The Stawell Gift has long been one of Australia's most iconic and unique foot races, and this year was no different.
But in the wake of the semi-final exits of crowd favourites Gout Gout and Lachlan Kennedy, headlines like "sabotaged" do little more than feed a false narrative. The reality is far simpler, the race played out exactly as it should have. It wasn't a blunder, it was the sport working as designed.
To understand why this isn't a disaster, you first need to understand what the Stawell Gift actually is and what professional running means in this context.
Unlike traditional track meets, professional running operates under a handicap system. In this format, athletes are given a head start based on their ability, with the fastest runners starting from the back and others placed further ahead. The goal is to have every athlete finish around the same time, creating close, dramatic finishes. But those marks aren't just handed out, they're earned through performances across the season.
This is a circuit sport similar to that of tennis or Formula 1 where events are held weekly in different parts of the country, giving athletes of all abilities a chance to compete in races like the Stawell Gift in Victoria, the Bay Sheffield in South Australia and the Bernie Gift in Tasmania, just to name a few.
It's not a gimmick, it's a standalone sport with its own tactics, strategy and depth. Think of it as a levelling system that rewards persistence, timing and decision making just as much as raw speed. The difference between traditional amateur athletics and professional athletics is the same kind of difference between rugby league and rugby union. At first glance, the mechanics are the same, but on a deeper level, they're inherently different.
The point of it all isn't just unpredictability or fairness for athletes who may not be as talented, it's that the system rewards those who are persistent. It's engineered to give everyone a path to win, but that path demands commitment, consistency and smart decision-making over time. That's what creates the strategy, the tension and the beauty of professional running.
To say Gout and Kennedy were "sabotaged" is to completely misunderstand that game. Both were given competitive handicaps. In fact, many within the circuit felt they were perhaps too generous. Neither runner had a history on the professional running circuit and giving them marks tailored to help them win despite that would have been a far greater injustice to the athletes who spend years grinding through local meets for a shot at Stawell glory.
Kennedy ran 12.23 in his heat and backed it up with the same time in the semi-final. Gout clocked 12.31 in his heat and 12.34 in the semi. Neither found the improvement they needed. By contrast, Dash Muir improved from 12.29 in his heat to 12.17 in the semi. John Evans ran 12.13 in his heat, 12.1 in the semi and a blistering 11.94 in the final.
Neither athlete could capitalise on the opportunity they were given, neither found the improvements necessary to advance. After winning his heat, Kennedy claimed he had "heaps more left in the tank" and it looked that way, especially as he began showboating with 20 metres to go. But when it came time to deliver in the semi-final, he couldn't back it up.
If you need further proof that the system works, look at Bree Rizzo, who won the women's Gift off a scratch mark. She had no head start and no favours, just a perfectly timed run. Her win proves that a tough handicap isn't a death sentence.
In her first run at the Stawell Gift, she had a handicap of four metres and finished third. With her fantastic form, making an Olympic semi-final, her improvement was evident with her 0-metre handicap this year and she followed through with a magnificent win.
The reality is that professional running offers something no other sport can, the chance for everyday athletes to compete and sometimes even beat national-level talent.
John Evans, this year's men's Gift winner, is a schoolteacher. He's also a mainstay of the professional running scene and a regular competitor on the circuit. That's what makes this sport so compelling. You can't just show up and win. You have to earn it over time through strategy and resilience.
Kennedy and Gout are brilliant athletes and if they choose to stick with professional running, they may well find themselves back at Stawell one day in a much better position to win. That's how the sport works and that is how it stays fair.
Sure, it would've been a thrill to see Gout and Kennedy in the final, but their presence alone brought fresh eyes and renewed energy to the sport. They were given a chance and the system held firm, that's not failure, that's the game. Their impact will last far beyond one weekend and the beauty of pro running is that they can return any year with a real shot at victory.
