Australian decathlete Ashley Moloney is destined to become \u201cone of the greatest athletes on the planet\u201d following his heroics at Tokyo, according to his coach Eric Brown.<\/p>\n
Moloney created history by becoming Australia’s first medallist in an Olympic decathlon, taking bronze at Tokyo’s National Stadium on the last Thursday of competition.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old\u2019s performance also earned Australia its first medal of the athletics program in Tokyo.<\/p>\n
Brown has labelled the 21-year-old \u201ca freak of nature\u201d and a \u201conce in a lifetime athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see someone like this emerge\u2026 he\u2019s just a freak of nature, he\u2019s something else, you wait for one of these kids for your entire life when you\u2019re a coach,\u201d Brown said on SEN Breakfast.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was monumental, that performance by a 21-year-old is just unheard of, you don\u2019t win medals at that age and that particular event.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Brown, Moloney was destined to become one of the \u201cgreatest decathletes the country has ever seen\u201d at the ripe age of 15.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came to me as a 15-year-old… and I said to Ash would you like to become a decathlete because I think you\u2019ll be one of the greatest decathletes the country has ever seen,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
French decathlete Kevin Mayer is the current world record holder in the event with 9126 points, but Brown feels a sense of inevitability that Moloney will hold that record in the not too distant future.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll break Mayers world record within a year or two, that\u2019s how good this kid is, he\u2019s a superstar and I think the whole world has been alerted to that last night,\u201d Brown declared.<\/p>\n
Moloney finished the two-day event with an Australian record of 8649 points ahead of Garrett Scantling from the US who finished fourth on 8611.<\/p>\n
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