Sweet reason why Olympian ditched Closing Ceremony
Aussie medallist Matthew Denny has explained the sweet reason why he missed the Paris 2024 closing ceremony after winning a bronze medal in the men's discus throw event.
The athlete spoke with Today Extra and explained the romantic reason why he missed the special event.
"I feel bad, but I didn't end up going to the Closing; I decided [my wife] Mia was going to be by herself, and I need to give back some time to her because ... it's been a pretty brutal 12 months for her," he said.
"So I thought it was really important that we had a nice dinner, and we obviously watched the Closing Ceremony, but I just wanted to give her some time."
After flying back from Paris to Australia, the athlete said that he had a training session to attend so that he can "finish the year off strong."
Denny won third place in the men's discuss throw event, throwing for 69.31 metres on his second attempt of the final.
"I'm just thankful that people always back me. To those who didn't think I was going to do it... eat it!" he said to Wide World of Sports following his win.
"It's something I'm so proud of, what I do, I get to live an amazing life. I have a great family and support team.
"Before I went into this competition, I watched back the Qantas ad we did. I just want to see those people again before I went in here.
"I know that's who I'm doing it for. So... yeah, thank you to you guys for supporting me."
Despite his win, the athlete is aiming for gold as he hopes to compete again in the Brisbane Olympics.
"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."
Image: Xinhua News Agency/ Shutterstock Editorial