Winning on home ground in front of family and friends is always special.
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This was certainly the case for Elijah Cross in the open 400m at the City Oval on Sunday.
"This means a great deal. It's a reward for a lot of hard work."
Cross (19m) led home Ballarat training partner Lincoln Barnes (27m), with Dion Paull (27m).
While there was plenty of hype among runners leading up to the start, Cross said he deliberately stayed relaxed and "in the zone".
BALLARAT'S Tony Martin featured in the most dramatic finish of the Ballarat Gift Carnival.
He crashed to the ground after throwing himself at the tape to secure a deadheat for first in the masters 120m final on Sunday.
The tumble left him with a bloodied right leg, requiring immediate attention from first aid attendants.
However, nothing was going to take the smile off his face and his fellow POD Squad members.
Martin shared the honours with Peter Biggs.
MELBOURNE'S Luke Mitchell has completed the Ballarat Gift Carnival's feature springs double - five years apart.
Mitchell on Saturday added the men's open 70m final to his 2018 Ballarat Gift victory.
He became the youngest Gift winner when he claimed the race as a 17-year-old.
Running off 6m, Mitchell finished ahead of Tapasu Paea (3.5m) in the 70m.
Mitchell went onto qualify for Sunday's Ballarat Men's Gift final.
It provided a break-through for Mitchell, who has been racing consistently this season - winning a 300m at Warrnambool and finishing second in a Essendon 200m and Maryborough Gift and third in the Rye 400m.
He said while a freshen up leading into the Stawell Easter Gift would be ideal, the lure of some of the season's bigger meets in coming week would see him continuing on.
Grassmere's Layla Watson followed up a Beachside 400m victory the previous week with a win in the women's open 70m final over Kiara Reddingius.
