Stawell Gift 2026: women’s race result
While it wasn’t the biggest victory of his career, the Stawell Gift was one of the toughest to win, despite Sha’Carri Richardson leading the field by as much as nine metres.
The American Olympic and world champion became the third woman to win the gift from scratch. He won in 13.15 seconds.
The Olympic gold medalist needed every inch of the 120m track to win her semi-final by just a millimeter in 13.52 seconds.
His partner, Christian Coleman, who is also a world champion, could not make it to the final like Gout Gout last year and made it to the semi-finals because he could not keep up with Grady Woods, who started from seven meters and won the semi-final in 12.32.
“I felt good, I felt like I put up a good fight, but these guys are no slouch, I mean giving up a lead of over 120, that’s what it is,” said Coleman.
“I was thinking about everything we’ve been working on, don’t break, just stay upright, and it felt like step by step I was getting closer, closer, closer. Maybe if it had been 130m or 150m I could have had them.”
“I had fun, that’s all I wanted. I think I’ll get better and better throughout the year.”
“I didn’t really know what to expect, I was just embracing it and coming here to compete. I’m a competitor, so I just wanted to give myself a chance by getting to the final.
“Running on grass is difficult to give such a big advantage to people who are specially trained for this.
“I wasn’t thinking about them much, I was just thinking about my lane and how I would perform if they were with you, like I do every race.
“This is the first time I’ve had a race where they’re all in front of me. I just tried to focus on my lane and what I need to do. I feel like I did a good race. A good run would be good to get to the final.”
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Michael Gleeson is an award-winning senior sports writer specializing in AFL and athletics.Connect with: X or email.
