By Jeremy Cook
Take a walk through Allora and you’ll notice a town filled with pride for a man whose towering presence looms large.
A larger than life mural of the homegrown soon-to-be three-time Olympic discus thrower Matt Denny now adorns the timber cladding of the old Railway Hotel.
“You’ve already made us proud, Matt.” the artwork reads.
Denny’s figure fills the two-storey high canvas, a product of Brisbane-based artist KnivesXOnly.
He’s one of several athletes chosen by Qantas to be projected in paint-form on public walls around Australia.
It’s massive and can not go unnoticed, a possible reflection of the town’s adoration for their Olympic hero.
“He’s a good fella,” Allora Sports Museum president Perry Cronin said.
“He’s our first Olympian and not only that, this is his third Olympics,” Cronin said.
Denny will head to Paris in blistering form. He is the current Australian and Commonwealth Games champion and in April, broke the national discus record for a third time at the Australian Athletics Championships, throwing 69.35 metres.
“My preparations have been very positive and we are very happy with the training camp we just completed,” Denny said.
“I’m keen to get back to Europe to finish off the last touches for Paris.”
More than aware of the mural, Denny said he was “super proud to be from Allora”.
“(It’s) pretty incredible that something like this is being done in my hometown,” he said.
“The fact it’s [been] placed in town where I have so many great memories makes me proud of what I have achieved so far in my career.”
Like most in Allora, Perry Cronin has known the Denny family for some time.
“All his brothers were really good footballers,” Cronin said.
As Denny entered his teens, he turned his attention away from rugby, the sport he and his family loved, choosing to take another path in life.
“He was throwing discus and hammer and all that and realised that he’s big and strong and it’s probably the sport that suited him,” Cronin said.
“He’s done well.”
Reeling with anticipation, Cronin reckoned a podium finish could be on the cards for Allora’s prodigal son.
“I’d count him in at least bronze,” he said.
“But on the day and with the right attitude, there’s no reason why he can’t grab a gold one.
“We gotta organise our lives around this now.”
