‘Daunting’: Gout, Kennedy dazzle on Stawell Gift debut
John Salvado |
Big guns Gout Gout and Lachlan Kennedy have more than justified their star billing with commanding heat wins on debut at the Stawell Gift.
Schoolboy superstar Gout (1m) won the second-last of 22 heats in 12.31 seconds on Saturday.
Racing off the backmark of 0.25m in the final heat, the 21-year-old Kennedy was even more impressive.
He had the race in his keeping well before the finish line and cruised home in 12.23 – the third quickest time overall.
“As soon as I knew I was in front, I was like, ‘yeah, I’m gonna have some fun with this’.” Kennedy said.
“I’ve watched this Gift many times, even before I started doing track, you always watch this as it’s a great event.
“It’s got a whole lot of history behind it and I’m just honoured to be able to run here and be able to put on a show.
“I’ve got heaps more in the tank and hopefully we can go even faster in the semi and the final because I’m going to have to.”
The semi-finals and finals of the men’s and women’s Gifts take place on Easter Monday, with both winners to pocket $40,000.
Gout enjoyed the experience of racing on grass for the first time.
“It felt pretty much like I was running on a synthetic track,” Gout said.
“I guess it was a mental game, because I love chasing down people. So this is the type of race I love.
“The 120 (metres) is literally like one of the perfect distances for me because in the 100s, obviously, I don’t get that much time to get up in my top speed.
“I get that extra 20 metres here, it’s definitely great and hopefully I can run down a few more people.”
The fastest heat winner on Saturday in the 143rd edition of the 120m handicap event was John Evans, who stopped the clock at 12.13 off a mark of 9.75m.
Jasper Thomas (12.22 off 6.50m) was the only other man quicker than Kennedy, while defending champ Jack Lacey (6m) won his heat in 12.44.
Flying Queenslanders Gout and Kennedy have developed quite the friendly rivalry in recent months, with Kennedy taking the honours over 200m in their head-to-head clash late last month at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne.
Kennedy was a close second behind Rohan Browning in the 100m last weekend at the Australian championships in Perth, with Gout saluting in the under-20 100m and the open 200m
Kennedy also won silver in the 60m at the world indoor championships in Nanjing, China in early April.
The headline acts also delivered in the heats of the women’s Gift on Saturday.
Paris Olympics 100m semi-finalist Bree Rizzo looked to have plenty in reserve as she won the last heat off scratch in 13.91.
Fellow scratch marker and defending Gift champ Chloe Mannix-Power won her heat in 13.95.
Both racing off 11m, frontmarkers Jasmine Rowe (13.74) and Jemma Stapleton (13.75) had the fastest heat times.
AAP
