Seymour local Cooper Lubeck points to the home crowd as he crosses the line to win the 1600m open event at the 2025 Seymour Club Gift. Photo: jamesonsphotography.
As the field entered the back straight on the final lap and passed the scoreboard at Kings Park, the crowd’s roar reached fever pitch.
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The result was inevitable at that point, although it felt as though it had been written from the moment the starter fired his gun.
Cooper Lubeck, committee member of the Seymour Running Club, son of Kelfit coach Kelvin, and the man whose image adorned the entrance to the Seymour Gift, was going to win the 1600m open race, one he had been targeting for months.
It was made official as he rounded the bend and ran alone to the line to win by four seconds, a comparative age in athletics, and was duly swamped by friends, family and teammates alike, but not before proclaiming the turf at Kings Park belonged to him.
At least in that moment, it did.
“Yeah, unbelievable, it’s just a massive honour,” a breathless Lubeck said following the race.
“It’s just a relief as well, because the last two or three weeks, although you do these things for a whole year being on the committee, the last two or three weeks is the most amount of work I've ever put into something that's not your job.
“We don’t get paid for this, we do it all because we love it.
“I was here from 8am yesterday to quarter past six last night, I was here this morning setting up all the stuff and the power went out to the whole town.
“The whole town, the power was out, so I was running around getting generators from hire joints, just so we could continue to run the gift.
“We were 25 minutes delayed and we’ve ended up running back on time, so we’ve done a super job.
“Just the relief and the feeling now, it’s all worth it. No matter win, lose or draw, it was going to be worth it, but now it’s just that extra bit special.”
The outpouring after claiming the win was a culmination of months of work for Lubeck, who along with his dad was the driving force behind forming the club and committee that ensured the gift returned to Seymour 12 months ago.
He had already triumphed at his home event, winning the 550m open race last year; however, it is over the mile that he really excels, and the mile that he wanted to win in front of his home crowd.
Victorian Athletic League events run off a handicap system, and success will see you slugged more metres at the start of an event in an attempt to level out the field.
Lubeck was initially going to forego any more 1600m events in an effort to preserve his handicap for the season finale at Stawell, the most prestigious gift on the calendar; however, a shot at victory in his home meet meant so much more.
Cooper Lubeck after winning the 1600m open event at the 2025 Seymour Club Gift. Photo: Alexander Dabb.
Off a mark of 120m, the same handicap as Glenn McMillan, the man identified by Lubeck pre-race as his biggest threat, the Seymour native got off to a good start, settling on McMillan’s outside shoulder and working into his rhythm.
Mowing down athlete after athlete ahead of him, Lubeck steadily worked his way through the field as the laps counted down, working his way up to around fifth as he entered the final lap.
It was as the athletes took the bell that Lubeck made his move, dropping the hammer and emptying the tank in an early move that caught his rivals off guard, and one that saw him hit the front to rapturous applause with 250m to go.
As he rounded the final bend, he too knew he had it won, celebrating with a point to the strong crowd assembled trackside.
“There’s no better feeling,” he said of earning victory at home.
“Winning here last year was probably nearly the best thing I've ever done, and I've won at Stawell.
“Just the fact that all your mates are here, I'm putting in the effort, my family is putting in the effort, the time, the money, just everything, it just, it really does mean that extra bit.
“Winning the 550m last year was obviously unbelievable, but then winning the mile this year, it’s what I wanted to, I targeted this race, and now I've pulled it off.”
Lubeck found time after the race to pay tribute to the work of his father, Kelvin, too, with the Kelfit crew as a group eclipsing their efforts in 2024, notching four wins and five additional podiums at their home event, while drawing praise from almost every other stable for their sportsmanship and hospitality.
“It's super special,” he said.
“Everything starts small, and Kelvin started with just Lucy (Zotti), Izzy Morgan and a little bit of Hayden Anderson.
“Then I've got involved, and then we've gone from two, three athletes to now, we've got 33 runners today under the Kelfit banner, we’ve just exploded.
“This is an amazing effort, what this is now, the Seymour Gift, and that’s helped it get bigger.
“Just the family support, everyone's support has made athletics in this town and region boom again, which obviously it's massive, so all congratulations go to my dad, Kelvin.”
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