NSW Finishes on Top at Perth Nationals, Powered by NSWIS Talent 

New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) athlete Luke Boyes delivered a breakthrough performance at the 2025 Australian Athletics Championships in Perth with a Personal Best for the 800m event and a world championship qualifying time.  

Boyce’s effort to win the bronze medal in a time of 1:44.50 came after he missed Olympic qualification for last year’s Paris Games by a painful 0.03 seconds. 

“It was a pretty special day,” the 21-year-old said. “A much faster race than I expected.” 

“I thought my best chance to beat Peyton [Craig] and Peter [Bol] was to take it out hard and try to break them on the third day. I’m proud for putting myself out there, no complaints coming third behind two pretty solid athletes.” 

“This year, my goal was to make world champs. If you offered me the choice between winning every race that I was in or making world champs, I would have picked worlds.” 

“To just get the time, to be honest, I don’t want to think about how close it was last year – 0.03 was agonisingly too close for comfort. To hit it bang on this year is great for me and for my season.” 

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Boyes said a change in mindset gave him clarity during the championship. 

“I basically ran with the mindset that I’m just happy to be here, and anything that happens now is a bonus. I think having a bit of that freedom…allowed me to run without any burden of how I need to perform or [what] time I need [to hit].” 

Boyes also praised the NSWIS high performance team as key to his success. 

“You can see the athletic stocks have really shot up in the last couple of months. A big part of that is down to just how good the [NSWIS] facility is and the support we have from the physio and S&C teams – they’re pretty elite, and that is what sets us apart.” 

His performance helped cap off a dominant campaign by New South Wales, which secured the top spot of the medal tally with 43 medals – edging out Victoria by one in a tightly contested competition. 

NSWIS State Performance Advisor Michael Perry said this year’s results mark a new upward trend, particularly with emerging athletes transitioning into senior competition. 

“New South Wales has always been a minefield for talent,” Perry explained. “But the transition from junior to senior athletes hasn’t always [translated] to show the success we are [currently at], and I think that’s where Australian athletics is reflective of where New South Wales athletics is as well.”  

Perry, who represented Australia in Triple Jump at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, said the success of the senior team over the past four years is now emerging at the junior level, mirroring the boarder rise of Australian Athletics.  

“[Athletics] as a country is sitting in a very good spot, just [as] the same athletes in New South Wales are starting to reflect that too, “he said. [These results show] where we’re trending, [especially when] it comes to LA [2028 Olympic Games] as well.” 

He also credited the improvement to strategic investments, including the full-time support of NSWIS-based coaches Alex Stewart (High Jump) and Andrew Murphy (Triple Jump). 

“[In] the last couple of years, [Australian Athletics have] employed Alex Stewart and now Andrew Murphy,” he said. “That’s allowed them to dedicate more of their time towards the actual squads as opposed to having to commit to other projects or engagements with other sports to supplement their pay.” 

Perry also highlighted NSWIS’s growing role in athlete development, with an expanded scholarship program and deeper engagement across disciplines. 

“We have a greater fingerprint on [more] athletes than we’ve ever done…which is starting to [have a] flow on effect to these performances.” 

“As much as there are a few athletes having wider support teams outside of NSWIS, the fact that we’re able to be able to spend more time with a great number of [them] is certainly showing that reflection.” 

NSWIS athletes dominated the podium at Perth Nationals, breaking multiple personal bests, championship records, and national marks. 

Young NSWIS athletes also shone – Isaac Beacroft broke the under-20 national record in the 20,000m walk, while Delta Amidzovski collected bronze in the 100m Hurdles and gold in the Long Jump – all within 90 minutes. 

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“To do that was quite impressive,” Perry said. “We’ve seen those athletes transition out of juniors into seniors and also do well in the national senior [competition].” 

Looking ahead, Perry said NSWIS is focused on maintaining strong support systems to ensure athletes are prepared for both national and international stages.  

“The more that we can have that support behind the athletes, [the more they’re going to benefit] by being better prepared for major championships,” Perry said. 

“We’ve got a lot of our support team on national teams now, so by having that support in the daily training environment in New South Wales, actually allows athletes to have that seamless transition…to go into national teams.” 

With the 2025 World Championships in Japan approaching, Perry said the closer proximity will be an advantage for Australian athletes preparing for international success. 

Asked what sets New South Wales athletes apart, Perry answered simply – “belief”. 

“The athletes that are doing well believe that they belong in those positions – Jess Hull [Running], Eleanor Patterson [High Jump], Nicola Olyslagers [High Jump], Mackenzie Little [Javelin], they’re all, week in and week out, competing against the best of the best. And they belong in that.” 

“Now [that is] having a flow on effect of other athletes – [the belief] that we can contend with the best in the world. It’s just year in, year out, we’re having more and more athletes that are in a position of being on the podium.” 

“Performance breeds performance. That’s probably showing us [what LA is going to look like in 2028] – it could be something so much bigger than what it is now. So, I hope that trend continues.” 

Story: Rachel Tingey, NSWIS

Photos: Australian Athletics