CHAMP GETS KICK FROM THE GIFT
A CLAYTON South motor mechanic who switched from soccer to running last year has dominated a race he knew little about until recently.
Dhruv Rodrigues Chico, who was born in Goa, India, had to look up the history of the Stawell Gift when his coach told him in November that he was setting him to win Australia’s richest footrace.
And from the moment he dominated Saturday’s heats, the 20-year-old was the overwhelming favourite.
After holding his nerve when Leonard King (6.75m) surged at him midway through the race, Rodrigues Chico exploded over the final stages to win easily in 12.11sec.
King held on for second, with Jason Bailey, who had been one of the favourites off 10m in the lead-up, taking third.
“I wanted to make a statement that I’m here so my time I was very happy with (in the heat),” Rodrigues Chico said. “But anything can happen in the race, you can tense up, you can get put off with someone next to you.
“I definitely kept my cool, I didn’t let that affect me, I didn’t let anyone say: ‘You’re the favourite.’ I just stuck to my own game, stuck to my own rhythm.”
In the women’s final, inseparable best friends were separated by just .08 sec, with nursing student Alexia Loizou claiming the famous title.
Loizou, who ran off 5.75m, just edged out her training partner Sophia Fighera (5m) in a blanket finish that was a bonanza for Matt Carter’s Melbourne-based squad.
The 21-year-old from Frankston, who arrived in Stawell a “poor nursing student”, departs with a cheque for $40,000 after claiming the victory in 13.579sec, just ahead of Fighera’s 13.659.
“We are best friends, we do everything together, we’re inseparable,” Loizou said.