Albury Wodonga Gift 2015 | Craig Mair makes it a winning trip to Albury
By CHRIS YOUNG
All smiles … Gift winner Craig Mair with his children Tom, 8, and Daisy, 3. Pictures: DYLAN ROBINSON
A STAR-studded field was unable to reign in the front markers at the Albury-Wodonga Gift on Saturday night.
Melbourne-based veteran Craig Mair ran a time of 12.42 seconds from 14 metres to finish ahead of Albury’s Daniel Steinhauser and reigning champion Luke Stevens.
The 38-year-old had been kept out of the Gift because of injury for the past three years, but made no mistake in what was his first run in Albury.
“I felt really strong at the finish, and I got off to a fairly good start I thought,” Mair said after the race.
“I haven’t run this fast in years.
“I think I was fairly lucky to get through the semi-final, I had a cramp in my hamstring and I wasn’t too sure about how I’d go in the final.”
The athletics coach, from Kangaroo Ground in Melbourne, took home $10,000 for his efforts, and said he was as nervous as he’d ever been going into the final.
“I couldn’t believe the amount of nerves I had going into it,” Mair said.
“Usually I’m pretty cool and collected but I gathered myself, and I was able to channel that pressure positively.”
It seems almost mandatory for Gift winners to have a connection to Albury, with Mair being the grandson of former Albury mayor and NSW MP Harold Mair, who died in 2011.
Mair said he was already looking forward to coming back and defending his title.
“I think this has been an absolutely perfect event,” Mair said.
“The weather was fantastic, there’s a great crowd and a lot of support locally for it.
“Next year I’ll have to bring the team up as well, the kids aren’t going to believe I actually won.”
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