The nicest man in Australian athletics eyes off his own medal
THE Mr Nice Guy of athletes, Cedric Dubler, will start the second day of the Commonwealth Games decathlon primed for a medal but has warned that his crucial event, the pole vault will be “hit and go big, or maybe miss, we will see”.
Dubler is best known for screaming his support on the track to colleague Ash Moloney in the Tokyo Olympic decathlon final event, the 1500m, where Moloney went on to win the bronze medal.
But with Moloney out of the Commonwealth Games competition with a knee injury he suffered mid event at the recent world championships in Oregon, Dubler is in top contention to win his own international medal.
Dubler is in second place after the first day of competition, just 85 points behind Grenada’s Lindon Victor.
The Brisbane 27-year-old said: “I am in a great position,” but warned he wasn’t certain how his body would hold up having just had a 10-day recovery after the worlds.
“I wouldn’t say this is my moment yet, but I am definitely on the right track, I have to be patient for that and there is more to come, it is nice to be here in medal contention,” he said.
He said he had a new run-up and new poles for the pole vault, and the result could depend on whether the wind was a headwind or tailwind.
On the first day of the decathlon Dubler won the high jump with 2.06m, was second in the 100m with a time of 10.92sec, was second in the long jump with 7.61m and sixth in the shot put with a throw of 12.83m.
In the 400m, the last event on day one, he was quickest in 48.47sec, and such was his effort, he was sick at the end of the race. Other Australians Alec Diamond, is fourth, and Daniel Golubovic is fifth.