By DAVID ALLEGRETTI
As many around the country leisurely celebrated their Easter break, one young athlete from the town of Knox had a rather triumphant weekend.
Lee Tzilantonis, 15, one of more than 200 competing junior athletes, finished first in the under 15s 100m boys final of the 2014 Australia Post Stawell Gift athletics championship.
Tzilantonis, who competes in Under 15s events, put on a powerful display of speed as he comprehensively secured the title, and the subsequent prestige that comes with it.
The Stawell Gift is one of Australia’s oldest and richest sporting events and is commonly viewed as the most prominent foot race in the country. This year’s event was held on Friday 18 April to Monday 21 April.
Junior athletes are offered the esteemed opportunity to take part in the Stawell Gift through an initiative first implemented in 2011 by a combined partnership agreement involving Little Athletics Victoria and McDonald’s.
The talented Tzilantonis, who first started running with Speed Clinic Australia at the age of 7, is usually a long distance runner – which makes his achievement in the sprint event all the more remarkable.
The Little Athletics event schedule consisted of 100m, 400m, 800m and 1600m mixed races.
This year was the promising runner’s first appearance at the Stawell Gift and his mother Diane had nothing but praise for the event.
“It’s an absolutely amazing event, it was our first time there and it was just something else,” she said.
Although her son ran a remarkable race, Diane was quick to point out that her son’s talents were nurtured to the fullest by his capable and experienced coach Shane Mckenzie.
“He’s been amazingly patient and he’s worked with Lee for a year now and the results speak for themselves. Finding a good coach was a hard thing but once you get the right one hard work definitely pays off.”
McDonald’s Knox licensee Howard Armitage said he was “so pleased to be able to offer kids like Lee from all over Victoria the opportunity to participate in the excitement of the weekend and see some world class athletes in action.”
With intensive training sessions held five times a week, young Tzilantonis worked hard in the weeks leading up to his big win.
A promising future lies ahead for the gifted runner, although for now he has his feet firmly planted on the ground as he continues to focus on his schooling while intensifying his training under the astute tutelage of coach McKenzie.
