Sha’Carri Richardson wins the Powercor Womens Gift from scratch, Komolafe takes the Powercor Stawell Gift

Date: 7th April 2026

Stawell, VIC, April 6, 2026:  International sprint sensation Sha’Carri Richardson proved unbeatable today to become only the third woman in history to win the Powercor Womens Gift off scratch. She also recorded the fastest time in the history of the Womens Gift since the race changed to 120m in 2006.

Olufemi Komolafe, a medical student from Adelaide, won the 144th edition of the Powercor Stawell Gift off a 5m handicap in a time of 11.93. He is just the 14th winner in the race’s history to claim the title from a handicap of 5m or less, and the South Australian winner with the lowest handicap.

Richardson lit up the track to win in a tight finish, recording a time of 13.07 after chasing down a group of athletes including the favourite Charlotte Nielsen who was 9m in front in 13.12 and last year’s runner up Chiara Santiglia off a mark of 6.75m in 13.29. Eleanor Cooney Hunt, Emma Carr and Grace Crowe completed the group of deserving 2026 Powercor Womens Gift finalists.

Jake Ireland put up a huge fight in the Powercor Stawell Gift and was runner up in 12.07, Dutch hurdler Liam van de Schaaf was third in 12.09 followed by Grady Woods (12.13) and Spencer Browne (12.14). Brendan Matthews unfortunately withdrew following an injury during his semi-final.

Huge crowds packed into Central Park on Easter Monday, witnessing a thrilling blend of history, tradition and elite athletics.

Sha’Carri, who said she thought she had the race at the 90m mark said when presented with the Strickland Family Memorial Trophy, “This is one of the most exciting, fun and entertaining track meets that I’ve ever been in, the true love and support for track and field here has been unbelievable.

“Thank you for having me, it feels truly humbling away from home being so appreciated on the track and I’ve just been enjoying it, having such a great time with all of you in Stawell and just knowing this is something that I’ve never experienced before but I’ve enjoyed it and I know that this is something that is the first of many.”

A false start delayed the Womens final but Sha’Carri was gracious. “Having to reset for the false start is something that we all go through, and I think all of us handled it really well. These are still young athletes, still growing and maturing,” she said.

“I also thank my team, Emmanuel, Danny, my physio Jay, as well as Christian Coleman, all of them have been instrumental to this moment. And I just want to say thank you to everyone and have a great 2026 season.

Komolafe, 21, recalled being inspired by Christian Coleman who was run out in the semi-finals today.

“Back in 2019, I was in year nine, my dad had the World Tracks on the whole time, I remember watching his (Coleman’s) heats, semis and the finals in Doha, it was like a light show with everything and it was such an electric race, watching him win on a 9.76, sixth fastest in history was really inspiring and ever since then that’s been one of my inspirations to really start sprinting.

“I had a lot of ideas about what sport I wanted to pursue but watching him win that really inspired me to take up sprinting.

“I was a soccer player from a very young age and I was always just very fast in school. I would win school meets but I wasn’t really training for sprints… but after school finished that’s when I really started taking sprinting seriously.

“Having Jake Ireland just 0.5 metres back, he’s such a strong runner, I really wasn’t expecting to have someone that close to me, it was really nerve wracking.”

Komolafe also paid tribute to his coach Paul Young, the 1985 Stawell Gift winner who also trains last year’s winner John Evans. Only four other coaches in the history of the Stawell Gift have had back-to-back winners.

“It’s been hard work, it’s been 24/7, bit of high maintenance,” said Young.  “When Christian Coleman was announced in early March, we announced it at training and all of a sudden the crew went ‘wow, Christian Coleman is coming, and Sha’Carri Richardson,’ there was a smile on his face and he said ‘that’s my idol,’ and I said ‘Komolafe v Coleman let’s make it happen!’ 

“That news was fantastic and Femi has been absolutely sensational since then, this is such a great sporting moment.”

The prestigious Krause Bricks Memorial Backmarkers Invitational 120m went to Joshua Lotsu who took home the Chris Perry Memorial Trophy. “I was scared for my life, I know Coleman is a quick starter, I thought I’d lost, so I crossed the line pretty disappointed, but now that I know I won it’s great. I’m just really happy I beat Christian Coleman,” said Joshua.

The Herb Hedemann Invitational 1600m was won by Aaron Nitschke in a time of 4:11.34 who paid tribute to his coach Michael Nitschke adding:  “I didn’t know if the boys were going to storm home or not and then I don’t know who came up on my shoulder but I was like ‘I can’t lose this now, I’ve done too much work’, so it’s very surreal.” 

Tiana Shillito took out the esteemed Fiji Airways Lorraine Donnan Women’s Handicap 400m in 51.45 and was honoured to receive her trophy from Cathy Freeman who won the event in spectacular style 30 years ago. “I could hear dad screaming ‘GO’, and I knew there must have been someone on my shoulder so somehow I was just able to find something at the end there,” said Tiana. 

Fraser Stott won the Stawell Gold Mines Bill McManus Backmarkers Handicap 400m in 45.94. “Thanks to the VAL, thanks to Stawell and my coach, I couldn’t have done this without you, thanks to all the boys I travelled with and all those supporting me,” said Fraser.

The John Tolman Grampians Handicap 3200 went to Nathan Breen in 9:15.65 while Benjamin Rofe in 1:49.71 collected the sash for the Northern Grampians Shire Council Handicap 800m. 

Richelle Ingram won the inaugural 35+ Womens Masters 300m race  in 34.45 and Scott Shillito took the honours in the Masters 300m in 34.03.

Glenn Barry was awarded the 45+ Sean Quilty Masters 45+ Series Final 800m in 1:57.22.

The Bill Howard 100m race which is often a predictor of a future Stawell Gift winner was won by Josh Hegan in 10.63 and the Furphy Jack Donaldson 200m was won by Patrick Martin in 20.67.

Other winners included Sam Janetzki who won the second edition of the Powercor Liney Invitational 120m and Marita Downes won the Dulkeith Technologies Hank Neil Masters’ Handicap 100m in 10.93.

Powercor Womens Gift runner up Charlotte Nielsen was awarded the Tamsyn Lewis Perpetual Trophy and Grady Woods the Eric Cumming Memorial Cup for best performances in the 70m, 120m and/or 200m;  and Benjamin Rofe was presented with the Bruce Walker Memorial Trophy for the athlete judged to have the best performances in the 400m Backmarkers, 550m and 800m events.

“What a day at the Stawell Gift!” summed up VAL President Matt McDonough. “We witnessed one of the most memorable performances in the event’s history. On a weekend marking the 30th anniversary of Cathy Freeman’s iconic run, Sha’Carri Richardson delivered a performance for the ages, the fastest ever recorded on Central Park. It was truly world-class, and like Cathy before her, everyone in attendance saw a piece of Stawell history unfold.

“The Men’s Gift was equally outstanding, with Olufemi Komolafe producing a brilliant win over now two-time runner-up Jake Ireland. Fresh off his Warrnambool Gift success, Komolafe surged clear of the field to secure back-to-back victories for trainer Paul Young. He’s certainly a name to watch on the national stage in the years ahead.

“The day was capped off with stirring performances in the 400m events and the prestigious Herb Hedemann Mile, all played out in front of a fantastic crowd. It’s a fitting conclusion to another successful Victorian Athletic League season – and a truly unforgettable 2026 Powercor Stawell Gift.”

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