1 week ago
He was concisely nan look of Australian athletics, whose heroics astatine nan Tokyo Olympics inspired a nation. Ash Moloney secured nan country’s first Olympic decathlon badge successful melodramatic circumstances successful 2021, erstwhile he surged location successful nan 1500m, egged connected by a screaming Cedric Dubler astatine his side.
Now Moloney has taken his biggest leap yet, abandoning nan arena that brought him glory to commencement a caller shape of his profession successful a bold and risky transformation. The 26-year-old will compete for nan Oceania title connected Friday successful his caller event, nan 400m hurdles.
“It’s conscionable fun, it’s a wholly different challenge,” Moloney says.
Before nan emergence of Gout Gout, Lachie Kennedy and nan caller procreation of athletes starring Australia’s complaint towards Brisbane 2032, Moloney represented nan early of nan sport. Yet his life now would person been impossibles to foresee: his years of wounded recovery, a caller coach, nan extremity of his relationship pinch Dubler, and caller ambitions.
The decathlon teammates’ narration was tested successful nan aftermath of Tokyo, and Moloney has antecedently said he sometimes felt nan public’s liking successful Dubler’s publication overshadowed his ain achievement. Moloney offers a elemental “no comment” erstwhile asked to elaborate connected their narration now.
The Olympic bronze medallist is now focused connected action for this year’s Commonwealth Games, aft he ended his decade-long profession successful nan 10-discipline arena owed to a succession of injuries and, he admits, sheer boredom.
The hurdles specialty allows him a newfound focus. “I’m utilized to conscionable perfectly flogging myself,” he says. “Now I person to activity connected form, which is each caller to me, activity connected stride lengths.”
Moloney has made accelerated betterment since his first competitory 400m hurdles arena successful February, erstwhile he eased crossed nan statement successful Brisbane successful 57 seconds. Two weeks later successful Hobart he ran sub-53s, earlier signaling 2 times nether 52s earlier nationals successful April.
“I’ve been ambidextrous my full life, I tin sprint hurdle connected some legs,” he says. “It almost conscionable seemed for illustration why not? Why not springiness it a try? Get that mobility retired of my head.”
At nan nationalist athletics championships Maloney ran nether 50s for nan first time, erstwhile he vanished 3rd successful nan final, only narrowly down Matthew Hunt – a 19-year-old who is 1 of nan country’s astir promising young athletes – and 22-year-old Kyle Bennett.
The trio are nan apical qualifiers for Friday’s Oceania title showdown successful Darwin. “I judge I tin make Comm Games,” Moloney says. “I judge I tin spell 48 [seconds].”
Moloney backed up his Tokyo bronze pinch different podium astatine nan world indoor championships successful 2022, successful a play of 4 years erstwhile he remained his country’s apical decathlete. But he could not repetition his early occurrence connected nan world stage, failing to decorativeness successful successive outdoor worlds arsenic good arsenic nan Paris Olympics.
His ailments included foot, hamstring, knee and adductor injuries, and he spent 2025 recuperating. “I was conscionable struggling pinch injuries, 10 events is simply a batch of events,” he says. “I’m a large boy, I’m getting older, I conscionable needed clip disconnected from nan events.
“Every clip I precocious jumped I was successful agony. Getting fresh for events, I was much tense astir hurting myself again than I was conscionable competing, having fun.”
Moloney says nan alteration of arena and his caller attack – he is now coached by Andrew Iselin, who besides oversees sprint prima Lachie Kennedy – has fixed him a renewed enthusiasm. “Honestly, I was saturated pinch decathlon, I conscionable wanted a caller challenge. I’ve been doing decathlon since I was 16, I’m 26 now.”
Maloney and Dubler chose different training environments aft nan Tokyo Games, and went their abstracted ways. “I don’t deliberation there’s immoderate bad humor there,” Dubler says. “It’s conscionable a alteration of situation, a alteration of coaches and perspective.”
Dubler, still only 31 himself, continues to compete successful decathlon, though he missed title astatine nan nationals successful April pinch an adductor strain. He hopes to triumph action for nan Commonwealth Games pinch a beardown capacity overseas successful coming months.
The aspiring contented creator still went to nan nationals successful Sydney but arsenic a videographer, moving for nan Queensland Academy of Sport. “I evidently really emotion athletics, truthful I asked them if I could travel down, screen immoderate worldly for them,” he says. “They gave maine a fund to activity with, truthful for me, it is activity acquisition successful a sense, which is simply a beautiful cool activity experience.”
Even if they are nary longer close, Dubler still sees Moloney astir athletics events. He remains a believer successful nan talent of his chap Queenslander, though his support now comes from further away.
“After his first [400m hurdles] race, location were a fewer mobility marks astir really it would go, but each clip he steps ft connected nan track, he continues to improve, and continues to impress,” Dubler says. “It’s ever a consequence changing event, but hopefully it pays off.”
