SATURDAY night's Wangaratta Gift came right down to the wire – literally.
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The winner was declared only after nearly 10 minutes of deliberations from track officials.
Essendon sprinter Paul Tancredi was eventually named the winner, following in his uncle Michael Tancredi's footsteps.
“My uncle won this event back in 1967, so there's a bit of a family connection there,” he said.
“I've always liked coming to Wangaratta in the past as well.”
Tancredi said it was a nervous wait as track officials decided who had won.
“I thought I had it as I crossed the line, but it was obviously a very close race,” he said.
“When they take that amount of time to come to a decision you inevitably ask questions of yourself.
“One of my stablemates came up to me as we were waiting and said I'd won it, so I had a bit of confidence.
“Overall I was rapt to win, it was a very strong field.”
I thought I had it when I crossed the line, I didn't realise it was that close.
- Paul Tancredi
Wangaratta Sports Carnival manager Graeme Taylor said he was pleased with the turnout.
“We had a similar crowd to what we had last year, I'd consider that a success,” he said.
The woodchopping is something we might look to expand next for next year's carnival.
“That was a particularly successful facet of the event this year.
“It was certainly a very competitive night of competition, particularly in the Gift.
“Cycling numbers were down though, we only had 26 entries for the seniors.
“Track cyclists don't seem to travel as much as they used to, so we'll have to consider the viability of that event in the future.”