Luke Boyes has been named a national champion after a stellar effort at the Australian Little Athletics Championships in Sydney late last month.
Competing in the under 13 category, the 13-year-old from Hazelbrook raced the 1500m, 800m and 1500m walk, taking home gold in the 1500m.
In the 1500m, with 250m to go, Luke was in fourth place, but he found something in the tank to storm home, claiming the gold medal in 4:30:66.
“My race plan was always to have a fast finish, and I had trained hard for that,” Luke said.
“I backed myself to be able to finish faster than the boys from the other states.”
In the 800m, Luke finished fourth in 2:11.
Attending Penrith Selective High School, Luke is a Springwood District Athletics Club member and has been coached by Con Lekkas for four years.
The NSW team ended the weekend competition winning the overall pointscore trophy as well as the handicap trophy.