Tania Van Heer’s teenage son, Aidan Murphy, set for Melbourne Track Classic debut

Aidan Murphy, the teenage son of track star Tania Van Heer, is turning heads in the athletics world by following in his mum’s footsteps.

Cathy Freeman with Tania Van Heer in 1999.

Tania Van Heer was a small petite graceful sprinter when she matched motors with Olympic champion Cathy Freeman.

The pair were on a silver-medal winning relay team at the 1999 world indoor championships and had numerous battles over 200m and 400m on the domestic circuit.

Unfortunately, injuries curtailed Van Heer’s career which was highlighted by double relay gold at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal in the 100m.

Most remember her almost delicate physical appearance to go with the extraordinary talent and it seems the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree, although there is a twist.

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Her 17-year-old son Aidan Murphy has emerged as one of the most exciting junior athletes in the country and will make his debut on the big stage at Thursday night’s Melbourne Track Classic.

And the twist? Well, as she says “he’s a big unit”.

Aidan is a muscled-up 195cm and still growing, which has been a major problem throughout his short career.

“I think it’s from the grandparents on both sides,” Van Heer says about the startling physical difference between mother and son.

Aidan Murphy, the 17-year-old son of Van Heer, is one of Australia's most promising sprinters. Picture: Matt Axford, AthleticsSA

“I did feed him really well as a baby as I’m very much into nutrition although he doesn’t really like vegetables.”

She describes her son’s running style as like a baby giraffe given the troubles his body had adapting to several growth spurts.

“His body has finally caught up,” she says.

“He ran like a baby giraffe, he was so uncoordinated and then about 12 months ago he grew into his body, he matured and you could see the changes started to happen.”

Aidan cringes when told about his mother’s description of him but admits “it’s pretty accurate, actually”.

“I had issues with my hips as my bones hadn’t fully developed and it was more the case that my muscles were too strong for my bones,” he says.

“It took a while to catch up but I’m pretty much fitting into my body right now. It’s taken me a while and been bloody annoying.”

Surf lifesaving and water polo were his chosen sports growing up and it has only been in the last three years that he’s followed in his mother’s footsteps on the track.

Last month he broke the U/18 400m state record at the South Australian championships clocking a personal best 47.79sec.

He also produced a PB in the 200m (21.44sec).

As Aidan’s potential on the track started to blossom – his older sister Melarn is also a talented runner – the penny dropped about his mother’s achievements at the elite level.

“I didn’t really fully realise what she did until last year,” he said.

“I had known about it, obviously, but I’ve only been in it for the last three years and have only really started realising how much effort and what she sacrificed to get there.”

Van Heer with her daughter Melarn (then 15) and son Aidan (then 13) in 2016. Picture: Matt Loxton

Van Heer says her son’s greatest asset is the “white line fever” he gets in the heat of battle.

“When he was younger nobody else could see it because he was so gangly and uncoordinated but he was still fast,” she explains.

“There was a 70m race in the under 10s and he ran third in the heat. I pulled him aside and said these are the things you need to do, start fast and use your arms.

“Then the gun went and he just had this grit and the determination, he blew the field away.

“There is something about him that his more than physical, it’s his want to win and if you’re duelling with him in a race he will come out on top.”

Aidan is set to join forces with experienced coach Peter Fitzgerald who will have his first live look at his new charge at Lakeside Stadium on Thursday night.

“I’m not expecting too much,” Aidan says.

“I would rarely choose a 400 but I want to get a bit more speed endurance heading into the nationals.

“I‘m definitely a 200m runner but I can’t decide between the 100 or the 400 at the moment as my other event.”

Originally published as Tania Van Heer’s teenage son, Aidan Murphy, set for Melbourne Track Classic debut