The Sleeping Giant | Aidan Murphy Ready to Rumble

When Aidan Murphy takes to the track at the Adelaide Invitational on Saturday night, the excitement will be palpable. And why not? He’s the hometown hero who has bulldozed his competitors to date this season, and he has no intentions of slowing down. 

The 18-year-old has been firing on all cylinders this season with personal bests of 10.35 (100m), 20.62 (200m) and 46.31 (400m) on his way to demolishing multiple South Australian records - but Murphy says he is just scratching the surface of his potential.

“It’s been good to finally get some results from all the work I’ve been doing, but it’s nothing that I haven’t expected. I haven’t fulfilled the goals I planned for the season so I’m not too excited, I’m just getting started,” he says.

It’s important to note that Murphy has proven sprinting pedigree. His Mum, Tania Van Heer, won two gold medals at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and represented Australia six times internationally, along with rewriting a long list of South Australian records – a history that Murphy embraces. 

“I actually take it as a confidence booster. I’m trying to make my own legacy and step out of my Mum’s shadow because I have my own goals that I want to achieve, but the comparisons are obviously there,” he says. 

“She started coaching me at 11-years-old, but I absolutely hated it. She had to outsource a coach because I didn’t like that feeling, but she’s so supportive and has never pushed me – I’ve always done athletics because it makes me feel good and I like running fast.”

After spending the early years of his junior career plagued by hamstring injuries, Murphy says that his progress is the product of 10-months of unhindered training under the guidance of Peter Fitzgerald – suggesting that his personal bests will only continue to drop, beginning at the Adelaide Invitational on Saturday.  

“I’ll be very surprised if Fred Martin’s Australian Under 20 record [20.48] survives another week. I’m looking to run high 20.3’s, but that’s only if I come out the blocks fast and perform really well – I’m in really good shape,” he says.

“We’re focusing on the 200m this season but depending on how the 100m goes on Saturday, we might look at developing that. We’re going to leave the 400m because I’ve done enough of them and I hate them so much, I throw up basically every time.”

Murphy concedes that he was originally all-in on the 200m at Adelaide until it was announced that Rohan Browning would open his season by running the 100m at the event, with the young South Australian holding back his excitement when explaining his decision to race the Olympic sensation. 

“That’s a decision that my coach and I made only four days ago. I’m so stoked, the fact that he is coming to Adelaide and wants to start his season here – I’m all for it. I wasn’t even going to run the 100m, but I just want to see what it’s like having someone like that in the race,” he says. 

The junior’s emergence has offered him a fresh perspective on what his future in athletics may look like, as he and his coach assess several options in 2022 including the World Athletics Championships, Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Under 20 Championships. 

“I’m obviously interested in going to the World Championships, but I need to get my points up which would basically mean winning nationals, all the track classics I’m planning on doing, and the Oceania Championships as well,” he says.

“Peter [Fitzgerald] has been instrumental in helping me, he knows exactly what I need. He lives in Melbourne and I’m in Adelaide, so we do a lot of FaceTime and calls – but that’s just a testament to how good he is.”

Having locked away a swag of world junior qualifiers already this season, it appears as though Murphy will be seen in the green and gold in 2022 provided he stays in good health – but with five months until major international championships, the junior is hungry to make an impression in the senior ranks.

A university student studying civil engineering who enjoys gaming and cafes, Aidan Murphy is just a regular 18-year-old – who also happens to be one of the fastest men in Australia.  

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 8/02/2022