Cedric Dubler and Ash Moloney shot to stardom at last year's Tokyo Olympics in a moment of ultimate sportsmanship.
Moloney needed a personal-best time in the 1,500 metres — the final discipline of the decathlon — to claim a bronze medal and Australia's first Olympic podium finish in the event.
He was exhausted after two gruelling days of competition, however teammate and training partner Dubler was alongside him for one last push.
Dubler had battled throughout the decathlon with a hamstring strain, but would play a pivotal role in Moloney's success.
He set the pace and yelled encouragement at Moloney during the late stages of the 1,500m, spurring his fellow Australian across the finish line.
The iconic moment sent social media and the sporting world into overdrive.
Dubler's selfless act has now been recognised by the Australian Olympic Committee, who awarded him the inaugural Cecil Healy Award for outstanding sportsmanship displayed at an Olympic Games.
Dubler said he was surprised to receive the award.
"Hopefully it's a special moment that kind of stands the test of time," he told ABC Sport.
"I think definitely there's some really nice messaging behind it with being there for a mate, supporting a mate and pushing them, even when potentially they've lost hope in themselves.
"Ash and I have been training partners for seven years, and obviously supported each other on and off the track and he was kind of my young protege coming through.
"I know he has so much more in him, a world record definitely coming up … the support is there for him.
"I'm really excited to see where the next few years takes him."
For years, Dubler and Moloney worked together under the tutelage of revered multi-event coach Eric Brown.
But after their respective Tokyo campaigns, Dubler and Moloney have decided to follow different paths.
Moloney remains with Brown, while Dubler is working with a new coaching team.
"Post-Olympics, we have kind of restructured the team a little bit," Dubler said.
"[I] Have a new head coach, and then a few more coaches in play as well. So I think I'm working with about six coaches now.
"It's a constant puzzle, trying to put everything together and make sure the pieces are there."
Dubler's program was previously managed entirely by Brown, but he now has several coaches taking care of specific disciplines in the decathlon.
Paul Pearce, who also coaches the likes of Olympic sprinter Riley Day and Paralympian Isis Holt, now manages Dubler's program.
"It's a team effort," Pearce said.
"There's a lot of people involved in making sure that he gets on the track and he gets to perform at his absolute best. It's a collaborative [approach].
"His head coach Chris Gaviglio is really good at doing that.
"But there's certainly some challenges [to this coaching style].
"The communication is probably the biggest thing … not having one specific person who's in charge and having multiple people … it's about how we all talk to each other and making sure that we don't push and pull in different directions and making sure we're all aligned, really.
"We all have different ideas as coaches, we all want to go in different directions and I think that's just something that Cedric wanted to do.
Pearce said the collaborative approach could help Dubler — a two-time Olympian and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist — take the next step in his career.
"Ultimately, he has big aspirations of wanting to achieve what he wants to achieve at both world champs (championships) and also Commonwealth Games," Pearce said.
"So, we're slowly building and I think he can go way bigger than what he's gone before."
Dubler faced with tight schedule
This year Dubler will be challenged physically like never before.
Due to the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic and delays to major events, the world championships in Eugene, Oregon will conclude just four days out from the start of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The scheduling of the two events is likely to force several athletes to choose between the two, but Dubler is determined to represent Australia at both meets.
He will have just 10 days between the two events, a time frame that will include travelling from the United States to England.
"I've actually never done a decathlon less than four weeks apart and that was a very rush preparation for it, so we're going see how we go," Dubler said.
"The world championships is obviously seen as the bigger competition, but the Commonwealth Games … on the Gold Coast a few years ago was such an incredible competition.
"And so any chance to put the Australian uniform on is a real privilege."
Dubler said he did not believe it would be just him and Moloney flying the flag for Australia when it came to decathlons in years to come.
"Decathlon is really strong in Australia … we've got Liam Gilbert, a teenager from Cairns coming through, Dan Golubovic and Alec Diamond, who are over 8,000 points, so decathlon is probably the strongest it's ever been in the country," he said.
"And hopefully, we can keep building on that and have a few people at the next Olympics."
