Ashley Moloney claims Australia's first-ever decathlon medal with third-placed finish

Tom Naghten

Ashley Moloney claims Australia's first-ever decathlon medal with third-placed finish image

For the most part, the Olympics showcases the world's best at a highly specialised skill or event.

Who can run 100m the fastest? Who can jump the highest? You know the drill.

Then there's the decathlon, looking to determine who is the best at 10 vastly different track and field events - a true test of an athlete's versatility and skill.

In Tokyo, two Australians - Ashley Moloney and Cedric Dubler - will be mixing it with the world's best decathletes.

There is currently no women's decathlon at the Olympic Games, the women instead competing in the heptathlon.

Tokyo Olympics decathlon results

Australia has its first ever medal in decathlon after Moloney finished third, breaking his own Oceania record with an incredible performance across the two days.

Massive shoutout must also go to Dubler, who, while dealing with a hamstring injury, virtually coached Moloney through each event and could be seen barking encouragement at his countryman during the 1500m.

 

Top ten:

  1. Damian Warner (CAN) - 9018 (Olympic record)
  2. Kevin Mayer (FRA) - 8726
  3. Ashley Moloney (AUS) - 8649 (Oceania record)
  4. Garrett Scantling (USA) - 8611
  5. Pierce Lepage (CAN) - 8604
  6. Zachery Ziemek (USA) - 8435
  7. Lindon Victor (GRN) - 8414
  8. Ilya Shkurenyov (ROC) - 8413
  9. Jorge Urena (ESP) - 8322
  10. Steven Bastien (USA) - 8236

An injury-hampered Dubler finished in 21st place on 7008 points.

Full leaderboard and event breakdown here.

Which events are in the decathlon?

As with most meets, the decathlon events are split over two days at the Olympics.

On day one - Wednesday, August 4 - the first five events will take place, before athletes come back on Thursday to complete the competition.

Day one:

  • 100 metres
  • Long jump
  • Shotput
  • High jump
  • 400 metres

Day two:

  • 110 metres
  • Discus
  • Pole vault
  • Javelin
  • 1500 metres

The winner of the men's decathlon will be crowned following the 1500 metres, set to begin at 10:40pm AEST on Thursday night.

How is the decathlon scored?

It's complicated.

Basically, each athlete earns points for their performance in each event.

The points are awarded for an athlete's performance against a benchmark in that event, rather than their performance against their opponents.

A fairly complex formula is used to determine how much each result in an event is worth - depending on the time run, height cleared and distance jumped or thrown.

For a more detailed run down of the scoring system, click here.

Who is Ashley Moloney?

Australia doesn't have a particularly rich history in the decathlon but in 21-year-old Queenslander Ashley Moloney, we could have a contender on our hands.

Moloney is already the Oceania record holder, with a score of 8492, while he also won gold at the World Junior Championships in 2018.

Moloney's 100m, 400m, 110m hurdles and pole vault personal bests are good enough to have him competing with the very best in the world in Tokyo and beyond.

Who is Cedric Dubler?

If Moloney is the new kid on the block, Dubler is the relative veteran.

Also from Brisbane, the 26-year-old held the Australian record before Moloney pipped him.

Despite battling a hamstring injury leading into the Olympics, the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist has done all he can to prepare himself and Moloney for their tilt in Japan.

Tom Naghten

Tom Naghten Photo

Tom Naghten is a senior editor at The Sporting News Australia where he's been part of the team since 2017. He predominantly covers boxing and MMA. In his spare time, he likes to watch Robbie Ahmat's goal against the Kangaroos at the SCG in 2000.