Media release: Thursday 9 October 2025
Homegrown World Champion inspires new kids on the block to skip for heart health
A Brisbane man who first picked up a skipping rope during an iconic primary school program has gone on to become the most decorated jump rope athlete in the world-and is now inspiring the next generation to skip for better heart health.
Luke Boon, 23, was first inspired to pick up a jump rope and skip his way to success after participating in the Heart Foundation's 'Jump Rope for Heart' program when he was in Grade 6.
Since the school skipping demonstration that stole his heart, Luke has gone on to accumulate 75 World Championship Skipping titles and has recently returned from the 2025 World Championship in Japan where he added three titles to his trophy cabinet.
"Sometimes I just stop and realise I'm living my absolute childhood dream, and it all started with Jump Rope for Heart," Luke said.
"It's a full circle moment and I'm so glad I stuck with it all these years later."
From chronic asthma to world-leading endurance athlete
When the Jump Rope for Heart program visited Queensland's Ormiston College in 2002, Luke couldn't finish a lap in cross country due to a chronic asthma condition.
It was during the Jump Rope for Heart session at the school that Luke was introduced to the endurance sport and he began to discover an improving cardiovascular fitness and the thrill of the challenge of trying to beat his own skipping times.
At a school fete around the same time, Luke watched a Cleveland Air Magic Skipping Club performance and says the rest was history.
"The two experiences came into my life almost side by side and together they ignited a passion for skipping that's stayed with me ever since," Luke said.
"The thing that hooked me the most was how exciting it was and all the tricks you could learn. When I realised skipping could go beyond the school yard, that was it.
"I loved that I could pop my skipping rope in my backpack and take skipping anywhere. I'd be skipping at lunch; even skipping next to my mum while she was filling up the car with petrol."
With more than two decades of skipping under his belt, Luke boasts a trick book that's awe-inspiring and has led to setting 20 skipping world records and 75 World Championship titles-more than any other athlete in the sport's history.
Millions of Australian kids skip their way to better heart health
Luke is one of more than 10 million kids in Australia who have picked up a skipping rope to participate in Jump Rope for Heart since the Heart Foundation launched the initiative in 1983.
Over the last 42 years, more than 90 per cent of schools in Australia have participated in Jump Rope for Heart and have helped raise more than $115 million for heart health research in the process.
Heart Foundation Jump Rope for Heart Program Lead Jason Pupkovski said he hoped Luke's story would inspire the next generation to jump rope for heart.
"For many children in Australia, the Jump Rope for Heart program is an important way to learn about the role of exercise in having a healthy heart," Mr Pupkovski said.
"From finding a passion for skipping through his primary school's Jump Rope for Heart program, to becoming a world skipping champion many times over, Luke's story is a testament to his incredible commitment to the sport and the impact of the Jump Rope for Heart program."
Luke jumps at new challenge as Jump Rope for Heart Ambassador
Luke's spark for skipping has led him to join the Heart Foundation as Jump Rope for Heart Ambassador. He attests that skipping is more than sport- "it's a pathway to healthier hearts".
"I tell kids how the heart is a muscle that we need to exercise. I just want to inspire kids to get a rope in their hands and feel the same way I felt when I started," Luke said.
"Now every single day I get to watch their eyes light up the same way mine did."
79 skips a day to help keep heart disease away
People of all ages and abilities can take inspiration from Luke and pick up a skipping rope as part of a new Heart Foundation challenge this November.
The 'Skip for Heart' fundraiser aims to raise funds to support heart health, while encouraging participants to skip at least 79 skips a day, each day of the month, in recognition of the 79 people who lose their life from heart disease each day.
More information
To register visit for 'Skip Your Way' this November visit: www.skipforheart.org.au
