Sport
27 April, 2025
Oscars deep dive - The Stawell Gift
I hope the Easter Bunny found you but now it’s time to talk sport!
The Stawell Gift
Easter weekend hosts one of Australia’s most unique and famous athletics events, the Stawell Gift, held in Stawell, Victoria.
I’d never heard of it before, but there were heaps of stories on television and online because Gout Gout, the 17-year-old Australian sprinting star, competed in this year’s Gift.
The first-ever Stawell Gift was run way back in 1878 and was originally called the Easter Gift.
They run on grass at the oval, and there’s a special handicap system.
Runners are ranked and given a head start depending on their handicap. The fastest runners start off “scratch,” while others get a head start of a few metres. The race is 130 yards, which is 118.872 metres.
This year’s cash prize was $40,000, which is awesome money for athletics in Australia! Gout Gout started from +1 metre but couldn’t make it to the final. The men’s race was won by John Evans off +9.75m in a time of 11.94 seconds.
In the women’s race, Paris Olympic sprinter Bree Rizzo won off scratch in 13.52 seconds.
It was a really interesting event, and I’m sure they’ll try to get Gout Gout back.
He’s on track to maybe become the fastest sprinter in history. I reckon he might win gold at the Los Angeles and Brisbane Olympics!
