Luke Jackson

Luke Jackson (born 1 January 1985 in Hobart, Tasmania) is a former amateur Australian boxer who won a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and was named team captain for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. He has been selected for the 2012 Summer Olympics in the lightweight division (under 60 kg).[1] He was an Australian Institute of Sport boxing scholarship holder.

Jackson didn’t pick up the gloves until the age of 19 but showed a natural talent coming third at the Australian titles in his first year and winning the title in his second. The following year he was selected for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games where he picked up a bronze medal. Explaining why he had stayed an amateur while others had turned professional, he told the Melbourne Age, “To win an Olympic gold medal is harder than any professional world title ever.”

Past Record

  • 1st (U/60kg) – 2012 Oceania Olympic Qualification Tournament (Canberra, Australia)
  • 1st (U/60kg) – 2012 Australian Championships (Hobart, Australia)
  • 2nd (U/60kg) – 2011 Gee-Bee Tournament (Helsinki, Finland)
  • 1st (U/60kg) – 2011 Australian Championships (Melbourne, Australia)

Career Highlights

  • Winning the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, 2006
  • Winning my way to the London 2012 Olympics after winning the Oceania title in Canberra, 2012
  • Being selected as the Australian boxing team captain to lead the team at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, 2010

Interesting Facts

  • Luke Jackson was a late starter to the sport of boxing beginning at the age of 19 in 2004. He immediately became a force to be reckoned with coming 3rd at the 2004 Australian Championships in the U/57kg division.
  • It didn’t take long however for him to start knocking off more experienced opponents and after only a year in the sport Jackson had won the Australian title and competed at the 2005 World Championships in Mianyang, China
  • With limited experience under his belt, Jackson won the 2006 Commonwealth Games U/57kg bronze medal after being beaten in the semi-final in a points decision against eventual silver medallist Lassi Mehrullah of Pakistan
  • As an experienced head, Jackson was named team captain of the 2010 Commonwealth Games Boxing team. Fighting in the U/60kg division, he claimed 5th after being knocked out in the quarterfinals
  • Taking out the 2011 Australian title, Jackson went back-to-back taking out the 2012 Australian U/60kg title before going on to win the 2012 Oceania title and qualify for his first Olympics in London

Information from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_Jackson_(boxer)
http://london2012.olympics.com.au/athlete/luke-jackson