Replay: Watch the Kensington Gift sprint races

The state’s best runners have run and won the Kensington Gift carnival – and you can watch our live stream replay of the whole event here.

It should have been the best thing that happened to his sprinting career.

But Stawell Gift winner Aaron Stubbs admits his unlikely 2009 victory as an 18-year-old was the start of a professional and personal decline.

Stubbs spoke to The Messenger ahead of his appearance at the SA Athletic League Kensington Gift this Sunday, which will be live streamed at advertiser.com.au from 12pm.

The now 30-year-old reflects he was “a little bit too young to have a win like that” 11 years ago in Australia’s richest footrace.

“It was good and bad,” said Stubbs, who stormed home at the historic race in a pair of shoes gifted by Matt Shirvington in a time of 11.928 seconds.

“I wasn’t mature enough to take it on board and go: ‘That was good but I’ve got more to do’.

“I got a bit arrogant, sort of lost track of things for a few years.

“I just expected to keep getting big wins. But I didn’t and I’d get a bit down.”

Competitors in a heat for the 120m men’s race at the 2020 Kensington Gift athletics carnival. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

The 30-year-old said his training standards, diet and general dedication suffered over the years that followed.

“I didn’t train hard enough, I wasn’t dedicated enough,” he said.

“I wasn’t mentally present there when I was meant to be training and racing.

“I wasn’t sleeping properly … I wasn’t eating properly.

“I got a little bit in my head … ‘I’m this good I’m ready to do that’.

“But the reality is I’m not, everybody’s the same, it’s just how hard you work.

“I was just out of it.”

Aaron Stubbs says his dedication suffered after winning the Stawell Gift in 2009 as an 18-year-old.

Elation for Aaron Stubbs after winning the 2009 Stawell Gift. Stubbs is now eyeing victory at this Sunday’s Kensington Gift, which will be live streamed on advertiser.com.au

Stubbs said he didn’t turn to the bottle to deal with his demons (“if I have a few drinks I’m hungover for two days”), but a string of bad performances proved to be the catalyst for a recovery.

He also learned he had to be “very dedicated” to get the best out of himself.

“You just have enough times where you go to a comp and you get your arse kicked,” he said.

“You start to think, well, I’ve got to do something different.”

The pandemic has certainly offered him that chance.

The Queenslander said he’d been forced to train alone during the early days of COVID-19, which has turned out to be a blessing.

“It was helpful because I remembered what I loved about running,” he said.

“Not competing against other people all the time.”

Aaron Stubbs (right) with fellow Queensland sprinter Trae Williams. Picture: Jono Searle

Stubbs is keen to soak in the “carnival atmosphere” of the Kensington Gift where he will run the 120m.

He loves how competitors will be placed on an even footing at the handicapped event.

“It’s really innovative and I’m keen to see how it works out,” he said.

“(The gift is) a really fun way to get things started, you get multiple runs in on a day, it’s on grass.

“It’s great atmosphere. It’s a little bit more relaxed.”

However, Stubbs said the sport of athletics needs to do more to promote itself and be dynamic, admitting some track meets can be “boring” for spectators.

“If you don’t know somebody competing, there’s not enough atmosphere to get excited about (the event),” he said.

“We need to do a bit more to emphasise our sport I think.”