AREEGRA athlete Bridget Powell was mere fractions of a second away from a dream Stawell Gift win on Monday.
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Powell crossed the line in second place behind Liv Ryan but said she celebrated as if she won after the race.
“People were looking at me and and telling me I did not win,” she said. “I was just super excited to even come second.”
Prior to running in her third Gift Powell had just set her sights on making the final after coming second in her 2016 semi-final.
She has spent three months training almost every day to give herself the best chance of taking out the famous race.
“The atmosphere at the Gift is just awesome,” she said. “But I try no to think about it to much as I go through my warm-up routine. You really need to try to shut it out even if it is a little bit difficult.”
It was only after the race had been run that she could take time to soak it.
“It’s obviously the biggest gift of the year, there is so many people there on Monday,” Powell said. “The energy of it is so special.”