Paris Olympics 2024: Matthew Denny vows to compete at Brisbane Games after winning discus bronze in Paris

Newly-minted Olympic bronze medallist Matthew Denny has declared he wants to throw in front of a home crowd at the Brisbane Olympics in eight year’s time.

Riding a wave of emotion after coming within just 0.69 metres of an Olympic gold medal, Denny said he already had his eye on a home Games in Queensland.

The giant Australian finished third at the Stade de France, throwing a 69.31 metre discuss with just his second attempt of the final to win his first Olympic medal at 28.

On an emotional night that saw the Olympic record broken twice, and a massive discus boilover, Denny stood proud as he delivered one of the best throws of his career and remained in the top three all night.

But while bathing in the glow of his drought-breaking medal, Denny said he had more to give and pledged to “keep on trucking” towards gold.

“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.”

Denny became emotional as the significance of his accomplishment began to sink in.

“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,” he 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.”

The Queenslander also revealed he had sought advice from Australian pole vault champion and Beijing gold medallist Steve Hooker ahead of competing in Paris.

“I’ve been calling him this year because obviously he’s done what I wanted to do,” he said.

“Just chatting with him on how he went through his process and how he saw his jumps.

“Just to hear his voice and how he went through that really helped me.”

In a field of stars, records tumbled with Lithuanian big man Mykolas Alekna breaking the Olympic record to keep the milestone in the family after claiming his father’s mark.

However, it only lasted a matter of throws as Jamaican Roje Stona came from nowhere to launch an outrageous 70m effort.

No one was able to get past the Jamaican’s throw, tiring and flagging under the pressure.

But it was a big night for the Aussie.

His medal throw flew straight down the guts of the field, arcing and spinning through the charged atmosphere of a buzzing Stade de France.

It pitched nicely and was recorded as the silver-medal throw at the time.

The odds of a medal were in the 28-year-old’s favour, with no throw of 69.31 metres or more having not medalled at the Olympics.

Denny continued to put his all into his attempts as the records tumbled, but a foul and a cautious effort to finish saw his night close with bronze.