The St Albans Gift is on again, with another bumper sign-up of athletes ready for the starter’s pistol.
The Gift is on this Saturday, with races kicking off at Kings Park Reserve from 3pm. The heats for the main event – the 120-metre open race – will start at 6.15pm, with the Cup itself due to start at 9.10pm.
With nearly $11,000 in prize-money across the day, the race meet has become one of the biggest athletic events in the region, and Western Athletics rising star Luke Stevens is this year’s big name on the bill.
Stevens is a bright talent of the Victorian athletic scene, and while he is on the comeback from a hamstring injury earlier in the summer, he is excited to be competing on the big stage.
“It’s a bit of a home town event for us in the west, so we all really look forward to it,” he said.
“I’m normally more of a 400-metre runner, but I always enjoy testing myself in the Gifts.”
Stevens won the Keilor Gift in 2015 competing over the same distance.
Following Saturday’s race program, Stevens will continue his preparations for the highly anticipated Nitro Series, a revamped invitational competition.
Ewen McRae
