Connor Murphy’s Secret to Triple Jump? A Smile and a Chat

Most elite athletes have pre-competition rituals – whether it’s blasting music, visualising their performance, journaling, or even taking a power nap. But when New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) triple jumper Connor Murphy steps onto runway, there’s no psych-up routine, no deep breathing, no laser focus – just a smile.

“I think there is research on it that if you smile, it makes your mood lift and relaxes you or something,” Murphy said, before revealing ‘simplicity’ sums up his approach to competition. 

“I don’t do anything I can’t do,” the 23-year-old Olympian said. “It’s just about enjoying it, running down the runway, and keeping everything clean.”

Fresh off his 2024 Paris Olympics debut, Murphy is gearing up for a new season. While some athletes can struggle with post-Olympic comedowns, the 1.98m (6-ft-6) tall triple jumper seems to be taking a different approach. He’s focusing his energies on refining his craft, enjoying the process, and letting the results take care of themselves.

Murphy’s Olympic debut was the biggest moment of his career so far, jumping 16.80m in the qualifying round to reach the final. Murphy placed 12^th overall.

“For the last three years, Paris was the big goal,” he explained. “That’s all you focus on, and you don’t even think about what’s next. And so, now [in 2025], it’s like, ‘What’s next?’”

Without the urgency of an Olympic cycle, Murphy admitted it took time to get back into the swing of things. But with significant technical adjustments, upcoming competitions such as the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, the Australian Open in Perth, and Los Angeles 2028 in sight, his next phase is already taking shape.

“I made one big technical change,” Murphy reveals. “We’ve [Murphy and his coach, his father and three-time Olympian Andrew Murphy] gone from a double arm take-off to a single arm, which is similar to what the world record holder [Britain’s Jonathan Edwards] did [in 1995]. It helps you carry more speed through a take-off.”

The father-son coaching duo had discussed the switch for a while, but decided the start of the season was the right time to make the adjustment, knowing it could take months or even years to perfect. 

“We thought now was a good time to implement those changes because we’ve got a long time until LA, and even world championships is late this year,” Murphy said. “So, we were like, ‘Okay, even if it makes the start of the season not as good, it hopefully will reap benefits later on’.”

It took Murphy five competitions to feel comfortable with the technique, but at the Sydney Track Classic, he finally found his rhythm.

“At Sydney, I felt like I finally hit the technique pretty good, so that was encouraging,” he said.

The results backed it up – Murphy secured first place in the men’s triple jump at the event, with a winning leap of 16.64m (+0.5 m/s).

Unlike many elite athletes, who thrive on high-intensity moments, Murphy actively avoids unnecessary pressure.

“I feel like people really amp themselves up, whereas I, at least for triple, because it’s so technical, it’s just about execution, you know?” he said…with a trademark relaxed smile. 

“Sometimes if you try too hard, you may run in quicker, but your jump is so much worse, and you don’t end up going as far.”

While others zone in with noise-cancelling headphones, Murphy keeps things casual. At domestic competitions, he will chat with competitors between jumps.

“From warm-up to the end of the comp, it’s probably a good two-and-a-half-hour period. You can’t be hyped up that whole time. I like to be more relaxed than anything.”

When he does turn to music, though, his choices may defy expectations.

“Unfortunately, I like to listen to ‘[basic] girl pop music’,” he laughs. “You know ‘Unwritten’ [by Natasha Bedingfield]? I listened to that a lot last year in my warm-up. It just puts you in a good mood.”

“I don’t listen to anything too intense.”

For now, Murphy is looking to climb the world rankings, gain more points, and put his technical changes to the test.

“I want to be a consistently better jumper than I was last year. I feel like making top eight at world champs would be a great goal for that.” 

No stress, no overthinking. It’s just Murphy, the runway, and a smile.

Story: Rachel Tingey

Feature Image: Getty Images