By Lachlan Ellis<\/p>\n
A finals appearance at last year\u2019s Stawell Gift lit a fire in her belly, and this year a Bacchus Marsh Little Athlete has earned herself a coveted winner\u2019s sash.<\/p>\n
Fifteen-year-old Emma Stewart won in the Powercor Little Athletics Victoria Handicap 400 Metre Final last Monday at Stawell with a time of 51.879 seconds, almost a whole second clear of second place Luke Rollinson at 52.706 seconds.<\/p>\n
Ms Stewart, who is a Centre Captain at the Bacchus Marsh Little Athletics Centre (BMLAC), said it was an exhilarating experience to secure the win.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty surreal, just the opportunity at Stawell was amazing. To take the win over the line was just such an amazing experience honestly,\u201d she told the Moorabool News.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy handicap changed a fair bit going into finals, so I knew it was going to be a pretty tough ask. I just ran as hard as I could pretty much, the whole time. There were a lot of back markers, so I knew they were going to be coming hard at the end, so I had to make as much of a gap on them as I could early on and just keep running.\u201d <\/p>\n
In the lead-up to the Stawell Gift, Ms Stewart said she juggled her running training with playing and training with the Greater Western Victoria Rebels football team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t have a lot of training as I was playing with the Rebels at the time, so I wasn\u2019t able to overload too much. Once we finished up there, I had a couple weeks in between, so I had a fair few sprint sessions two or three times a week, then I tapered for four or five days prior,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so eager after last year, I was so bummed that I got pipped [finishing in 5th place in the 100 Metre Final in 2022], so I knew I had to run my guts out this year and fingers crossed I\u2019d be able to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the future, Ms Stewart said she believes she\u2019ll be competing again next year but isn\u2019t too sure, and will also finish Little Athletics in 2024.<\/p>\n
She thanked those who had supported her throughout her athletics career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to give everyone at home a bit thank you for all their support over the weekend and throughout my journey,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Lachlan Ellis A finals appearance at last year\u2019s Stawell Gift lit a fire in her belly, and this year a Bacchus Marsh Little Athlete has earned herself a coveted winner\u2019s sash. Fifteen-year-old Emma Stewart won in the Powercor Little Athletics Victoria Handicap 400 Metre Final last Monday at Stawell with a time of 51.879 […]<\/p>\n