History-making decathlete headed back to the ARC

Ashley Moloney powered home to claim decathlon Bronze in the final lap of the 1500 metres race in Tokyo.

Images of Moloney running with fellow Australian Cedric Dubler sticking with him and yelling encouragement inspired the nation.

Moloney will be at the Mackay Aquatic and Recreation Complex for a public Q&A and meet and greet on Wednesday, September 15, from 5pm to 7pm.

Asking the questions will be Beijing 2008 Olympic 200m freestyle relay gold-medallist Linda Single OAM.

Moloney is no stranger to the Mackay ARC – he threw a personal best discus at the facility in October last year while competing against friend and rival Cedric Dubler.

“I hit a performance lead of 44.58m in Mackay last year at the NQ Championships and really enjoyed competing at the ARC,” Moloney said.

“I’m really looking forward to coming back to Mackay to share my Olympic journey with locals and meet young athletes,” he said.

“I’m more than happy to answer questions and sign autographs, so please pop into the ARC and say hello.”

Ash’s coach, Eric Brown, one of Australia’s greatest combined events coaches, said his squad had long been fans of North Queensland because of the support they receive here and the strong athletics culture.

“There is so much potential growth that can come from future North Queenslanders in combined events, and I look forward to seeing as many athletes as possible get involved and develop over the years to come – 2032 is not long away,” Brown said.

“Whatever you do, don’t miss this great opportunity to meet the world’s up-and-coming future champion,” he said.

“Ash started his athletics career at a young age in junior athletics, like many in our sport, and started specialising in multi-events at 15 years.

“He competed in his first multi-event in North Queensland.”

Mayor Greg Williamson said it was tremendous to have Ash in town to share his story, meet locals, answer questions and hopefully inspire the next generation of Olympians.

“Ash is a fantastic role model for young athletes, because he’s gone out and achieved something no Australian has done before him,” Mayor Williamson said.

“He’s a living example that young people can do anything they put their mind to and work hard for, and it’s great to have him in our region to share his story,” he said.

“It’s also a testament to the international standard of our athletics facility that we can have Olympians coming here and hitting personal bests in the leadup to the Olympics.”

To help manage numbers on the day, Athletics North Queensland is asking residents to register their interest at www.athleticsnorthqld.org.au/ashley-moloney-tour