Australian 200m record holder Gout Gout has it all ahead of him to make the the final of the Stawell Gift after drawing short-priced favourite John Evans in his semi-final.
Photos by Luke Hemer courtesy of Stawell Gift
Evans was the fastest qualifier from Saturday’s heats clocking 12.14 seconds off his 9.75m mark, while Gout was 12th fastest in 12.31 seconds, running from 1 metre.
Under the zig-zag seeding for the six semi-finals it means Gout lines up in the same semi-final as Evans.
“I definitely enjoyed today, the atmosphere was intense,” Evans said.
“But Monday is a brand-new day. I’m a teacher, and the kids loved hearing I’d be racing Gout Gout. He created such a buzz at the track today.”
There’s $40,000 on the line for the winner of the Stawell Gift, but Gout’s pockets are already lined after receiving a $50,000 appearance fee to compete in the meet, which has already drawn record crowds.
Australia’s fastest man at 10.00s, Lachlan Kennedy, runs in a different semi-final and is poised for the final after this 12.23s victory off 0.25m. It was the third fastest heat performance after Evans and Jasper Thomas (12.22s; 6.5m). Rank Name Mark* Time** 1 John Evans 9.75m 12.14 2 Jasper Thomas 6.5m 12.22 3 Lachlan Kennedy 0.25m 12.23 4 Jack Hale 2.25m 12.25 5 Joshua Lotsu 5.5m 12.26 6 HUGH Sharman 7.5m 12.27 =7 Mitchell ONeill 4.75m 12.28 =7 Hamish Lindstrom 4m 12.28 =9 Patrick Martin 8.5m 12.29 =9 Dash Muir 7.75m 12.29 =11 Michael Moschou 4m 12.31 =11 Gout Gout 1m 12.31 13 Jesse Cordoma 8.75m 12.32 14 Ryan Tarrant 1.75m 12.33 15 Jacob Despard 1.75m 12.34
* Mark is how far in front of the scratch distance of 120m the runner starts. NB: This is where the front block is placed, not the hands, so does not represent the exact distance run by the athlete.
** Times are adjusted to account for wind using a Victorian Athletic League formula.
Kennedy was clearly the fastest runner of the heats, covering the ground over 0.1 m/s faster than Gout. Name Mark* Time** Speed (m/s)** Lachlan Kennedy 0.25m 12.23 9.79 Gout Gout 1m 12.31 9.67 Jack Hale 2.25m 12.25 9.61 Ryan Tarrant 1.75m 12.38 9.56 Jacob Despard 1.75m 12.39 9.55
In the women’s gift backmarker Bree Rizzo is the sentimental favourite to follow in the footsteps of her husband Matt, who won the 2017 men’s event. Running off scratch she was ninth fastest in the heats (13.91s) behind Jasmine Rowe (13.74s; 11m), Jemma Stapleton (13.75s; 11m) and Australian 400m champion, Ellie Beer (13.81s; 6m).
Defending champion, Chloe Mannix-Power ran 13.95s off scratch, while 2023 winner, Australian 400m silver medallist, Bella Pasquali, won her heat in 14.07s off a mark of 2.75m. Rank Name Mark* Time** 1 Jasmine Rowe 11m 13.74 2 Jemma Stapleton 11m 13.75 3 Ellie Beer 6m 13.81 4 Nyajima Jock 3.5m 13.83 5 Chiara Santiglia 7.75m 13.86 6 Olivia Hastings 2.75m 13.87 7 Armani Anderson 5.75m 13.88 8 Jess Mead 7.25m 13.90 9 Bree Rizzo 0m 13.91 10 Grace Crowe 4.75m 13.92 11 Carla Bull 2.75m 13.93 =12 Alexia Loizou 2.75m 13.95 =12 Kayla Montagner 7m 13.95 =12 Chloe Mannix-power 0m 13.95 15 Felicity Grice 6.5m 13.97
Rank Name Mark* Time** Speed (m/s)** 1 Bree Rizzo 0m 13.91 8.63 2 Chloe Mannix-Power 0m 13.95 8.60 3 Olivia Hastings 2.75m 13.87 8.45 =4 Nyajima Jock 3.5m 13.83 8.42 =5 Carla Bull 2.75m 13.93 8.42 6 Alexia Loizou 2.75m 13.95 8.41 7 Bella Pasquali 2.75m 14.07 8.33 8 Amaya Mearns 2.25m 14.17 8.31
The semi-finals and finals of the Stawell Gift will be run on Easter Monday, with $40,000 in store for the winner of each of the men’s and women’s events.
