'Eat it': Matthew Denny's message to critics after landing on discus podium
An emotional Matthew Denny declared he wants to compete at Brisbane 2032 in what would be a home Olympics, after telling his doubters to "eat it" following his bronze medal effort in the men's discus in Paris.
Denny, 28, finished third on a highly eventful night for Australian athletes, throwing for 69.31 metres on his second attempt of the final as the Olympic record was broken twice.
From Allora, a rural town in Queensland, Denny never let the lead out of his sight, keeping within the top three for the majority of the night.
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"Mate, look, for a kid from Allora to come here, it's pretty crazy," Denny told Nine.
"I'm just thankful that people always back me. To those who didn't think I was going to do it... eat it!
"It's something I'm so proud of, what I do, I get to live an amazing life. I have a great family and support team.
"Before I went into this competition, I watched back the Qantas ad we did. I just want to see those people again before I went in here.
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"I know that's who I'm doing it for. So... yeah, thank you to you guys for supporting me."
Records were broken when Lithuania's Mykolas Alekna broke the Olympic mark with a throw of 69.97m after after claiming his father's record. Yet nobody was expecting for Alekna's mark to be broken, but that's exactly what happened.
Within a matter of throws, Jamaican Roje Stona stole the show, with a soaring 70m effort, which was unbeaten at the end of the night.
"If you told me the comp was going to go the way it did today, I wouldn't have said no, but the way it all played out I didn't expect," Denny said.
"I'm super happy with it and how I competed. I had fun. It's not the result I'm exactly looking for, but I wasn't far off.
"It's definitely a step in the right direction, and I'm just really proud of what my team and I have done."
Denny will be 36 by the time the Brisbane Olympics take place in eight years, yet his thirst for gold and the chance to throw in front of family and friends will be a motivating factor, he said.
"I can't not be proud of my performance, but the inner critic wants more, and I know there's more there," he said.
"To get a medal is amazing but the critic is still there in me. We'll go again. My goal is to get to Brisbane in 2032."
