvement, that's when he got hooked.
"I started to progress ... (and) I just fell in love with what happens, how you become good at throws," he said.
"There's so many different elements. A lot of people think you just have to be big, yell at it, that sort of stuff. There's so many components you have to be really, really good at.
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Denny during the final. AP
"That's great, I love that part. But now, what I really love is doing it when it counts in front of 80,000 people, and fighting for medals."
In his own interview with Nine, his dad John said Matt, now 28, talked from his early teens about going to the Olympics and pulling on the green and gold.
"It makes you pretty emotional, especially when you know what he's done to get there. The effort and commitment he's put in, it's just wonderful," John said.
"When he was a young teenage boy he used to always talk about he was going to the Olympics. He used to talk about it all the time.
"Here we are, he's at the Olympics. It's wonderful, isn't it?
"He's the youngest of eight. I suppose he set a fairly high bar for the family, hasn't he?
"When you see your children do something special like that, it really means a lot."
That humble upbringing is what Denny lent on when he was standing in the circle in front of 80,000 spectators in the Stade de France.
"A lot of the time when I'm looking out to the sector, a lot of it is me visualising being at home in Allora," he said.
"The circle that I have there, I've always found I just throw so cleanly and freely there, and it's where it all started for me. That's where I feel most comfortable."
To make the moment all the more special, quite literally minutes after his bronze was confirmed, Nina Kennedy secured gold in the women's pole vault down the other end of the stadium.
The pair have known each other for more than a decade, and shared a warm embrace as Kennedy did a victory lap.
"We did our first World Youth team together in 2013. It is crazy how far we've come, what we (had) a chance to do on the same night," he said.
Women's Pole Vault gold medalist Nina Kennedy of Team Australia celebrates with Men's Discus Throw Matthew Denny of Team Australia on day twelve of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 07, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) Getty
"We also made a promise to each other: 'Let's not take it for granted. Lock in and make it happen.'
"To think we were just kids doing athletics in 2013, to now on the podium and just rocking the world.
"There's so many others ... Nicola (Olyslagers), Eleanor (Patterson), Jessica Hull, all that team, we've all been going through all these major championships together since we were kids.
"It's pretty cool to be taking on the world now together."
Denny got emotional as he watched an interview his mum Karen and wife Mia did with Nine's Christine Ahern after he won. At his third Games, it was the first time either of them had been able to travel to watch him compete.
As focus now turns to LA and then hopefully Brisbane, Denny reckons he's still got more in him.
"I think that's kind of been the season this year. I'm obviously super stoked to get on the dais and not fourth again – it's great.
"But also the critic in me is knowing there's more there, there's more to give. I moved great. My body was in great condition. My movement was clean.
"The only thing that was missing was just the flights."
