Andy Buchanan (athletics) made his Commonwealth Games debut in the men’s marathon in Birmingham in 2022 where he placed 7th, clocking 2:15:50 in just his second outing over the distance.

Trained by correspondence under Scott Westcott since 2014, Andy set a set a new personal best of 2:08:58 in Hamburg in April 2024, initially gaining selection as a reserve for the Paris 2024 Olympic team. However, an injury to Brett Robinson saw him get the call up just 10 days before the Games where he finished 45th in 2:12:58.

The following December, he made history as the first Australian runner to dip under the 2:07 barrier with his 2:06:22 in Valencia, eclipsing Robinson’s 2022 national record of 2:07:31 by more than a minute.

Although marathon running is in Buchanan’s blood – parents Alan and Jenny have both completed all six world majors – he is also a well-credentialled cross-country runner, having won two Australian 10km titles and competed at two world championships.

Outside of his athletics career, the Colac-born Bendigo-raised athlete is a high school teacher at Bendigo Southeast Secondary College and runs his own coaching business Run2PB.