Despard, Forsyth deliver Gift wins
TASMANIAN Jacob Despard has attributed a move to Victoria as a driving force behind his Stawell Gift win.
Despard produced a blistering surge in the final of the iconic race at Central Park yesterday to claim victory in an adjusted time of 12.12 seconds over 120m. Starting the final as favourite and backmarker off a 4.5m handicap, the 21-year-old’s time was the fastest of the meet as he beat Hamish Adams (9.5m) and Gary Finegan (5.25m).
Despard, who collected $40,000 in prize money, said the relocation to Melbourne — where he lives with fellow Tasmanian sprinter and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games competitor Jake Hale — played a big part in him taking out Australia’s richest footrace.
He said life in Tasmania had become a little too comfortable, prompting the move to the mainland where he’s adopted a much healthier diet and lifestyle.
Despard knows what it is like to wear the green and gold, having represented Australia in an under-20 relay team at the junior world championships four years ago.
In the meantime, Despard wants to trim back his hours in temporary fencing construction to devote more time to training.
Defending champion Matt Rizzo qualified for the final but finished fourth.
Queensland beach sprinter Elizabeth Forsyth (7m) won the Stawell Women’s Gift, clocking 13.69 seconds to get the better of Pam Austin (10.5m) and Stephanie Jinks (11m).
Forsyth had to work hard to not only adjust from the sand to grass, but also handicap conditions. But following her first visit to Stawell last year, the 21-year-old came through with the goods despite struggling in the build-up with a knee injury.
NEWTOWN teenager Mia Gross ran courageously in the Stawell Gift semi-final but narrowly missed after finishing less than twotenths of a second behind eventual race winner Elizabeth Forsyth.
Due to handicapping, 16-year-old Gross started 5m behind Forsyth in the semi-final, but did well to catch up to the field in the first half of the race.
“It’s the fastest I’ve ever run … it felt amazing catching up to people and passing them … I think it was pretty good handicapping,” Gross said.
As only the winner from each semi progressed to the final, Gross was unlucky to narrowly miss out by finishing in second place with an adjusted time of 14.039 seconds.