Even the Stawell Gift handicappers couldn’t beat Sha’Carri Richardson
Sha’Carri Richardson was the gift the Gift needed; Arguably the biggest name in Australian sport, Gout was the gift the Gift had to have last year when Gout was brought to Stawell but failed to make the final due to a disability.
Even the disabled couldn’t stop Sha’Carri Richardson this year.
Last year Gout brought much needed interest and excitement to the race. But he looked like a fool when he couldn’t even make it to the final.
There was no such nonsense this year.
Richardson won arguably the best sprint performance seen outside the Olympics in Australia. This is not an exaggeration. Her time of 13.15 seconds was the fastest ever run by a woman in the Gift, and she did so from scratch, reining in runners who had a lead start of up to 10 metres.
He ran the first 100 meters of the 120 meter race in 10.76 seconds. On a football oval.
Securing world sprinting’s showpiece pair – Richardson, the Olympic gold medalist, world champion and equally the fifth-fastest woman ever, and her boyfriend Christian Coleman, also a former world record holder – was a coup for Gift.
This was another level of attraction, even for Gout, who was still a schoolboy when he arrived here last year. There was excitement surrounding the race, but this year Richardson and Coleman brought the glamor.
Richardson is at the peak of his career; Coleman is trying his best.
But they are both bona fide world stars, and somehow they were convinced it was a good idea to come to Australia and run a grass hurdle race in a small town on the edge of the Grampians. A little cash will do it.
It was money well spent. In this case, it was once again thanks to the generosity of philanthropist and local businessman Sandy McGregor, who funded Gout’s appearance at Stawell last year..
The couple were flown to Stawell by helicopter and organizers took the word of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has told people not to do anything different this Easter despite looming fuel shortages. It was all part of the charm.
Besides his speed, Richardson’s most notable feature is how small he is. She is tiny, standing just over 5 feet (155 centimeters) tall. But he has a presence that has nothing to do with his size. It is strong and fast. Her waist-length braids curl down her back, she has a Baby Girl tattoo on one shoulder, and she has long, vibrantly decorated nails. It is eye-catching.
Coleman also had a large diamond-encrusted watch and diamond neck chains. If the couple acts like they’re enjoying the whole experience, they’ve done a great job of it. They constantly gushed about how cool it was to be in front of a large crowd of athletic enthusiasts.
They couldn’t have been more helpful with the crowds and the endless demands for selfies and autographs.
They loved the quirkiness of the event, from the 120-metre Gift distance resulting from the distance between two south Yorkshire pubs where drinkers challenged each other to race, to running across the grass between ropes towards two large trees just beyond the fence beyond the finish line.
Richardson said the runners who started the race ahead felt like a child’s game on the playground.
But most importantly, Richardson won. Okay, so Coleman didn’t make it to the final, but he also didn’t run very well. Grass was not an ideal surface for his running style, so his failure to qualify for the final cannot be considered a handicap.
Disabled was absolutely right this year. The Women’s Gift ended as it should have; There was only a slight strip of lycra or flowing silk on the line separating first and second.
Poor 19-year-old Charlotte Nielsen ran the race of her life and would have won the Women’s Gift award in previous years. His time running nine meters was the second fastest ever. But then he faced a world champion.
In the long and storied history of the Gift, this was arguably the greatest race ever run. It was one of the best sprint races we’ve seen in Australia outside the major championships, and was run on a football field in a sheep farming town in Western Victoria.
Richardson said the race would be a commendable workout. And it was. It’s just that his practice is different from everyone else’s. And it was amazing. This was a gift for the Gift.
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Michael Gleeson is an award-winning senior sports writer specializing in AFL and athletics.Connect with: X or email.
