Aidan Murphy continued his impressive season by completing the 200m and 400m double at the Oceania Championships, held at Arafura Stadium in Darwin from 18-22 May.
The Australian claimed his first gold medal in the 400m on Tuesday (19), winning in a championship record of 44.44 – the second fastest time ever by an athlete from Oceania. Murphy took 1.40 seconds off the previous championship record held by defending champion Luke van Ratingen, who finished third this time with a time of 45.04 seconds. Thomas Reynolds came in second with a time of 44.69 seconds.
Two days later, Murphy came back to win the 200 meters in a championship record of 20.28 (-0.4 m/s), then went even faster in the final just two and a half hours later in 20.05 (0.6 m/s), his second fastest time to date.
This marked the latest step in the 22-year-old’s meteoric rise. Before this year, his personal best in the 200m was 20.41, which was set in 2022 when he was an under-20 athlete, while he only broke 46 seconds in the 400m, with a personal best of 45.97.
He lowered his 400m tally to 45.12 in his first race of the year, then broke 45 seconds with a 44.81 in February. Two weeks later, he improved his 100m score to 10.23, before breaking his own 200m record with 19.88 at the Australian Championships, finishing second in the Gout Gout and becoming the second fastest Oceanian man in history over the distance.
Most recently, Murphy represented Australia in the 4x400m at the IAAF World Championships in Gaborone, where the team finished third in 2:55.20 to become the fourth-fastest nation in history. Murphy anchored the team with a 43.79 split.
“I’ve been silent for two years and I’m happy to be here now and finally see it all come to fruition,” Murphy said.
He added about his victory in the 400 meters: “I think I ran the perfect race.” “It was really satisfying to get the win. I was happy to have Tom by my side, he pushed me to the line. I couldn’t have done it without him and Luke.”
“If the national record isn’t broken this year, it will be next year. It’s only a matter of time.”
Hobbs, Azzopardi and McIntyre are among the record breakers
Of the many championship records set at Darwin, the majority came in the sprints and hurdles.
Zoe Hobbs broke the championship record in the women’s 100 metres, winning in a time of 11.00 (0.9 m/s). The New Zealander improved from her championship record of 11.09 seconds, which she set in 2022, to far surpass Australian Ebony Lin, who finished second with a time of 11.32 seconds.
Joshua Azzopardi won the men’s 100m title with a time of 10.21 (-1.0m/s), after equaling the championship record of 10.19 in the semifinals. Jackson Rowe, who ran a wind-assisted 10.19 seconds in qualifying, took silver in the final with a time of 10.26 seconds.
Cameron McIntyre became the first athlete to throw over 80 meters in the men’s javelin at the Oceania Championships, winning with a second round throw of 80.53 metres.
In the highly competitive women’s long jump, Brooke Bushkuil won with 6.70m from 19-year-old Delta Amedzowski, who jumped 6.69m. Both athletes surpassed the previous championship record of 6.50 metres, which was set in 2019.
Bushkuil took an early lead with a distance of 6.59 meters in the first round, but Amedzowski responded with a distance of 6.69 meters in the second round. Bushkuil improved to 6.65 meters in the third round, then made the winning jump in the fifth round.
Michelle Jenicke won the women’s 100m hurdles in a championship record of 12.87 (1.1m/s), while Sarah Carley improved her championship record in the 400m hurdles from 2022 with 55.33.
Australian Matthew Hunt won the men’s 400 meters hurdles, setting a championship record of 49.77 seconds, and the adult program concluded on Friday with New Zealand winning the 4×400 meters mixed race with a time of 3:19.39 seconds, which is also a championship record.
Elsewhere, Australian Luke Boyes won the men’s 800 meters by more than three seconds, recording a time of 1:46.83 minutes, while his compatriot Yuel Reith covered a distance of 2.28 meters to win the men’s high jump.
New Zealander Jaco Gill won the men’s shot put with a distance of 19.97 meters from teammate Nick Palmer, who threw 19.85 metres. Palmer took the lead after the opening round, but Gill took the lead in the third and held on for the victory.
New Zealand recorded another win in the women’s javelin, with Tori Morby throwing 60.40 meters to beat Mackenzie Little, who reached 60.18 metres.
Lauren Bruce added another title for New Zealand in the women’s hammer event, winning with 70.64 metres.
