Alexia Loizou won her first Stawell Women's Gift on Monday.
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Running off 5.75 metres, the Frankston 21-year-old shaved .20 seconds off her semi-final time and crossed the line in 13.58 seconds.
Loizou was visibly exhausted and emotional after the race.
"I've worked so hard for this and I'm so happy," she said.
"It's been a big journey with lots of tears and happy moments. It was mentally tough. It's been a long season. Towards the end, I was just hanging in there - but this makes it all worth it."
Loizou was up against Hana Basic, 2.75m, Bree Masters, 4m, favourite Sophia Fighera, 5m, Ebony Lane, 7.75m and Zoe Neale, 8.75m, in the final.
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Matt Cater coaches both Loizou and best friend and training partner Fighera.
"It meant so much to both of them and we knew someone would be disappointed," Carter said.
"Sophia early on probably showed she was going to get the job done.
"Over the last couple of weeks Lexi (Loizou) went from strength to strength and in the last training session, I thought maybe she could get the job done. You couldn't split them."
Early in the season, Loizou struggled with a foot injury.
"She won the Waverly Gift this season - we knew from early on this is what they were aiming for," Carter said.
Loizou reflected on a time she thought she would never get to the iconic event.
"To be here, where I thought I could never get a couple of years ago, really makes you believe in yourself," she said.
"I've been doing (running) for a while - since I was about 10. My mum tried to get me into the sport when I was younger but I was really stubborn.
"I came back a few years later and thought it was pretty cool and I thought, 'I could do this'. I've been around for a long time."
Nursing student Loizou hasn't spent much time on trackwork this year, concentrating on preparing for the Stawell Gift.
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"Next year I definitely want to get on the track and try and improve my 200m and 400m time which I haven't been able to do," she said. "Now, I'll be looking forward to a break."
Gift backmarker Maddie Coates was tipped a chance to win another Stawell Women's Gift final but was denied the chance after Fighera stormed home in semi-final five. Coates had the daunting task of starting at one-metre behind scratch and impressed with her run heat on Saturday.
Another favourite, Mia Gross, qualified for the semi-finals after finishing second in heat seven. Gross had to withdraw from the semi-finals due for medical reasons after first aid officers tended to her on Saturday.