Like father like son - Olympics a Trinity “reunion”

Connor and Andrew Murphy’s rare father-son double act topped the bill and helped turn the Paris Olympics into a mini-reunion for Trinitarians.

By soaring his way into the triple jump final, debutant Connor Murphy (’19) retraced the steps of his Olympian father Andrew, the former Trinity athletics director who was in Paris as his coach.

Connor’s mum, longtime Trinity PDHPE teacher Liz, was also cheering him on in the Stade de France as he became the first Australian to make the final since his “super proud” dad 20 years earlier in Sydney.

Sprinter Rohan Browning (’15) and 1500m runner Olli Hoare (’15) both appeared in their second Olympics, marking the third time Trinity had produced three competitors at a Games, after Athens in 2004 and Tokyo in 2021.

Former School water polo captain Tristan Glanzig (’20) was also there as a travelling reserve, while athletics coach Liam Adcock, 28, competed in the long jump.

With Tokyo Olympics diver Sam Fricker (’20) doing TV commentary and former School captain Spiro Christopoulos (’20) reporting for radio 2GB, Trinitarians were thick on the ground.

Connor’s best jump in Paris was his qualifying round leap of 16.80m, just under his personal best of 16.82m, but he was thrilled just to line up in the final, saying there were no expectations on him to make it.

He was only two years old when his father competed in the last of his three Games at Athens in 2004, where he finished 14th.

“It was certainly a special moment having Connor make his first Olympics and I’m a super proud dad for sure,” Andrew said.

Browning was unable to match his Tokyo heroics, where he made the semi-finals and became a cause celebre nicknamed the “flying mullet”.

Admitting he had a “mountain to climb” to get back to his best after clocking 10.29 seconds, well outside his 10.01 in Tokyo, he quickly mustered the resolve to do so.

“It doesn’t shake my self-belief,” he said.

“My attitude to produce a long career, and I hope a prosperous career, is to just keep learning and try to break away from framing everything in terms of winning and losing … I think to continue to evolve and learn you have to be able to put that aside and just try to become the master craftsman.”

Similarly, Hoare couldn’t replicate his outstanding performance in Tokyo, where he became the first Trinitarian to run in an Olympic final.

“I’m going to have to really reassess where I’m at as an athlete after this,” he said as he described his Games as “heartbreaking” and revealed he had also been the target of social media abuse.

He and his fellow Trinitarians, however, could take heart from the flow of supportive messages from the Trinity community.

“Still a champion,” said one.

“We are proud of you Olli,” said another.

One fan called him a “couragous competitor” who had done his best and inspired many athletes around the country.

Browning was hailed for his “amazing effort”, with one supporter saying: “Sprinters often don’t peak until after the age of 30.”

“Hats off to you for your dedication,” said another, “and to your coach and your parents for carting you to trainings and comps through the years. We are all proud of you!”

Sam Fricker’s mum Toni posted a message saying: “Amazing for him (Rohan) to be racing against these guys. Some heats had multiple runners who go under 10 seconds.”

One person gave all competitors a timely reminder that they were “Olympians for life.”