Dhruv Rodrigues Chico completed a meteoric rise in professional athletics by taking out the Stawell Gift on Monday.
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The 20-year-old took his first visit to Stawell by storm - winning his heat, semi-final and the final in relative ease.
He produced the quickest heat and sem-final times and then ran 12.11 seconds in the final despite easing up before the tape.
Leonard King was second, with Jason Bailey third.
Rodrigues Chico only took up running this season after losing the passion for soccer, having played with several clubs in the NPL.
Coached by Tom Morehouse, Rodrigues Chico said hopefully his Stawell Gift victory was just the start and that there was much more to come in his athletics career.
"Hopefully this can take me somewhere - maybe represent Australia one day," he said.
Rodrigues Chico was born in India and lived there until he was two before moving to New Zealand.
He has lived in Australia since he was 10 years of age.
He heaped praise on Morehouse,
"He's a great mentor. I owe him so much."
Rodrigues Chico started the Victorian Athletic League season - the first meet on the calendar in November - with a win in the Hastings Gift.
He said was not expected to win, but with that under his belt he set his sights on Stawell.
He went on to also have wins at Frankston and Bendigo.
Jara Konteh injured a hamstring in the closing stages of the final and had to leave the field in a wheelchair.
Where they finished in the final:
Dhruv Rodrigues Chico 7m 12.106
Leonard King 6.75m 12.240
Jason Bailey 10m 12.249
Lachlan Sheffield 9m 12.389
Conor Loughnan 7.5m 12.408
Jara Konteh 5.5m 12.680
Ballarat's Mason Keast was run out in the semi-finals.
