Delayed celebrations worth it

HOBART’S Bec Kovacic’s decision to hold off end-of-school celebrations has paid off handsomely with her first victory in a carnival, the Richmond Gift.

Kovacic, 18, beat a chilly headwind and showers to claim her first gift in 14.65 seconds from Brooke Jones and Laura Downey.

The Guildford Young College student finished Year 12 on Friday, but, with the gift looming, staved off her end-of-school jubilation.

“I will use this as my celebration,” Kovacic said. “I’ve only ever done Richmond once before, so this was my second time and it was good to get a win, and it was my first-ever win at a carnival in my third season of carnivals.”

Starting off 6m, the Wayne Mason-trained athlete had her work in front of her.

“I had to chase a few people down, it didn’t really get to 40m where I took the lead, so it was a tough race the whole race,” she said.

“I was pretty confident. I was a bit nervous at the start but, once the race got going, it was good.”

The men’s Gift was an absolute thriller, with Matt Hosie claiming his second Richmond sash by just 1/1000th of a second from Jack Lewis, with Ryan Cooper third.

Another Mason-trained athlete, Hosie showed his explosive power as the backmarker in the final to win in 14.03 seconds — even though he did not think he was first across the line at the time. “I had no idea,” the 20-year-old university science student said.

“I think it was Jack Lewis who came second and, in the corner of my eye, I thought he had me across the line, so it was really close.”

Hosie’s first love is the pole vault, but showed his sprinting prowess again at Richmond.

“I just like to have a few runs,” he said. “I’m a pole vaulter by trade but I like to have a go at the carnivals because it is a bit of fun for me.”