Aidan Murphy's World Championships debut
Published Mon 18 Jul 2022
The World Athletics Championships are underway in Oregon, USA, and you can watch the evening sessions live and free on SBS On Demand, while both sessions can be viewed live on the World Athletics YouTube channel.
The full schedule can be found here.
Photograph: Athletics Australia
Murphy Debuts at the World Athletics Championships
19/7/22
By Josh Teakle
South Australian teenager Aidan Murphy made his debut at the World Athletics Championships this morning, running 20.75 in Heat 5 of the Men's 200m.
Murphy lined up in Lane 2, with Olympic Gold Medallist and former World Champion sprinter Yohan Blake immediately to his right, and 2022 World 100m Champion Fred Kerley one lane further into the field.
USA's Kerley was first across the line in Heat 5, running 20.17, ahead of Sinesipho Dambile (20.29) and Udodi Chudi Onwuzurike (20.34) who each got the automatic Semi Final qualifier, while Blake finished fourth in 20.35, which was enough to progress through to tomorrow's Semi based on time.
Murphy finished sixth in his Heat, and unfortunately didn't progress through to the Semi Final stage.
The Saints Athletics Club sprinter - who broke two National U20 Records and four State Records this season, as well as winning both the Oceania and Australian Open Men's 200m Titles - entered today's Heat with a PB 20.41, which he ran in February 2022.
Queenslander Caleb Law ran third in Heat 6 of the 200m with a PB 20.50 to progress through to the Semi Final.
Speaking with Athletics SA prior to the event, Murphy said his goal was to lower his PB at the World Championships (read the full story below).
He won't have to wait long to have another crack on the International stage, as he backs up for the World Athletics U20 Championships in early August.
Click here for today's WC 200m results
Murphy selected in Australia's World Championships Team
Uploaded: 6/7/22
By Josh Teakle, Athletics SA, and Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
South Australian teenager Aidan Murphy has been selected in Australia's team to compete at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in the USA, starting next week.
Athletics Australia announced its team of 64 athletes this morning, with Murphy to compete in the Men's 200m on Monday, July 18 (US time).
The Championships will be held in the Oregon city of Eugene from July 15.
The 18-year-old exploded onto the scene this season, winning both the 2022 Open Men's Australian and Oceania 200m Titles, as well as breaking two National U20 Records in the 200m and 4X100m Relay.
His National 200m Record of 20.41 fell at the 2022 State Track and Field Championships in February, and was one of six State and National records Murphy set this season.
He now has to his name the Australian U20 200m Record (20.41), was a member of the Record breaking Australian U20 4X100m Relay (39.30) last month, and also holds State Records in the Men's Open, U20, U18 and U16 200m, and the Men's Open and U20 100m Records.
Murphy is coached by former Olympic sprinter Peter Fitzgerald, while his mother, Tania Van Heer, is a Gold and Bronze Medallist from the 1998 Commonwealth Games in the 4X100m Relay and 100m respectively.
Murphy - who is a member of the Saints Athletics Club and 2021-22 Athletics SA Emerging Athlete Program - will also compete at the World Athletics U20 Championships in August, alongside fellow South Australians Darcy Miller (Discus), Marley Raikiwasa (Discus) and Olivia Sandery (10,000m Walk).
Aidan Murphy running the 200m at the 2022 Australian Track and Field Championships in Sydney, where he was crowned the Open Men's National Champion.
Landing in America four days ago and currently in Seattle, Washington for a training camp with the Australian World Championships team, Murphy was thrilled to be selected.
"Competing at these events is everything to me - it is my whole season put together in a couple of races," he said.
"Going from a World Champs to a World Juniors is probably the best experience you can get - to have Senior experience and battle against the top athletes in the world is priceless.
"At the World Champs, our goal is to run a Personal Best time, under pressure, against faster athletes, and I am aiming for a Medal at the World Juniors.
"I know the crowds are massive at the World Champs which is exciting and to have my teammates trackside will be cool.
"I just want to race, and race hard."
Participating in his first World Championships at the age of 18, as the 29th ranked 200m runner in the world, Murphy hoped this would be an opportunity to set him up for future success.
"Heading to the World Champs as such a young athlete is perfect," he said.
"Even if it's just preparation and a learning experience for next year's World Championships in Budapest that's great, because the 2023 Championships is an event that I am taking really seriously.
"Being a Junior, I am not yet the athlete that I hope to be when I am an Open-age athlete, so to get the chance to race against these athletes now, and then to race them again as my body matures and develops into the athlete I want to be will really help me.
"I am an athlete that really loves to study my rivals, so to race them now I can learn from them and get that knowledge of how to run a better race."
Murphy said he surprised himself with a 20.64 to kick off his 2021-22 campaign in November last year, but even he didn't believe that a World Championships spot was in his grasp.
"Knowing I had a busy summer schedule, I had plans to stay in Australia during the winter, but that's changed pretty quickly," he said.
"When I won the National 200m Title that's when I thought that World Championships was a potential for me - that was my first major points event and I had to perform under pressure.
"To cope with that pressure of a National final and to win, that's when I started considering it (World Championships)."
Athletics Australia General Manager, High Performance Andrew Faichney said he was thrilled with the quality of athletes who have earned selection this year and is looking forward to the team building on the success seen at the Tokyo Olympics last August.
“Our team’s Tokyo campaign inspired the nation, with history making performances across a number of events. Some of the performances we’ve witnessed since then, during our domestic season and abroad indicate to us that the Australian athletics team is in shape to continue this momentum,” Faichney said.
“This is an exciting team. Not only do we have Tokyo medallists and an incredible number of Olympic top-eight finishers, we have a new cohort of athletes joining us at this level for the first time, and that’s a fantastic place to be as a team as we mark the beginning of the Paris Olympic cycle.”
With the majority of athletes also doubling up for the Commonwealth Games just one week later, the 2022 World Athletics Championships also kick off the beginning of an immense few months for Australian athletics, where records are expected to tumble and new benchmarks are to be set.
“These World Championships mark a busy few months’ for us, and outside of the Olympic Games, there is nothing even nearly as competitive as the World Athletics Championships,” Faichney said.
“On this team we have a mix of experience but the leaders of our team are strong. Outside of our Tokyo medallists in Kelsey-Lee Barber, Nicola McDermott and Ash Moloney, we also have athletes that are on the cusp of making history such as Jemima Montag who has become world number one for the first time, as well as Eleanor Patterson who won silver at the World Indoor Championships, and Peter Bol and Matt Denny who placed fourth at the Olympics just to name a few.
“We also have a number of debutants and we’re excited to see them relish this opportunity. We have three junior athletes including Calab Law (Andrew Iselin) and Aidan Murphy (Peter Fitzgerald) and our youngest on the team, Claudia Hollingsworth (Craig Mottram) competing here before they travel to Cali, Colombia for the World Athletics U20 Championships. I’m sure each and every one of these athletes on our team will do us proud.”
Aidan Murphy
The Australian Team for the 2022 World Athletics Championships
WOMEN
100m Bree Masters QLD (Ryan Hoffman, Gold Coast Athletics)
200m Jacinta Beecher QLD (Gary Bourne, Qld University Technology), Ella Connolly QLD (Mark Ladbrook, Ignition Athletics)
800m Catriona Bisset VIC (Ned Brophy-Williams, Melbourne University), Tess Kirsopp-Cole VIC (Craig Mottram, Geelong Guild), Claudia Hollingsworth VIC (Craig Mottram, Mentone Athletics)
1500m Georgia Griffith VIC (Nic Bideau, Box Hill), Linden Hall VIC (Ned Brophy-Williams, Athletics Essendon), Jessica Hull NSW (Pete Julian, Bankstown Sports)
5000m Natalie Rule VIC (Tim O'Shaughnessy, St Stephens Harriers), Rose Davies NSW (Scott Westcott, Newcastle Runners), Jessica Hull NSW (Pete Julian, Bankstown Sports)
Marathon Sarah Klein VIC (Peter Schuwalow, Frankston)
100m Hurdles Liz Clay QLD (Sharon Hannan and David Reid, Gold Coast Victory), Celeste Mucci VIC (Darren Clark, Williamstown), Michelle Jenneke NSW (Gary Bourne, Sydney University)
400m Hurdles Sarah Carli NSW (Melissa Smith, Kembla Joggers)
3000m Steeplechase Brielle Erbacher QLD (Jody Erbacher, Darling Downs), Amy Cashin VIC (Sean Cleary, Western Athletics), Cara Feain-Ryan QLD (Ben Norton, University of Queensland)
20km Walk Jemima Montag VIC (Brent Vallance, Melbourne University), Rebecca Henderson VIC (Simon Baker, Mentone Athletics)
35km Walk Kelly Ruddick VIC (Stephen McCulloch, Ballarat Harriers)
High Jump Nicola Olyslagers (nee McDermott) NSW (Matt Horsnell, Sydney University), Eleanor Patterson NSW (Alex Stewart, Bankstown Sports)
Pole Vault Nina Kennedy WA (Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick, University of WA)
Long Jump Brooke Buschkuehl (nee Stratton) VIC (Russell Stratton, Nunawading), Samantha Dale NSW (Andrew Murphy, Cherrybrook Athletics)
Hammer Throw Alexandra Hulley NSW (Karyne Di Marco, Sutherland).
Javelin Throw Kelsey-Lee Barber QLD (Mike Barber, Qld University Technology), Mackenzie Little NSW (Angus McEntyre, Sydney University), Kathryn Mitchell VIC (Uwe Hohn, Eureka Athletics).
MEN
100m Rohan Browning NSW (Andrew Murphy, Sydney University), Jake Doran QLD (Paul Di Bella, Townsville North Star)
200m Aidan Murphy SA (Peter Fitzgerald, Saints), Calab Law QLD (Andrew Iselin, Mayne Harriers)
400m Steven Solomon NSW (Penny Gilles, Randwick Botany Harriers), Alex Beck QLD (Mark Ladbrook, Ignition Athletics)
800m Nagmeldin Peter Bol VIC (Justin Rinaldi, St Kevins College), Joseph Deng VIC (Justin Rinaldi, St Kevins College)
1500m Oliver Hoare NSW (Dathan Ritzenhein, Sutherland), Stewart McSweyn TAS (Nic Bideau, University of Tasmania), Matthew Ramsden WA (Nic Bideau, Athletics WA).
5000m Ky Robinson QLD (Ricardo Santos, NA), Matthew Ramsden WA (Nic Bideau, Athletics WA), Jack Rayner VIC (Nic Bideau, Western Athletics)
10000m Jack Rayner
110m Hurdles Nick Hough NSW (Anthony Benn, Sydney University), Chris Douglas VIC (Joey Woody, Glenhuntly)
3000m Steeplechase Ed Trippas NSW (Jason Vigilante, Bankstown), Ben Buckingham VIC (Nic Bideau, St Stephens Harriers)
20km Walk Kyle Swan VIC (Jared Talent, Athletics Nundawing), Declan Tingay WA (Brent Vallance, University of WA), Rhydian Cowley VIC (Brent Vallance, Glenhuntly)
35km Walk Rhydian Cowley, Carl Gibbons NSW (Frank Overton, Westlakes)
High Jump Brandon Starc NSW (Alex Stewart, Parramatta City), Joel Baden VIC (Sandro Bisetto, Melbourne University). Yual Reath VIC (Paul Cleary, Ballarat YCW)
Pole Vault Kurtis Marschall WA (Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick, University of WA)
Long Jump Chris Mitreveski VIC (John Boas, Athletics Essendon), Henry Frayne QLD (Gary Bourne, Qld University Technology)
Discus Throw Matthew Denny QLD (Ben Thomson, QEII Track Club)
Javelin Throw Cameron McEntyre NSW (Angus McEntyre, Sydney Pacific), Cruz Hogan WA (Morgan Ward University of WA)
Decathlon Cedric Dubler QLD (Chris Gaviglio, Qld University Technology), Ash Moloney QLD (Steve Rippon, Jimboomba Athletics), Daniel Golubovic QLD (Paul Pearce, Qld University Technology)
Aidan Murphy, second from right, running the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships in Mackay, Queensland in June, where he won the Open Men's 200m Title.
By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia and Josh Teakle, Athletics SA
Posted: 6/7/2022
