TEENAGERS can be notoriously shy, but the winner of the 2016 Active Macksville Gift was simply gobsmacked after defeating a field of wannabes which included one of Australia's fastest men.
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Michael Hanna, 16, from Connells Point in Sydney, blitzed home to take the 63rd running of the Gift in a photo finish.
Those vying for the longest continously running professional foot race in NSW included current Stawell Gift champion Isaac Dunmall. While the organisers were delighted to have Isaac in the field, he didn’t make the final – but the Gift is a handicap race and he was the scratch marker.
“It is definitely the best win I have had,” the starstruck Michael Hanna told the Guardian moments after the finish.
Michael stopped the clock in 12.32 seconds, pipping Aaron Pateman and Jake Ryder in a lineball finish.
It was only the second appearance for Michael at the Macksville Gift, and his next engagement is Queanbeyan.
It was a champion night for the small and talented group of Sydney runners at Macksville, as Michael’s good mate Kash Powell, of Caringbah, collected plenty of his first name, featuring in the top three of seemingly countless events.
