Aaron Stubbs aims to go back to back at Stawell Gift
By Scott Gullan
Herald Sun
March 30, 2010
MUCH of a professional runner’s life is spent whingeing about his handicap as he continually tries to secure a “luxury” mark.
And for most Stawell Gift winners, Central Park is not a happy hunting ground the next year.
Most defending champions just go through the formalities, turn up, smile and wave to the crowd and do their best off a much more difficult handicap.
Only one runner in the 132-year history of the race - Bill Howard in 1966-67 - has gone back-to-back.
But Aaron Stubbs is bucking the trend on both of the above traditions. He’s not whingeing about his handicap of 4m - he won last year off 7.25m - and he says he is a serious chance to win again.
What the 19-year-old brings to the table to support his confidence is a personal best 100m time of 10.66sec, which he set 10 days ago at the Queensland state titles.
“It was in the heats and I think I have got plenty left,” Stubbs said.
"Hopefully at Stawell I can run a bit faster and, to be honest, I was really stoked with my mark.
"I expected much less, so I think off 4m I should go pretty close to making another final. It’s a big challenge (to win again) but I think I can match up to it.
“I’m not sure what time it is going to take to win the Stawell Gift. I think I can run 12.0 again, which would put me very, very close.”
Stubbs, from Lismore in New South Wales, clocked 11.87sec last year, which was the second-quickest time since electronic timing began in 1973. Only Glenn Crawford in 1995 has gone faster (11.79) down the 120m Central Park track.
A chronic hamstring problem slowed Stubbs’ progress after the biggest win of his career last Easter and the former beach sprint champion had been back in full training for only four weeks before his PB in Queensland.
“I think I have improved since last year. I’m a lot stronger now but the only thing is I haven’t been able to do a lot of running this season because of the hamstring, so the fitness side of things is a little down,” Stubbs said.
“But I know I run good come the big races and I know last year there were a couple in the semi-finals and final that sort of choked. So I’m thinking that maybe if I run good and someone who is faster might not run as well as they should, then I might get the win again.”
Last year Stubbs ran in a borrowed pair of spikes, which he’d been given by sprint star Matt Shirvington years earlier.
“I’m not putting them on again,” he said.
“I’ve actually got some of my own spikes that fit me this year, which is pretty good.”