LOGAN’S Ash Moloney is at 21 be taking on arguably the most gruelling challenge on the Olympic agenda.
And while the former world junior champion will be eyeing off a top 10 finish, he’ll have one very proud supporter cheering him on.
His mum Alyson will be glued to the screen, bursting with pride, regardless of the result.
The decathlon – a contest across 10 track and field events over two days testing every muscle in the athletes’ bodies – starts tomorrow (Wednesday).
Ash is one of two Australians.
“What really gets me is I could have been going to Japan to see him, but I’m really excited and nervous for him,” Mrs Moloney said.
“He’s the youngest one who’s going to be in that competition, so I’ll be happy if he gets in the top 10, but he’ll be happy if he gets a PB.
“But you just don’t know with the heat, the fact he’s new to it, and the nervousness of the occasion.”
Until Friday last week, he was in Cairns for a training camp with other Australian athletes before flying to Tokyo.
In Tokyo, he will be without his coach, Eric Brown, who could not make the trip due to tight Covid restrictions.
Mr Brown also coaches the other Aussie, Cedric Dubler, and said his athletes are eager to compete.
“It’s been a really tough lead up for them, so they are eager to just get out there and compete,” he added.
Mr Moloney’s Olympic A qualifier of 8284 points placed him in the top 20 decathletes worldwide for this year – a remarkable achievement according to Mr Brown.
“It’s insane to get that at such a young age because it’s such a taxing event,” he said.
Logan’s rising Olympian tackles gruelling task
