Ashley Moloney's historic decathlon bronze medal win is the result of years of family dedication just to get him to the start line at meets across Australia.
Mum Alyson Moloney watched from home at Heritage Park as midnight neared on Thursday, willing Ash to third place in the gruelling event at the Tokyo Games.
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She then answered a flood of text messages and phone calls from well-wishers, and missed her son's post 1500m race interview with Cedric Dubler.
Dubler is the man Moloney will thank for getting in his ear in the final stages, ensuring Moloney won Australia's first ever medal in the event.
Mrs Moloney said she bashed her bed and yelled in delight when the result was confirmed.
"When he got it I was just yelling at the top of my lungs," she said.
"[Earlier] I could see him bolting up the track. He does do those spurts at the end. Cedric helped him along."
She briefly spoke to Moloney in the hours after the race.
"He was ecstatic," she said.
"He was having a drug test at the time. He didn't have a lot of time to talk, because he then had to go to the press conference."
It is a normal part of an athlete's life which outsiders do not get to see.
"We have a good old chat when the drug testers come around [when Ash is at home]," Mrs Moloney said.
Moloney's father Neil was working in Nyngan NSW, and trying to sleep when his phone lit up with messages from friends and family. The pair had agreed to talk about the result the next day.
"He rang me and I told him he was supposed to be sleeping," Mrs Moloney said.
The medal is a just reward for Mrs Moloney, too. She dedicated years to taking her son to events at Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Townsville.
"You get to know where to stay, and all the best ways to get around," she said.
Ash was not the first Moloney child to be taken long distances for sport. His elder sister Kathryn played volleyball at a high level.
"I had the practice with her," Mrs Moloney said.
Jimboomba Little Athletics centre manager Monic Hamilton said she feared Moloney had lost out in the dying stages of the 1500 and would miss a medal.
"I'm like come on, just get up there," she said.
"I thought he was gone. Ash looked like he was gone. He had curled up his hands a bit and was running heavy.
"He looked a bit tired - they'd done two days of competition."
Hamilton said she was almost as relieved as Moloney when he saw on the screen that he had won the bronze medal.
"It was amazing seeing his face," she said. 'He said a few naughty words but what do you expect from a 21-year-old who has just won a medal at the Olympics."
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