Sport
31 October, 2024
Montagner, Moschou salute in Mortlake
THE 2024 Mortlake Gift brought some of the most talented athletes in Australia to town over the weekend for an action-packed day of racing.
North Queenslander Tanya Montagner enjoyed a successful trip down south, taking the 120 metre Mortlake Gift women’s open in a nail-biting come-from-behind win which required the use of camera technology to separate her blazing 13.961 from second place finisher Madeleine Parris (14.034) and Jasmine Rowe in third (14.174).
“I’m exhausted, but very happy,” she said.
“It was a tough run with a very strong, competitive field so I’m really happy with how I went.
“I could see (second) in the corner of my eye and I just kept telling myself to keep going.
“There was a little bit of thoughts of if I would catch her or not, but there’s nothing else you can really do except keep going.”
Montagner said she had enjoyed her first Mortlake Gift, praising the track and organisation of the event.
“The track is amazing compared to far North Queensland,” she said.
“Everyone is so friendly, it’s organised so well and it’s great to be getting smaller sporting communities involved.
“It obviously generates a bit of income for the towns and puts on a good show for them, so it’s a win-win situation.”
Michael Moschou claimed victory in the men’s 120 metre Mortlake Gift open with an impressive 12.592 after almost claiming victory the day prior.
“I ran at Cobden the day before and finished second to Mitchell (O’Neill), who is in great form none-the-less - full props to him for his win,” he said.
“I made sure I had a good night’s sleep because I knew the same field was going to be lining up in Mortlake, with a lot of class runners.
“I tried to keep my nerve and in the fight stages I had three guys within a close mark of me.
“I knew the main thing was to focus in the zone, get out hard and try to run my own race.”
Moschou said he had made second consecutive Victorian Athletic League finals but had always fallen short, making victory all the more sweet.
“I’d fallen short many times in a row but I had a cracker preseason and my coach has got me firing early, so I’m really happy with my performance,” he said.
“Mortlake is a really good meet, and I’ll definitely be back for more years to come”.
Cobden and Mortlake Gifts ambassador Mia Gross, a national champion, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist and 2024 Paris Olympian, said she was pleased to see how successful the day had been with an enthusiastic crowd and a diverse field of talents.
“It’s going really well – both years we’ve seen more traction, and more entries coming to small towns,” she said.
“It’s good to see it bringing a lot back to the community with lots of people going to the shops and the clubs.
“It’s really cool to be around the little kids who watch this stuff and might be inspired – country towns are cricket and football dominated – but they might be willing to give track and field a go.
“Coming out to country towns is quite cool, it’s nice roots to set.”
Gross hosted clinics with budding young athletes in Cobden and Mortlake as part of the events.
She said she loved how enthusiastic and curious kids in the region were, asking plenty of questions about the Olympics and her career.
“It’s really special because I grew up as a Little Athlete and went to some of these little clinics myself,” she said.
“It inspired me, so hopefully it inspires some of the kids to keep going.
“I love working with kids and being around kids. The kids in Cobden and Mortlake were all asking me so many questions, so it was special to share my Olympic moments and dreams so they have something to look forward to hopefully in the future.”
In other results:
120 Under 14 final – Oliver McDougall (14.794), Zarli Best (14.880), Perry Watson (14.907).
70 open final – Patrick McCarthey (7.705), Kristerfer Kardakovski (7.724), Corey Williams (7.784).
120 under 18 – Archie Minett (13.347), Jarvis Cartledge (13.515), Zane Eddleston (13.604).
120 over 35 final – Daniel Martin (13.551), Mark Glassborow (13.616), Chris Diegan (13.646).
1600 open final – Tez Kavanagh-Dando (4.14.01), Charlie Sutherland (4.19.35), Sean Davidson (4.22.45).
300 over 35 – Rob Italia (36.475), Davina Strauss (36.828), Bruce Kinnersly (36.988).
800 over 45 – Matt Jones (2.08.93), Brendan Norden (2.08.93), Tom Hecimovic (2.10.47).
400 Open Women – Kylee Drew (57.192), Gabby Sullivan (58.446), Halle Martin (59.005)
400 open men – Jack Colgrave (48.385), Lachlan Milligan (48.514), Noah Nakagawa (49.441).
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