Olympics bronze medallist Ash Moloney and Cedric Dubler, the man who famously urged him on to glory in Tokyo, have both been forced to pull out of the decathlon at the world athletics championships in Budapest due to injury.
Moloney was languishing in 16th spot after the opening three disciplines of the gruelling two-day event - the 100m, long jump and shot put.
The 23-year-old reluctantly pulled the pin before the start of the high jump on Friday evening (early Saturday (AEST).
Moloney was also unable to complete the decathlon at last year's world titles in Eugene, where he lasted seven events before the pain from a knee injury proved too much to bear.
On that occasion, he was in eighth spot when he withdrew.
Dubler also failed to see out the opening day in Budapest, withdrawing after four events with a back complaint.
It left Daniel Golubovic as the last Australian standing in 15th spot (4032 points) going into day two.
Germany's Leo Neugebauer was the surprise halfway leader on 4640 points, ahead of Canadians Pierce LePage and Damian Warner, the reigning Olympic champion.
"You can never be unhappy, especially when you did such an amazing job during a first day," Neugebauer said.
"The decathlon is like a marathon and we are only halfway there."
