Sport
29 November, 2022
Gift set to return
ATHLETES with Olympic and Commonwealth Games experience are expected to draw a large crowd for this Sunday’s Terang Gift meeting.
ATHLETES with Olympic and Commonwealth Games experience are expected to draw a large crowd for this Sunday’s Terang Gift meeting.
Olympians Ellie Beer and Jessica Thornton will make the journey down from Queensland to compete in the 70m, 120m and 400m events.
Nineteen-year-old Beer competed in the Women’s 4 x 400m relay for Australia and was the youngest member of the Australian Athletic team.
She was also the youngest ever Australian selected for the World Championships.
Thornton is a stable mate of Beer’s and has represented Australia at the 2016 Olympics.
In 2014 she won gold at the Youth Olympic Games in China.
Two years later Thornton made her Olympic debut at Rio.
She is also the third fastest Australian woman over 400m, trailing only the iconic Cathy Freeman and Jana Pittman.
“It is not often that the town of Terang gets to see Olympians compete on their doorstep,” Terang Athletic Club president Ken Plummer said.
“Entry is free and the day promises to be electrifying – it’s like a mini Stawell Gift in our own town.
2018 Stawell Gift winner and Commonwealth Games representative Murray Goodwin will look to make his mark on Terang in his first visit to the vast grass track in the sprints.
Jack Boulton is another high quality athlete who is returning to Terang after winning the Warrnambool Gift last year.
“Last year at Terang, Jack won his Gift heat but unfortunately came fourth in the final even though he improved his time in each of his races,” Plummer said.
“He has multiple junior Australian titles and represented Australia overseas in the 400m and is an athlete to look out for.
“Canberra’s Clare De Salis who won last year’s Terang Women’s 120metre Gift before getting just beaten by the closest of margins at Stawell is also coming back to Terang for the meeting.
“Clare had run very quickly in her heat and semi final and was one of the favourites to take out one of the two major gifts for the day at Terang,”
Plummer said this year’s event would cater to athletes across the spectrum of distances, providing attendees a glimpse of world class athletes running their preferred races.
“This year we have races for sprinters with the 70m and 120m races on the program,” he said.
“The middle-distance races also promise to provide many highlights with the 300 and 400metre races as well as the 1600metres for the longer distance runners.
“This race is held at the end of the program as it is always a fantastic culmination of the great days racing.
“The event is named after Laurie Heffernan, a Terang local who won the one mile and two mile events at Stawell in 1973.”
The meeting will again feature equal prize money for men’s and women’s gifts, a point of pride for the Terang Athletic Club in its efforts to support equality in athletics.
“Our decision to create equal prize money for both the men’s and women’s gift a few years ago is very pleasing and is remarked upon by athletes and the VAL as one,” Plummer said.
He thanked volunteers who will again loan their efforts to ensure the event continues its successful history.
“One of the club’s strengths is the volunteers who come on board to assist,” Plummer said.
“The Terang Lions come on board to man the gates in the morning.
“The program couldn’t run without the amazing support of our town and sponsors who are listed in the program, on the electronic scoreboard and on the banners decorating the Recreation Reserve gates.
“Their assistance makes a huge difference to us, enabling us to bring the cream of Australian athletics and Olympians to our town to inspire us.”
