EUGENE -- Matthew Denny of Australia muscled out a throw of 68.43m/224-6 in the sixth and final round to upset the favorites and win the men's discus at the Diamond League Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field.

Denny's mark improved upon the Australian national record of 68.24m/223-10 he set at the World Championships in Budapest last month.

“I had a lot of energy in me," Denny said. "I was pretty twitchy and I was just ready to compete. I knew that I could potentially put something together.”

A new Australian record in the Men's Discus 💥

1⃣ Matthew Denny | 68.43m
2⃣ Kristjan Čeh | 67.64m
3⃣ Daniel Stahl | 67.36m

📷 @HowLao #PreClassic #EugeneDL 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/QYuyz6rIBh

— The Prefontaine Classic (@nikepreclassic) September 17, 2023

Denny steadily crept up the standings late in the competition. In Round 4, he registered a throw of 67.37m/221-0 to move up to second place, setting the stage for his final throw heroics.

“I thought we could be on for a PB here,” Denny said. “But I wasn’t gonna count Daniel or Kristjan out.”

Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia, the 2022 Diamond League champion, had taken the lead in Round 2 with a throw of 67.64m/221-11 but was unable to improve. 

Daniel Stahl of Sweden, who won gold on his final throw at Worlds last month, finished third at 67.36m/221-0.

Andrius Gudzius of Lithuania finished fourth with a mark of 65.47m/214-9. Lawrence Okoye of Great Britain took fifth at 65.23m/214-0. American Sam Mattis finished sixth at 64.51m/211-7.

Denny said that ending the season on a high note was important to springboard him into the all important Olympic year in 2024.

“I’m just so happy to finish on such a high note for this season because it’s been a great season and I wanted to finish it the right way," Denny said. "So to do it on the final throw is pretty good. 

“I’ve always gone to the majors with the goal to win. This really cements my point that I can be the best and that’s my goal for next year and that’s my goal for Paris. So if I can convert this into some better throws for next year and keep improving -- because 68’s not gonna win the Olympics, I think it’s gonna be a 70, 71 again -- so just making sure I continue to improve is the main thing. That’s the goal and this gives me great confidence going into next year.”