Two years ago this month Steven Solomon arrived in the UK as the youngest male on Australia’s athletics team for London 2012, all but unknown to sports fans. He left being touted as Australia’s top men’s track prospect in a decade. That’s what happens when you’re 19 years old, run two PBs in three races and become Australia’s first starter in the men’s 400m Olympic final since Darren Clark in 1988. Now aged 21, Solomon is returning to the British Isles as part of another Australian team for the XX Commonwealth Games, which starts in Glasgow on July 23. As you would expect, a fair bit has happened for Solomon since the London Games, but one constant has remained: the burden of great expectations. Not that it seems to be getting him down ...

Solomon-main Photo by Getty Images

WHAT'S HIS STORY?

Solomon, from Sydney, first came to the attention of serious track fans in 2010 when he set a new 400m record at the Australian All-Schools championships, beating a time that had stood for 27 years. That was some effort for a kid who had only taken up athletics training the previous year. By 2011 he had won his first 400m Australian senior title, successfully defending it in 2012. A bronze medal and a new PB of 45.52 seconds in the 400m at the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships only a few weeks before London 2012 resulted in Olympic selectors using their discretion to give him a start in the individual 400m event – much to the consternation of the oft-agitated John Steffensen, who believed he should've been given the start over the new kid on the blocks. Solomon, however, repaid the faith of the selectors. He set new PBs in both the heats (45.18 secs) and the semi-final (44.97 secs) phase. Solomon was eighth of eight in the final in 45.14 secs, but in the midst of a grim Olympic campaign for Australia, he shone like a (future) star.

FAST LEARNER

After London, Solomon accepted an athletics scholarship to attend prestigious Stanford University, the alma mater of Nobel Prize winners, billionaires, presidents and, ahem, Tiger Woods. He’s studying towards a medicine degree (his father, Michael, is an orthopaedic surgeon) while also becoming skilled in social media and communications. Oh, and running, too: he’s Stanford’s fastest-ever student over 400m and led the university to a win in the US distance medley relay final this season. Solomon remains wide-eyed in wonder at the training resources available to him as a Stanford athlete. “Mix in these resources with the dedication and passion that Stanford students have towards their goals, and you get an environment that breeds hard-work ethics and motivates you to do everything that you can to be successful in your pursuits,” Solomon says.

WELL-CONNECTED

Solomon missed the 2013 Australian championships with a back injury – he watched them on the internet from his student digs. He won his third 400m Australian title in Melbourne in April, running in a Stanford vest (pictured). Rather than being isolated, Solomon finds he’s in regular contact with Aussie athletes, even assisting some of our most promising youngsters in pursuing college scholarships in the US. “I’d argue my move to California has actually made me more involved with the Australian Athletics Team,” he says. “Through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, I’ve been able to stay connected with my team-mates and friends.”

INSPIRATION

Ask Solomon for two people he finds inspiring and he names a duo almost comically diverse. Number-one is his first coach and continuing mentor, Fira Dvoskina, a 79-year-old Belarusian/Ukrainian immigrant who arrived in Australia in the late ‘90s with limited English skills but a lifetime of athletics knowledge. “I would need a book to do justice to how much Fira has helped me both as an athlete and a person,” says Solomon. The second? Wallabies 81-Test veteran Matt Burke – in his primary school days, Solomon was an aspiring soccer and rugby player. “I was inspired by his composure while kicking for goal. I loved watching his routine before every kick, and the confidence he had in his ability.”

Solomon-head Photo by Getty Images

GOALS FOR GLASGOW

Solomon hasn't had the most ideal preparation for Glasgow, with a hamstring injury limiting his season for Stanford. As well, there was another 19-year-old in that London 2012 final, Kirani James of Grenada, who won the gold medal. He’ll be in Glasgow, seeking to win his Caribbean nation’s first Comm Games gold medal. As well as his individual event, Solomon will be the anchor of Australia’s 4x400m relay team, gold-medallists at the past two Games. “If I'm able to stay composed, not let the emotion of the event get to me, and stick with my race plan, I think I can look for some exciting results in Glasgow,” he says.