Jodie Richards and Fejiro Omuvwie claimed victories at the Warrnambool Gift

Brisbane’s Fejiro Omuvwie, 26, made sure his first south-west trip for the sport he recently pick up was well worth it claiming the men’s 120-metre race in a blistering time of 12.37 across the grass at Friendly Societies Park.

Rockbank’s Jody Richards, 19, put a run of second and third place finishes behind her with a victory in the women’s gift in a time of 14.26, narrowly pipping Australian Commonwealth Games representative Maddie Coates for the honour.

For Omuvwie, who shifted to athletics after playing soccer, has his eyes set on building form for an attack at the final Victorian Athletic League round, the historic Stawell Gift.

“I’m looking to go for the Stawell Gift that’s why I have been coming down to Victoria to run recently,” the software engineer said.

“I was at Stawell last season and it was like my first time competing and I didn’t really have a coach so I was knocked out in the heats. 

“So I have gone back to the drawing board and did a lot of work and understood the system and winning here gives me a better chance.”

For Richards, who is also aiming to visit Stawell, it was her first time standing on the top of the podium after a number of close finishes.

“It’s exciting because it’s the first time I have run on the grass track and I have been coming second, third and fourth in previous races so I was ready to win one,” she said.

“It’s good to get the win finally. It was really reliving I have put in a lot of work over the winter and constantly coming second and third it gets a little bit discouraging sometimes so it’s nice to cross the line first.”