Aidan Murphy is an Australian sprinter specialising in the 200m and 400m. He was awarded a Tier 3 Scholarship through the 2023 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program.
Born in Adelaide in 2003, Aidan is the son of former Australian sprinter Tania Van Heer, who won two relay gold medals and a 100m bronze medal at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. After trying a variety of sports during his childhood, he joined Saints Athletics Club at age 12. In 2018, he received an inaugural General Excellence Scholarship at St Peter’s College, a selective award recognising all-round achievement beyond athletics. He graduated in 2020.
Aidan emerged as one of Australia’s leading junior sprinters in 2022, breaking the 37-year-old Australian under-20 200m record with a time of 20.41 seconds. He went on to win the open 200m titles at both the Australian and Oceania Athletics Championships, before making his senior international debut at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene. He subsequently represented Australia at the 2023 and 2025 World Athletics Championships.
In 2026, Aidan established himself among Australia’s fastest-ever sprinters. At the Australian Athletics Championships, he ran 19.88 seconds for the 200m, becoming just the second Australian to legally break the 20-second barrier. He later won the Oceania 400m title in 44.44 seconds, the second-fastest performance in Australian history, before completing the sprint double with victory in the 200m in 20.05 seconds. Both performances were championship records, bringing his career total to four Oceania titles.
At the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, Aidan anchored Australia’s men’s 4x400m team to a bronze medal in an Australian and Oceanian record of 2:55.20, recording a 43.79-second anchor split. He also made his Commonwealth Games debut in Glasgow later that year.
His personal bests of 10.23 seconds in the 100m, 19.88 seconds in the 200m and 44.44 seconds in the 400m represent what Australian Athletics has described as the strongest combination of sprint performances ever recorded by an Australian.
“I am honoured to be a successful SAHOF Scholarship recipient. To be selected by such a prestigious program is something that I can be proud of.” — Aidan Murphy on being selected as a 2023 Tier 3 Scholarship Holder.
Honours & Achievements
- 2022: Australian U20 200m Record – 20.41
- 2022: Australian Championships – 200m Gold
- 2022: Oceania Championships – 200m & 4x400m Gold
- 2023: Sport Australia Hall of Fame – Tier 3 Scholarship
- 2026: Australian Championships – 200m Silver (19.88)
- 2026: World Athletics Relays – 4x400m Bronze, Australian & Oceanian Record (2:55.20)
- 2026: Oceania Championships – 200m & 400m Gold
Bio courtesy of Athletics Australia