Sport

Lucy Zotti crowned undisputed queen of the VAL

By Alexander Dabb

Jul 14, 2026

Lucy Zotti, pictured crossing the line of the 800m wwomen's event at the 2025 Seymour Gift, claimed both the VAL Medal and VAL athlete of the year awards at the VAL and VRTA awards night on Saturday. Photo: jamesonsphotography.

Kelfit athlete Lucy Zotti took the Victorian Athletic League by storm across the 2025-2026 season, compiling five wins across four different distances including a maiden Stawell sash in what was a remarkable campaign, one in which she threatened victory every time she stepped out on to the track.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

It was the type of season the VAL couldn’t ignore.

On Saturday at the league’s night of nights, the VAL and Victorian Runners and Trainers Association awards, Zotti walked away with the two most prestigious accolades on offer, earning both the VAL Medal and the VAL athlete of the year awards.

Modelled off the AFL’s Brownlow Medal, the VAL Medal is the highest honour available to those competing in the league, with three officials awarding votes at every meet throughout the season.

The best performance across every open, men’s, women’s, restricted and masters category race is awarded eight votes, the second-best performance earns seven points, and so forth, with the athlete’s sportsmanship, the importance of the race and an athlete’s time and handicap in the event taken into consideration when allocating votes.

And in a season where the Kelfit group made history with its most successful year on record, Zotti became the first ever Kelfit athlete to take out the gong, and just the sixth recipient ever, after the award was introduced in the 2020-2021 season.

It capped a dream night for the Seymour athlete, who also left the ceremony with the VAL athlete of the year cup tucked under her arm, beating out five male athletes to be crowned the league’s undisputed best.

It should come as no surprise that Zotti picked up the silverware, given her incredibly consistent campaign.

Kicking things off with a pair of podiums across the Lancefield and Warrnambool gifts in the early part of the season, Zotti enjoyed a breakthrough performance in front of her home crowd at the Seymour Gift in December, ending a run of nine podiums without a win in emphatic fashion by completing the 400m/800m double.

She couldn’t stop winning from there, with sashes following in Shepparton over 120m and Ringwood over 300m, before claiming the 800m women’s title at the famed Stawell Gift while narrowly missing out on the 400m title as well, finishing second.

Such was her domination across the season, Zotti was the most nominated athlete heading into Saturday night, up for both the female sprinter and female distance athlete of the year awards, as well as the female performance of the year award, in addition to the two accolades she won.

A number of other Kelfit athletes were also recognised for their superb seasons with nominations, with Olivia Attard nominated for the female distance athlete of the year award and Declan Goodwin for the male distance athlete of the year gong.

Kelfit coach Kelvin Lubeck was up for the VRTA trainer of the year award, having won the accolade in the 2023-2024 campaign, while the Seymour Gift was nominated for the race meeting of the year award for the second season in a row, having won it in its first year back on the calendar in 2024.

Focus now shifts to the 2026-2027 VAL season, although it is still a few months away, with the Cobden and Mortlake gifts on Saturday, October 24, and Sunday, October 25, respectively, set to kick off the new season once again.