A 15-year-old girl from Ballarat has been fined after winning $40,000 in a renowned race after improving more in a fortnight more than most athletes could in a lifetime.
Chief steward Brian Marantelli said “She ran a particular time and when she got here she ran seven metres quicker”
He said that is “more than most runners improve in a lifetime. ”
“In our sport that’s called improvement at extreme range – with extreme range being four metres, so she was well off the chart in terms of improvement in a short space of time.”
Just 12 days ago Talia Martin, 15, was eliminated in the heats of the Ararat Gift.
But over Easter, when the student from Loreto College in Ballarat arrived for the Stawell Gift she improved by seven metres in her heat on Saturday and then won the race on Monday – pocketing $40,000.
From a handicap mark of 13 metres Martin clocked 13.70 seconds in the final to claim a narrow victory ahead of Tierra Exum – the sister of NBA star Dante Exum.
After her heat she was hauled before the Victorian Athletic League stewards.
“We pulled her in and spoke to her and the stewards’ panel decided on a fine of $2,000” Chief steward Brian Marantelli said.
Mr Marantelli said the teenager’s father and coach, Peter O’Dwyer, admitted Martin had done the wrong thing. According to Fairfax Media he appealed the severity of the $2000 fine but not the verdict.
The appeals panel reduced the fine from $2000 to $500 but also imposed a fine of the first $1500 of any prizemoney she might win.
“She hadn’t done anything illegal as far as her handicap goes. The only reason she could get pulled (back in her handicap) is if she had run a PB somewhere that we didn’t know about and she hadn’t done that, she had just run poorly,” Marantelli said.
But Talia said she had run poorly at the Ararat Gift as she was distressed at the recent death of her aunt.
“From Ararat Gift I didn’t run my best, it was kind of when my aunty Barb died so I was really emotional and I just had to get past that and it obviously shook me up a bit,”
“She always came down to Stawell with us and it’s been really hard without her”
“Hopefully she’s watching from up in heaven and she’s very happy.”
Fairfax Media reports that the teenager’s rapid improvement would not have changed her handicap (as that is based on her best performances) but the her poor form of late could have consequences for the track betting and the “spirit of competition.”
Mr Marantelli said the situation had damaged confidence in the race and the result.
“I would say it definitely does no doubt.”
“It is like, in the horse racing game, getting beaten in a maiden at Pakenham and 12 days later winning the Cox Plate or something ” he said.
It is the first year the famed race paid women the same amount as men – $40,000. Martin said she was hoping to buy herself a present.
“I have always wanted a hover board, but I have never been allowed, so hopefully a few hundred goes towards that and I will save the rest,” she said.
Top Comments
Seems sports are more concerned about looking after the punters these days .. all sportsmen have to worry about keeping the punters happy .. whether that's right or wrong doesn't really matter it's the way of the world theses days .. sport is lo longer a sport when there's so much money involved
Holding back in prior events in the lead up to Stawell is a normal tactic for all runners, why would you want to run a PB and get penalized the week before?
Also, was her handicap based on just that one run in Ararat, maybe they need something like a 3 event minimum in the smaller gifts to get a handicap.
From what I have read, her handicap was not affected by her previous performance.
On the other hand, it affects the betting odds for a major sporting event which is why the penalty was applied and has been routinely applied vigorously to Olympians, footballers, cricketers and soccer players and any other sportsperson who have done the same thing and have at times been banned for life.
The fact you are 15 or 55 does not alter the tenet of integrity in sports when gambling is involved.