Stewart McSweyn

BIOGRAPHY

From humble beginnings Stewart McSweyn is one of Australia's best ever middle-distance athletes. The versatile talent has shattered national records across a range of distances now sits comfortably in the upper echelon of his discipline on the global stage. In his Olympic debut in Tokyo he placed seventh in the 1500m – the highest place by an Australian in the event for 61 years.

Illness largely effected Stewy in 2022, but he recovered to place a competitive nineth in the 1500m at the Eugene world championships, before scumming to flu ahead of the Commonwealth Games, forcing him to withdraw. In 2023 Stewy would help Australia to bronze in the mixed gender 4x2km relay on home soil. It was his first global medal. Selected for the 2023 Budapest World Championships he raced in the 1500m heats, before progressing into the 5000m final to place 13th. In October he competed at the World Road Running Championships placing 19th in the 5000m. 

Domestically in 2024, he won the mile at the Maurie Plant meet, defeating 2022 world champion Jake Wightman and rising star teenager Cam Myers. In April Stewy was fourth in a high quality National 1500m championship, then in May in America he missed the Australian 5000m record by 0.31 seconds, clocking an Olympic qualifying time of 12:56.07.

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McSweyn grew up on Tasmania’s small but picturesque, King Island, located in the Bass Strait, population less than 2000. He went to school at King Island District School and ran around his family’s beef and sheep farm. He boarded in country Victoria at Ballarat Clarendon College from Year 7 and ran for the strong Eureka Athletics Club. Up to 14 or 15 he played cricket, tennis and AFL, but then decided to concentrate on athletics. “It was an easy choice as it was my best sport. Also I had got a few injuries in AFL.” He developed nicely under local coach Rod Griffin and cemented his love for the sport. Also in Ballarat he came in contact with two major influences and distance greats Collis Birmingham and now training partner Brett Robinson.

Most teenage years he would make nationals and occasionally won a medal. He competed at the 2013 World Cross Country in the junior race and two years later at the World University Games in the 5000m. The versatile athlete competed in the steeplechase at the 2017 World Championships, but switched his focus to the 5000m and 10,000m for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. 

In 2018 over 10 weeks from June to the end of August he smashed his PBs from 1500m to 5000m – 3:34.82 (1500m), 7:34.79 (3000m), 13:05.23 (5000m) and 28:05.37 (10,000). In December he won Zatopek in another PB 27:50.89.
There were more PBs in 2019, starting early with a national indoor 1500m record of 3:35.10. Then outdoors he twice ran 3:31.81, just outside training partner Ryan Gregson’s national record. His 1500m and 5000m times made him the second fastest in Australian history. One hiccup was the 2019 World Cross Country Championships where he was ill with the flu leading into the race and could not start.

Travelling in Europe in 2020 as he dodged the COVID-19 pandemic, he asserted himself as a genuine medal contender at major championships when he recorded a blistering 3:30.51 over 1500m to obliterate his competitors in the Diamond League, taking down Ryan Gregson's national record in the process. Just over one week later, he would lower Craig Mottram's 3000m record significantly when running 7:28.02. McSweyn closed his trailblazing year in fitting fashion with a 3:50.61 mile in Penguin of all places - the fastest mile in the world in 2020. 
Going from strength to strength, McSweyn improved once again in 2021 as he continues to redefine the standard of Australian distance running. After opening the year with a 13:05 5000m in March and a second in the national 1500m title behind Jye Edwards, he went on a 15-race campaign in the northern hemisphere. 
Prior to the Tokyo Olympics he blitzed the Australian mile record when running 3:48.37 to win the Dream Mile in Oslo, before one week later becoming the first Australian man to break 3:30 in the 1500m - clocking 3:29.51. It was almost a hat-trick of records for McSweyn when he lined up over 3000m, recording a time of 7:28.94 in his final hit-out prior to the Olympics. After his three race 1500m program in Tokyo, where he was seventh in the 1500m running a best of 3:31.91 in the final, he ran another stunning mile time of 3:48.40 in Eugene, before heading back to Europe.
For Stewy 2022 did not go to plan. He was diagnosed with pericarditis – inflammation around the heart, after getting a Vaccine booster too soon after having COVID. He initially withdrew from a race in March, then was well below par in two Diamond League 1500m races in May, clocking unfamiliar times for Stewy of 3:48 and 3:44. But five weeks later, on June 30, he signalled he was back in top shape with his third quickest 3000m time of 7:31.93, a standard no other Aussie has ever reached. 

Two excellent showings in his 1500m heat and semi-final at the World Championships, led Stewy to a strong 9th in the final in a season’s best time of 3:33.24.
But he would have health issues again when days before he was due to compete in the 1500m at the Commonwealth Games he withdrew suffering from the flu. Two weeks later he was back in action, laying down three brilliant performances, his second and fourth fastest 1500m times and a 5000m PB of 12:56.50.
After kicking off his usual 2023 summer campaign with a couple of mile handicap races in the Tasmanian Christmas carnivals series, Stewy raced in the men’s 2km event at the Australian team trials for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships where he won, securing automatic selection for his fourth World XC team in the mixed gender 4x2km relay. Although not feeling 100% he put down a great leg for Australia to help the team win the bronze medal – his first global medal. 
“We wear the guernsey with pride and we all executed good races. To compete with the powerhouses of Ethiopia and Kenya hopefully puts Australia on the map and shows that we are part of the big-three of distance running now,” McSweyn said after winning bronze. It was Stewy’s first global medal. 

After the world cross country championships in February, he battled a right foot problem for a while over summer. Trouble continued in May and June with Stewy not starting and not finishing in a number of Diamond League meets. But by later June he was back with a solid 3:32.85 1500m in Lausanne, followed by 3:31.42 in London on July 23.
Selected for the 2023 Budapest World Championships he raced in the 1500m heats, before progressing into the 5000m final to place 13th. In October he competed at the World Road Running Championships placing 19th in the 5000m. 

Sporting ambition: play AFL for St Kilda Football once my running career is over... Fun Facts His father Scott McSweyn is an Australian weightlifting representative and has a twin brother Angus.

@ 4 June 2024 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au