Aidan Murphy (athlete)

Aidan Murphy
Murphy in 2024
Personal information
Born (2003-10-14) 14 October 2003
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Height1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Sport
Country Australia
SportTrack and field
Events
Sprints, relays
Coached byNik Hagicostas[1]
Achievements and titles
Highest world ranking
18th (200 m, 2026)[2]
Personal bests
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Australia
World Relays
Bronze medal – third place2026 Gaborone4 × 400 m relay
Oceania Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Mackay200 m
Gold medal – first place2022 Mackay4 × 400 m relay
Gold medal – first place2026 Darwin200 m
Gold medal – first place2026 Darwin400 m
Silver medal – second place2024 Suva200 m

Aidan Murphy (born 14 October 2003) is an Australian sprinter who competes in the 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres and relay events.[1] A four-time Oceania champion, he holds the Australian and Oceanian records in the men's 4 × 400 metres relay and has represented Australia at multiple World Athletics Championships.[2]

Early life

Murphy was born in Adelaide, South Australia.[3] He is the son of former Australian sprinter and dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist Tania Van Heer.[4] He began athletics at age 12, joining Saints Athletics Club in 2016.[3][5]

Career

2022–2024

In February 2022, while training under coach Peter Fitzgerald, Murphy broke the 37-year-old Australian under-20 record in the 200 metres by running 20.41 seconds (−1.3 m/s) at the South Australian Championships.[6][7] That season, he won the 200 m at both the Australian Athletics Championships and the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships.[8][9] He also won gold in the 4 × 400 m relay at the Oceania Championships.[10] Murphy then made his senior international debut at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, finishing sixth in his 200 m heat.[11] Two weeks later, he reached the 200 m semi-finals at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, missing qualification for the final by one place and 0.01 seconds.[12]

In 2023, Murphy competed at his second World Athletics Championships in Budapest, finishing sixth in his 200 m heat.[13] The following year, he finished second in the 200 m at both the Australian Championships and the 2024 Oceania Athletics Championships in Suva.[14][15] Later that year, he began training under Nik Hagicostas in Adelaide.[16]

2025

In his first full season under Hagicostas, Murphy finished second in the 200 m at the 2025 Australian Championships behind Gout Gout, running a wind-assisted 20.40 seconds (+2.2 m/s).[17] In May, he ran a 44.65-second third leg in the men's 4 × 400 m relay at the 2025 World Athletics Relays as Australia ran 2:59.73 to secure qualification for the 2025 World Athletics Championships, just 0.03 seconds outside the Australian record set at the 1984 Olympics.[18][19]

In July, Murphy represented Australia at the 2025 Summer World University Games, placing fifth in the 200 m and fourth in the 4 × 100 m relay.[20][21] At the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo that September, he finished sixth in his 200 m heat.[22] Australia's 4 × 400 m relay team later crossed the line in 2:58.00, faster than the existing national record, before being disqualified for an illegal handover.[23][24]

2026

Murphy opened his 2026 season by breaking Bruce Frayne's 41-year-old South Australian 400 m record with a 45.12-second run in Adelaide.[25][26] Five weeks later, he lowered the record again to 44.81 seconds.[27] In March, Murphy won the 200 m at the Adelaide Invitational with a meet-record time of 20.43 seconds (−1.3 m/s), defeating Diamond League champion Jacory Patterson.[28][29] The following month, he finished second behind Gout Gout at the Australian Championships, running a personal best of 19.88 seconds (+1.7 m/s) to become the second Australian to run a wind-legal sub-20-second 200 m.[30]

In May, Murphy anchored Australia to bronze in the men's 4 × 400 m relay at the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, running a 43.79-second split as the team recorded 2:55.20, setting Australian and Oceanian records and making Australia the fourth-fastest nation in the event's history.[31][32][33] Later that month, he completed a sprint double at the 2026 Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin, winning the 400 m in a personal best and championship record of 44.44 seconds before taking the 200 m in another championship record of 20.05 seconds (+0.6 m/s). That 400 m performance moved him to second on the Australian all-time list and within 0.06 seconds of Darren Clark's national record.[34][35][36] In July, after recovering from a small hamstring tear, Murphy made his Commonwealth Games debut at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, reaching the semi-finals of the men's 200 metres but not advancing to the final.[37][38]

Taken together, Murphy's performances across the sprint distances led Australian Athletics to describe him as Australia's best all-round sprinter in history over the 100 m, 200 m and 400 m.[1]

Personal life

Murphy is studying for a Bachelor of Economics at Adelaide University.[39]

Personal bests

EventMarkWind (m/s)LocationDateNotes
100 metres10.23(+1.1 m/s)Adelaide, Australia7 March 2026South Australian record
200 metres19.88(+1.7 m/s)Sydney, Australia12 April 2026South Australian record
400 metres44.44N/aDarwin, Australia19 May 2026South Australian record
4 × 100 m38.89N/aBochum, Germany27 July 2025
4 × 400 m2:55.20N/aGaborone, Botswana3 May 2026NR, AR

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Aidan Murphy". Australian Athletics. 7 July 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Aidan Murphy". World Athletics. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Aidan Murphy". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "Emerging athlete of the month – Aidan Murphy". Commonwealth Games Australia. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Saints Athletics Club". Saints Athletics Club. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "South Australian Championships – Men's 200 metres". World Athletics. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "Law and Murphy: Oregon experience puts Australian sprinters on track for Cali". World Athletics. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "Australian Championships – Men's 200 metres". World Athletics. 3 April 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Oceania Athletics Championships – Men's 200 metres". World Athletics. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "Oceania Athletics Championships – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay". World Athletics. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "World Athletics Championships Oregon22 – Men's 200 metres". World Athletics. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 – Men's 200 metres – Semi-final". World Athletics. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 – Men's 200 metres". World Athletics. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  14. ↑ "Australian Championships – Men's 200 metres". World Athletics. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  15. ↑ "Oceania Athletics Championships – Men's 200 metres". World Athletics. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  16. ↑ McGrath, Tim (24 April 2026). "The dark horse who floated under 20 seconds". Inside Athletics. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Australian Championships – Men's 200 metres". World Athletics. 13 April 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "World Athletics Relays Guangzhou 25 – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay – World Championships qualifying round 2". World Athletics. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "USA, Spain and South Africa claim 4x400m titles in Guangzhou". World Athletics. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "FISU World University Games – Men's 200 metres". World Athletics. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "FISU World University Games – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay". World Athletics. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025 – Men's 200 metres". World Athletics. 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  23. ↑ "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025 – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay". World Athletics. 20 September 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  24. ↑ "Heartbreak as Aussie 4x400m men's relay team disqualified after smashing national record". Seven News. 21 September 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  25. ↑ "Copyworld Toshiba Meet #7 – Men's 400 metres". World Athletics. 17 January 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "Record-breaking Murphy excited for Adelaide Invitational race against Diamond League champion". Australian Athletics. 2 March 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  27. ↑ "Copyworld Toshiba Meet #11 – Men's 400 metres". World Athletics. 21 February 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  28. ↑ "Hometown hero Murphy salutes while Williams fires at Adelaide Invitational". Australian Athletics. 14 March 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  29. ↑ "Adelaide Invitational – Competition Performance Ranking". World Athletics. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  30. ↑ "Teen sensation Gout smashes Australian 200m record with sub-20-second run". Reuters. 12 April 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  31. ↑ "World Athletics Relays Gaborone 26 – Men's 4 × 400 metres relay". World Athletics. 3 May 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  32. ↑ "Australian World Athletics Relays Team By The Numbers, a recipe for success". Australian Athletics. 5 June 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  33. ↑ "Australia claims bronze in men's 4x400m at World Relays". Nine. 4 May 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  34. ↑ "Murphy completes 200m/400m double at Oceania Championships". World Athletics. 22 May 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  35. ↑ Moorhouse, Lachlan (22 May 2026). "Murphy brings heat to Darwin to climb Australian all-time list". Australian Athletics. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  36. ↑ Moorhouse, Lachlan (23 May 2026). "Murphy doubles down as Buschkuehl wins Oceania thriller". Australian Athletics. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  37. ↑ Kennelly, Hannah (31 July 2026). "'It is what it is': Murphy speaks after disappointing race". The Age. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  38. ↑ "XXIII Commonwealth Games – Men's 200 metres". World Athletics. 31 July 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  39. ↑ "Adelaide University Sport & Fitness and the Australian Institute of Sport partner to provide golden opportunities". Adelaide University Sport and Fitness. 23 June 2026. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
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