Two things Aidan Murphy has never been short of are potential and belief. Arguably the nation’s most versatile sprinter glances in the rearview mirror only to check how far he has come, before hitting the accelerator on the road ahead in Darwin.
Murphy is the first to admit that his short career has been a wild ride. In February of 2022, he arrived with an Australian Under 20 record of 20.41-seconds over 200m, and in a pre-Gout era – Australia had its next sprinting hopeful.
The then 18-year-old Murphy would have laughed if you had told him that time would remain his personal best for four years, or 1517 days to be precise, but now aged 22 he understands that few things in athletics are guaranteed.
In 19.88-seconds at the Australian Athletics Championships, the drought was over and Murphy was dancing in the rain.
“I’ve come a long way both personally and physically since 2022,” he says.
“I had a couple of years where I wasn’t quite where I wanted to be, but in that time, I have worked myself up to be able to compete at majors.”
And compete at majors he has. The South Australian product anchored the Men’s 4x400m to global bronze at the World Athletics Relays in Botswana earlier this month, assisting the team to the fourth fastest time in global history.
“Botswana was the start of a very long career with the 4x400m team and a big international season where I can hopefully perform as an individual as well,” Murphy says.
“As a team, we could make it all the way to Brisbane. We are young and have a strong core, so you will be seeing a lot more of us in the future.”
The son of a gun has risen in a fitting year as he eyes selection for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with his mum Tania Van Heer winning two gold medals at the 1998 instalment of the Games in Kuala Lumpur.
“I’m feeling pressure a bit differently this year, but I’m taking it as a chance to show what I can do,” Murphy says.
“I’m in a lucky position because I can actively talk and interact with someone who has achieved what I want to achieve at that level.”
With personal bests of 10.23-seconds for 100m, 19.88-seconds for 200m and 44.81-seconds for 400m all set in 2026, Murphy grinded through years of stagnation on paper, trusting that the work done behind the scenes with coach Nik Hagicostas would one day pay off.
“Sprinters love to talk, but self-belief will always come before performance,” he says.
“I’m a firm believer that I was always the athlete that I was going to be.”
Currently juggling the 200m and 400m simultaneously, which he says go hand in hand, Murphy hinted that his long-term prospects will likely fall in the longer event – confident as ever.
“There is a bit of untapped potential in the 400m and leading into Worlds next year, that will be the goal. The next step for me is being able to run rounds,” Murphy says.
“I want to make the final at the World Championships next year.”
And in a world when everyone wants the newest and shiniest thing, Murphy is not only co-existing alongside teenage sensation Gout Gout and sub-10 second man Lachlan Kennedy, but thriving as the nation rises as one.
“With the emergence of Gout and Lachie, the sprint space has been lifted by all the of the boys. We are ready and willing to take it up to countries like the USA and Jamaica – it’s time to do our job,” Murphy says.
Competing today at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin, Murphy will face off against Australian teammates Luke van Ratingen and Thomas Reynolds, along with New Zealand’s Lex Revell-Lewis in the Men’s 400m Final slated for 4:45pm ACST.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 19/5/2206
