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Aidan Murphy was 0.21s away from history. He’s confident he can beat anyone
Aidan Murphy had just done something no Australian had ever done – except the bloke who did it 0.21 seconds before him.
Murphy, the overlooked man of Australia’s new sprint generation, broke 20 seconds for the 200 metres at the nationals earlier this year. He would have been the first – not even Gout Gout had run a legal time under 20s.
But in that same race, the Queensland teenager breasted the line a fraction of a second ahead of Murphy. So Murphy’s extraordinary effort of 19.88s became slightly less extraordinary, and lost in the dizzying Gout hoopla.
“It’s hard to comprehend when you do it [run sub-20] but you have still got someone out in front of you. What I had done hit a lot later, I think,” Murphy said.
This sprinting son of a gun almost quit. Now, history could await
Injured, disillusioned and on the verge of quitting sprinting midway through 2024, son of a gun Aidan Murphy gave himself one more year to make things click.
Two years on, he has chopped his 200-metre personal best way down to 19.88 seconds, is the best all-round sprinter Australia has ever produced, and could be on the cusp of history at the Commonwealth Games.
Aidan Murphy in action at the Oceania athletics championships in Darwin in May. Casey Sims/Oceania Athletics.
Murphy ran that 19.88 in the 200m final at the national athletics championships in Sydney in April, in a memorable race won by teen superstar Gout Gout in 19.67 – a world under-20 record.
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PREVIEW: Glasgow 2026 field athletics stacked with established and emerging stars
Pole vaulters Nina Kennedy and Kurtis Marschall, Matthew Denny in the discus and high jumper Nicola Olyslagers are all on top of the world rankings, which confirms they come into the Games in great form.
Marschall is aiming to be the first Australian field athlete, and male in any event, to win three consecutive Commonwealth titles. Olympic champion Kennedy and World Champion medallist Denny are also defending Commonwealth champions.
Glasgow 2014 champion and former World Champion Eleanor Patterson is ranked second behind Olyslagers.
Australian long jump record holder Brooke Buschkuehl, who became a mum to Bobby only 12 months ago, is determined to turn her two Commonwealth silvers into gold. She has been in great form but almost got beaten at Nationals by 19-year-old sensation Delta Amidzovski. Coached by her mum Becky, she has jumped 6.84m this year and could cause an upset on Games debut.
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