World U20 Team Profile: Luke Boyes, Charlie Jeffreson and Mitchell Lightfoot

12 July 2022

World U20 Team Profile: Luke Boyes, Charlie Jeffreson and Mitchell Lightfoot

Today’s junior profiles, in the leadup to the World U20 Championships, are 800m athletes Luke Boyes and Charlie Jeffreson along with hurdler Mitchell Lightfoot.

LUKE BOYES – 800m

Like many, the athletics career of Luke Boyes evolved during the COVID pandemic, putting him on course to compete for Australia. During lockdown he undertook a few solid months of athletics training which led to a surprise 800m performance and put him on a pathway to selection in the Australian team for the World U20 Championships. In late March Luke placed second in the National U20 800m Championship, clocking 1:51.88, his third qualifier for the World Juniors. It would be sufficient to secure selection in the Australian team.

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Luke Boyes enjoyed running cross country at school, leading to him joining Little Athletics aged eight. But for this very talented all-round sports person, athletics would certainly not be his only focus. Aged 13 he started playing cricket. The opening bowler played for Sydney University and Sydney Premier Grade cricket for Penrith as recently as 2022. He also played football from age five, reaching his local first division and continues to play to this day. He was also successful in athletics, winning the National U13 1500m in 2017, ahead of Charlie Jeffreson.

His athletics was drifting and then COVID hit, however during this time he became inspired by the performances of one of his mates, Dan Kelly and what followed was a tremendous 2020/21 season.

“Dan and I played soccer together when we were 10. We have grown up together through primary and high school,”

During COVID and seeing Dan Kelly’s success, were factors in Luke’s refocusing on athletics.

“I felt bored in lockdown and I thought I’ll get back into it,” recalled Luke. In a low-key season opener at Narrabeen in late 2021 he smashed his PB.

“This made me realise that I wasn’t too far away from the U20 World Juniors qualification time, so I set that as my major goal for the rest of the season.”

In December 2021 he clocked 1:51.88, less than one second from the standard – he was well on track. In late February 2022 at the NSW U20 Championships, he won silver in the 400m on Saturday, then on Sunday in a highly competitive field, he won the 800m with a time of 1:50.62 - his first World U20 Championships qualifier.

In March at the Australian U20 Championships, which doubled as the trials, he clocked another qualifier in the heat, ahead of claiming silver in the final in a new PB of 1:50.12. It would be sufficient for him to receive the discretionary place in the Australian team, behind his old rival, Charlie Jeffreson, from Little Athletics five years earlier.

Luke has had a number of significant influences in his life.

As a cricketer and living down the road from Pat Cummins, it is no surprise he has inspired Luke, particularly how he has gone on to “achieve huge things on the world stage.” Luke’s parents have also impacted him significantly. “They have always supported me with whatever sport I have played or whatever I have wanted to achieve in life.”

His coach Ben St Lawrence has also been a major influence on his life. “He has always been optimistic and backed me to be much better than I ever thought I could be. As someone who has had success in the sport, his experience has helped me significantly when it comes to pre-race nerves, as well as motivating me to be the best athlete that I can be.”

Education: First year Laws/Communications (Social and Political Science) at UTS…Hobbies: video games and mountain biking…Sporting ambition: Commonwealth Games in 2026, and possibly the Olympics in 2028…Biggest challenge: Juggling my training and competitions whilst completing my HSC and university…Advice to your young self: Enjoy what you are doing and try new things because you will always eventually find the right path…Enjoyment of competing: Seeing results and achievements as a result of the time and effort I put into training.

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CHARLIE JEFFRESON – 800m

After just a few years in athletics, aged 16, the talented Charlie Jeffreson, has quickly became the second fastest Australia U18 800m athlete in history and is competitive with senior athletes. In March 2022, he defended his national junior title and secured automatic selection for the World U20 Championships were he is aiming for a medal.

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Charlie Jeffreson ran cross country in junior school and at age 12 years was encouraged to join a local club. Competing for Mosman Little Athletics Centre, he was fifth in his U12 1500m at State. The next year, in 2017, he was U13 800m and 1500m State champion, going on to place second and fourth respectively at the Australian Little Athletics Championships.

Two years on, now concentrating on the 400m and 800m, Charlie’s times really started to tumble. After running 1:55.15, aged 14, he slashed that to 1:53.39 at just 15.

This progression caused a rethink of his sport priorities.

“Following my transition into senior school I played rugby until year 10. After suffering many broken arms and countless head knocks, I decided to direct my attention to athletics; In the wake of my breakout season as a 15-year-old.”

Now aged 16, his 2020/21 season was phenomenal, starting with a best of 1:53.39 he would go on to record five PBs in fourth months. His stunning progression was 1:49.81, 1:49.22, 1:49.07, 1:48.67 and 1:47.93. He was now the second fastest Australian under-18 800m in history. He won the Australian junior title and was selected in the team for the World U20 Championships, that did not travel due to COVID and security concerns for Nairobi.

An injury in mid-2021 hampered him, then COVID in early 2022, but when he was back on track over late summer of 2022, he was in record form again breaking his PB with a 1:47.60 clocking, which he matched a month later. He was now the 12th fastest U20 in Australian history. In March 2022 he would again defend his National junior title, securing automatic selection for the World U20 Championships.

Education: In 2022 HSC at The King’s School…Enjoyment of competing: Competing provides the opportunity or reason for me to improve my performance and allows me to become a better athlete with each competition I do. I train to compete and the satisfaction of doing well is like nothing else…Biggest challenge: Injury. Something all athletes are susceptible to. The challenge is not only the injury itself but the hardship of having to recover and return. Athletics has definitely given me a sense of resilience…Hero: training partner Steve Solomon. An ultimate professional who is respected by many and one of my very close friends. During my time of training with Steve, I’ve been exposed to his many habits and practices that have led me to evolve into the athlete I am today. He truly knows just about everything you need to become a great athlete… Advice to your young self: take pride in what you have accomplished, rather than only focusing on the future…Hobbies: Golf, boxing and farm life.

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MITCHELL LIGHTFOOT – 110m hurdles

What a different 12 months can make in an athletes’ career. In April 2021, Mitch Lightfoot placed third in the Australian U20 110m hurdles championships and missed selection into the Australian U20 team (two athletes only), which didn’t travel to the World Juniors due to the pandemic. But in the 2022 summer, he had risen to the number one position, lowering his PB on five occasions from 13.91 to 13.51 and winning the Australian U20 title and trial. He earned automatic selection for the 2022 World U20 Championships.

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Mitch Lightfoot started athletics very young at age four. He initially competed in most event and enjoyed sprints and high jump, it would not be until age 11 he would run his first hurdle race. Participating in soccer, tennis and athletics when he was young, age 14, he narrowed his focus to AFL (part of the Sydney Swans academy) and athletics.

Regularly on the podium at Nationals in his teens, he progressed well negotiating the increase in hurdle heights and distances. Mitch would start well on the World U20 Championships specifications (110m hurdles, 99cm) in early 2020, clocking 14.04 aged 16 years.

In his second season he was down to 13.91, placing third in the Australian U20 title. With just two selected for the Australian U20 team, he would narrowly miss team selection.

After a second year enduring COVID restrictions, exactly seven months on from his last race the previous summer, in November 2021, Mitch started his second World Junior team campaign in brilliant form clocking 13.70 – a 0.21 seconds PB. He was unstoppable, next up running 13.62, then in early 2022 times of 13.52 and 13.51. In just three months he had gone from number 20 Australian U20 all-time to number four. He won the Australian U20 title in March, booking his ticket to the World Juniors in Cali in Columbia.

Biggest challenge: An injured shoulder - I was unable to sprint/hurdle for months. This affected my physical and mental health, but also taught me a lesson and made me into the athlete I am today…Hero: Spanish 110m hurdler Orlando Ortega. I admire the challenges he has faced and the success he has achieved…Most influential person: my coach (Andy Burton) for pushing me towards my goals and believing I can achieve anything…Advice to my younger self: enjoy the journey, push through the hard times and soak up all the success…Hobbies: blasting EDM music with my mates, Barbering, going to the beach and pushing myself in the gym.

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW
Image: Charlie Jeffreson and Luke Boyes (image courtesy of Fred Etter)