Hooker to Run the Stawell Gift

Published On: 16 March 2010

Hooker is eyeing off a different challenge

Hot on the heels of another stunning world title victory, Olympic and world champion Steve Hooker will attempt to add Australia’s richest footrace to his list of achievements when he lines up in the Australia Post Stawell Gift this Easter.

“It’s a fantastic weekend. I have been up there many times before as a spectator and its always been dream to run there. With my big global championship out of the way already this year it’s an opportunity where I go there for a bit of a different preparation,” Hooker said.

“Of course it (the money) does (interest me). It’s $40,000, who wouldn’t be happy with that?”

The 27-year-old blitzed his competition at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha in the early hours of Sunday morning, winning the major championship by 31cm – beating Sergey Bubka’s championship record in the process with his winning jump of 6.01m.

Hooker became the first Australian in history to win all major championships available following his wins at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, 2009 IAAF World Athletics Championships and 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

In addition, he is now the only athlete world-wide to currently hold all four major global athletics titles – Olympic, World, World Cup and World Indoor Championships.

Hooker returned from Qatar this morning to announce that he will run in the Australia Post Stawell Gift before turning his attention back to the pole vault for the Australian Championships in Perth on 14-16 April.

Due to his pole vault commitments, Hooker has raced sparingly over 100m, with his latest outing producing a personal best of 10.82 at the new State Athletics Centre in Perth in early January this year, in a race won by Australian 100m record holder Patrick Johnson in 10.36. His previous 100m outings date back to 2005 when the high flier recorded a wind assisted 10.68 (+3.2) also set in Perth.

How he fares on the grass at Stawell, having to use the very unfamiliar starting blocks and without his trademark pole, remains to be seen.

“I think I will have enough handicaps by the time I get there without having to put another one on myself having to run with a pole,” Hooker said.

“I have got a bit of speed there but I cannot start to save myself so I have to do a bit of work on that over the coming weeks. Hopefully I can get up a little bit more pace without the pole.

“I am going for fun but I am a very competitive person so as soon as I get out there I will be giving it my all to try and finish ahead of everyone else.”

Hooker is amassing a resume that is the envy of athletes around the globe, with his Olympic, Commonwealth and world indoor championship victories all coming with championship record leaps. His world championship win in Berlin came in the most extraordinary circumstances given a severe hip injury, so it would be foolhardy to suggest that he isn’t capable of taking home the coveted sash and $40,000 winner’s cheque in Australia’s richest and most famous footrace.

Should Hooker not make it the Easter Monday final, he will most likely feature in the TAB Big6 Backmarkers Invitation.

Stawell Athletic Club president Charlie Baird said the Club was thrilled to have a reigning Olympic champion at Central Park.

“Steve is a very popular athlete and we are thrilled that he is going to compete in the Australia Post Stawell Gift for the first time,” Baird said.

“We know that he has been keen to come for the past few years, and even wanted to do a pole vault on grass, but to have him run in the Gift is even better. We have never had a reigning Olympic champion race in the Gift so this is a first for the people of Stawell and western Victoria to come and see Steve in action.”

This year’s Gift will have the broadest coverage of any edition in history with a two-hour live broadcast on Network Ten/One and on the Australia Network across the Asia/Pacific, and the Gift final also live on Sky Channel.

The Australia Post Stawell Gift sweepstakes will also provide one lucky patron on Easter Monday with the chance to win a brand new car, and with the chance to see Steve Hooker, there is absolutely no reason not to come to Stawell this Easter to experience the Gift.

The 2010 Australia Post Stawell Gift carnival will be staged from Friday 2nd to Monday 5th April 2010.