MARTY Sinclair finished his day at Cricket Willow with a profound limp on Saturday.
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The Newcastle sprinter did not mind though.
He had snared the Telstra Daylesford Gift on his first visit to the sleepy hollow of Shepherd's Flat.
Sinclair made full use of his front mark of 10.5m to run away with the 100m feature event.
Importantly, the limp was not of serious concern.
Sinclair put spasms in his right hamstring down to fatigue, with the day out at Cricket Willow coming hot on the heels of a tough campaign in the Tasmanian Summer Carnivals.
Sinclair won his heat in 11.37 seconds and then qualified for the final as one of the three fastest losers in the three semi-finals.
He out-gunned David Fenollar, of Jacana, with backmarker Shaun Fletcher (NSW) third.
Sinclair, who first ran in Victoria in 2012, said this was the first time he had advanced beyond a heat in a Gift at a Victorian Athletic League meet.
"I ran at Stawell in 2012 so I could say I've done it."
Injury meant he was unable to return to Central Park last Easter.
Sinclair is coached by his sister Susan Sinclair, who also competed on Saturday.
Ballarat's Nathan Fox and formerly Ballarat-based Adam Cabble each reached the Gift final for the second year in a row.
Fox won a heat in 11.39 and repeated the dosed in semi-final in 11.40.
How they finished:
1-Marty Sinclair 10.5m
2-David Fenollar 8.25m
3-Shaun Fletcher 5m
4-Cam Dunbar 6m
5-Nathan Fox 6.75m
6-Adam Cabble 9.75m
Heat winners:
Nathan Fox (Ballarat) 6.75m - 11.39
David Fenollar (Jacana) 8.25m - 11.18
Adam Cabble (Chirnside Park) 9.75m - 11.49
Marty Sinclair (Newcastle) 10.5m - 11.37
Rob Lehmann (Ballarat) 6.75m - 11.29
Justin Templar (Altona North - ex-Ballarat) 10m - 11.50
Shaun Fletcher (NSW) 5m - 11.23
Tamer Sirin (Roxburgh Park) 5.5m - 11.70 in a walkover
Semi-final winners:
Shaun Flecther - 11.22
Nathan Fox - 11.40
Cam Dunbar - 11.23