BIO
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.
@ 1 July 2022 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au
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