Jeff & Luke

Jeff Downes and Luke Downes are a Father & Son team on The Amazing Race Australia 1.

Profile[]

Retrieved from au.tv.yahoo.com

They've endured a rocky relationship, so can father and son duo Jeff and Luke depend on each other now?

With four children and three grandchildren, 60-year-old Jeff is the oldest competitor on the race, but don't expect him to be a pushover.

"We're quite physical," he says. "Even though there's a 28 year age difference I won't be deferring everything physical to him."

Luke, 32, agreed to his dad's suggestion to join the race because he saw it as a great opportunity to spend more time together.

"My family are important to me but we aren't as close as we used to be," says Luke.

Luke's parents split up when he was 15 and father and son lost contact for many years afterwards.

"The typical father-son relationship ended at that point. I was angry. He wasn't there for me when I needed him," says Luke.

Jeff adds: "There were certainly a lot of trust issues. We had a rocky few years in terms of relating, and not really relating at all. I made a lot of mistakes and I really want to make it up to him."

It's only in recent years that Jeff and Luke have begun to repair their relationship.

"Now we have a situation where you've got two people who've actively chosen to have a relationship," says Luke.

"But as for the level of trust required on this race – our relationship has never gone to that level before."

Luke is the middle of three kids for Jeff, who also has a 6-year-old stepson with partner Katherine. Luke himself is a dad to six-year-old Tyler - his proudest achievement.

Jeff has lived and worked overseas in corporate consulting in Singapore, Greece, India and Thailand.

Luke grew up in Melbourne and now runs his own landscaping business on the Gold Coast.

Will problems arise with their very different approaches to the race?

"I don't just dive into things. I'm quite calculated and precise about how I do things," says Luke.

But Jeff admits his outlook is the opposite. "My style is probably a bit more excitable. I'm a doer so I'm learning while I'm doing," he says.^[1]

The Amazing Race Australia 1[]

Race History[]

Jeff & Luke's Race History
Episode	Leg	Destination(s)	Detour Choice (underlined)	Roadblock Performer	Placement	Notes
1	1	Australia → Indonesia	Cash / Carry	Jeff	4 of 11
2	2	Indonesia → Vietnam	Carry Fowl / Carabao	Luke	4 of 11
3	3	Vietnam → Hong Kong → Macau	Lion Dance / Kung Fu Stance	Luke	6 of 10
4	4	Macau → South Africa	Smash / Bash	Jeff	4 of 9
5	5	South Africa	Guns / Rosé	Jeff	3 of 8
6	6	South Africa → Netherlands → Czech Republic	Chivalry / Delivery	Luke	3 of 7
7	7	Czech Republic	Stack Up / Stack In	Luke	3 of 6
8	8	Czech Republic → Poland	Herd / Hoe Down	Luke	1 of 6
9	9	Poland → Israel	Find Unseen / Make 13	Jeff	2 of 5
10	10	Israel	Pilgrim's Trail / Holy Grail	Jeff	2 of 4
11	11	Israel → Sri Lanka	Count / Carry	Jeff	3 of 4	^[1]
12	12	Sri Lanka → Singapore → Australia	Dare / Stair	Luke	3 of 3
				Average	3.17
Legend: The team finished in first place The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg The team that won The Amazing Race The team that crossed the Finish Line second The team that crossed the Finish Line third ► The team used the Fast Forward pass ϵ The team used the Express Pass somewhere during the leg ⊂ The team used the U-Turn ⊃ Recipient of the U-Turn
Notes: 1: Jeff & Luke bought 2nd class tickets on the train to Galle, when the clue instructed them to purchase 3rd class tickets. For this, they incurred a 10 minute penalty upon leaving Galle Station.