Crowned the Oceania 400m champion in Darwin today, Aidan Murphy has come within touching distance of one of the nation’s oldest records to lead an action-packed second day of the 2026 Oceania Athletics Championships in the Northern Territory.
Fresh off bronze at the World Athletics Relays, Australia’s 400m men went head-to-head in Darwin which brought out the best of Aidan Murphy (SA, Nik Hagicostas), who clocked 44-44-seconds to rise to second on the Australian all-time list – narrowly missing Darren Clark’s national record of 44.38-seconds set in 1988.
It took until the turn for home for Murphy to reel in early leader Thomas Reynolds (VIC, Matthew Oakley) who was rewarded with a personal best of 44.69-seconds, good enough for fourth on the Australian all-time list, as Luke van Ratingen (NSW, Ben Liddy) clinched bronze in 45.04-seconds.
“That took it out of me. I was glad I had Tom next to me, he pushed me all the way to the line there and Luke as well, I couldn’t have done it without them,” Murphy said.
“If the national record isn’t broken this year, it will be next year, it’s just a matter of time.
“I think I ran the perfect race, so it was really satisfying to take out the win.”
The Women’s 400m also delivered an Australian sweep of the podium, where Ellie Beer (QLD, Brett Robinson) took gold in 51.99-seconds over Mia Gross (VIC, John Nicolosi) in 52.25-seconds.
Gross threw down the gauntlet when leading into the home straight in a bid to turn the tables on the Australian champion, but Beer’s strength prevailed as Alice Dixon (NSW, Katie Edwards) took third in a personal best of 52.62-seconds.
The 400m action rolled into the Under 18 ranks where Alice Hill (NSW, Tim Eschebach) and Dylan Ruming (NSW, Kate Lynch) were comprehensive winners in times of 53.80 and 47.00 respectively, both bound for the 2026 World Athletics Under 20 Championships in Oregon this August.
No Australian women could top Zoe Hobbs (NZL) who proved too slick in the race to be crowned Oceania’s fastest woman, as the Kiwi sprinter cruised to the 100m title in 11.00 (+0.9) over Ebony Lane (QLD, Christopher Dale) in 11.32 and Australian champion Georgia Harris (QLD, Paul Pearce) in 11.39.
In the first round of the Men’s 100m, Jackson Rowe (NSW, Andrew Murphy) was the fastest qualifier in 10.19 (+2.7), while Australian silver medallist Joshua Azzopardi (NSW, Rob Marks) kept his cards close to his chest ahead of tomorrow’s semi-finals and final.
“This weather is a sprinter’s paradise really. It’s great to come out here and put a show on for Darwin, they haven’t had a comp like this here for as many years as I can remember, so it’s awesome,” Azzopardi said.
Rising high jump star Izobelle Louison-Roe (NSW, Karen Roe) won her maiden Open title at just 18-years-old when cruising over 1.85m, defeating Imogen Skelton (NZL) at 1.80m as the Australian teenager continues her build towards the 2026 World Athletics Under 20 Championships.
“It wasn’t my best, but it was still a good win. It was tricky conditions because of the heat which I’m not used to, but it was still great fun,” Louison-Roe said.
The Para-athletics rolled on as Paralympic medallist Mali Lovell (NSW, Katie Edwards, T36) served up a sub-30-second performance in the Women’s 200m Ambulant with a time of 29.98 (+0.6) for a score of 94.09 on the BASELINE system – winning bronze in the event which featured world record holder Danielle Aitchison (NZL).
Olympic discus thrower Taryn Gollshewsky (QLD, Les Kuorikoski) launched to 57.54m when making it a hat-trick of Oceania titles, while in the Under 18 Girls Javelin Throw, Tallara Joseph-Riogi (NSW, Courtney Joseph) added another gold medal to her growing collection with a throw of 53.27m.
The Oceania Athletics Championships are being at Darwin’s Arafura Stadium from May 18-23.
Full results can be found HERE.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 19/5/2026
