TEENAGE sprint star Jack Hale will headline the field at this year’s Stawell Gift.
Hale has taken Australian sprinting by storm since breaking out last year.
He broke the national under-18 record for the 100-metre sprint in 2014, running a time of 10.42 seconds.
In December he ran a blistering 10.13-second 100 metres, but the record did not stand as it was assisted by an illegal tailwind.
The 16-year-old Tasmanian is the seventh-fastest junior sprinter in the world according to the International Association Athletics Federations.
Hale was in terrific form at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Sydney at the weekend, winning the under-18 100-metre and 200-metre sprints to qualify for the World Youth Championships in Colombia in July.
Stawell Athletic Club committee member Robert Irvine said getting Hale to commit to the gift was a big win.
‘‘He is a person we were very interested in from the start and his form has picked up quite nicely,’’ he said.
‘‘I think he will handle the occasion quite well.
‘‘He has been in national championships so he’s got a fair idea of what it will be like and he has also run at some pro meetings.
‘‘It will be all about how he can perform on the day.’’
Hale said he was excited to compete in Australia’s richest footrace.
‘‘It is really big for me to be running at Stawell and something I have been looking at in the past couple of years,’’ he said.
‘‘It will be a really good experience for me to compete against some of the veterans of pro running.
‘‘If I am one of the backmark-ers I hope to run some of them down and also focus on running a good time.’’
The likes of Jamaican stars Asafa Powell and Michael Frater, and Saint Kitts and Nevis Olympian Kim Collins have served as the gift’s main drawcards in recent years, but Mr Irvine said it was good for an up-and-coming star of Australian athletics to compete.
‘‘It certainly is good to have Jack,’’ he said. ‘‘Last year we had Melissa Breen, who we’re certain will be here this year, so we’re excited to be able to showcase Australian talent.’’
Breen, who will contest the women’s gift, is also in good form.
She and Ella Nelson beat Olympic champion Sally Pearson in the 200 metres at the Sydney Track Classic on Saturday night.
It is only the second time in eight years Pearson has been beaten on Australian soil.
Channel Seven will broadcast the final of the gift live on Easter Monday.
By COLIN MacGILLIVRAY
THE future of Wimmera sprinting will be on show at the weekend during the prestigious Stawell Gift carnival.
Four young sprinters from the region will compete in the Woolworth’s Stawell Gift or the Australia Post Women’s Gift at Stawell’s Central Park.
Ararat sprinter Sarah Blizzard hopes to finish one place higher than last year.
The 18-year-old was runner-up to women’s gift winner Holly Dobbyn, of Ballarat, missing out by just 0.133 of a second.
Blizzard, who trains under Ararat coach Marcus Cooper, has been pulled back three metres by handicappers this year to 9.5 metres.
She said her form had improved significantly in the past year and she was more than capable of dealing with the new mark.
‘‘I’ve had a pretty awesome season, running a heap of personal bests, so I hope to make the final again,’’ she said.
‘‘I’ve gone back three metres since the gift last year, but I’m pretty happy with my handicap and I feel I can do a bit with it.’’
Stawell Athletic Club president Trevor Skurrie said last week this year’s women’s gift field was one of the strongest assembled after a massive increase in prize money. Dobbyn received $2500 for last year’s victory, but this year’s winner will collect $40,000.
The prize money on offer has helped lure the likes of sprinting young gun Ella Nelson, while Melissa Breen – Australia’s fastest woman over 100m – will return to compete. Blizzard said she was not fazed by the prospect of competing against the cream of Australian women’s sprinting.
‘‘I’ve run against Melissa Breen before and I have trained with her in Canberra,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s always a little bit daunting but she’s great to run against.’’
Joining Blizzard from Cooper’s stable of athletes is 19-year-old Tiffany Boatman.
Boatman made it through her heat at last year’s gift but was unable to join Blizzard in the final after missing out on qualifying in the semi-final stage.
Horsham teenager Anna Bush will run in the women’s gift for the first time in her career. The 15-year-old has been set a tough task by handicappers – 9.25m.
Bush said she wanted to make the most of her first time competing in the women’s gift.
‘‘I’m pretty nervous about it, but I have been training hard for the past two weeks,’’ she said. ‘‘I hoped I would get a better handicap, but I’ll take it as it comes.’’
Goroke’s Duncan Cameron will run in the men’s feature for the first time, off 7.5m.
‘‘I’ve got a tough handicap, but it should be good experience,’’ he said. ‘‘With the gift being the gift and the challenge that comes with being in the middle of the field, it will be tough.
Former Harrow sprinter Phillip Brown, now of Ballarat, will also run in the Stawell Gift.
