Sport
7 January, 2025
Petherick wins 70m final
Hayden Petherick was the first big winner of the New Year’s Day festivities at the Maryborough Gift, taking out the First National 70 metre Men’s final.
Running off a mark of 9.75 m, Petherick was able to reel in the front marker, holding on to win by 0.06 seconds from Corey Williams with a time of 7.611, while front marker Jared Glover finished in third position.
Petherick said it was a terrific boost to what has been, in his words, a good season for him.
“It feels pretty good. I’ve had some good runs in the 70 this season, made the Bay Sheffield final, and came fifth. The schedule has been big, so I figured when I came here I was in good shape,” he said.
“My handicap went back a bit, but I didn’t really think about it so much, got out there and ran and got the win.”
Petherick spoke in volume about how he had to focus on a lot more than one would think over a 70 m race.
“With the 70, I try and focus on the start. If you get a bad start, it’s over for you already. So I’ve been working really hard on that and it’s working for me. When I get a couple of runs in, I get stronger as I go, so I felt confident going into the final that I could get it done,” he said.
“I think I’ve been focusing on my knee drive with my coach, focusing on a lot of power things in the gym. There’s so many things that go into getting it right.”
Petherick said this is only the start for 2025.
“We have big things planned, so we’ll see how we go for the rest of the season,” he said.