Dual Stawell Gift winner Joshua Ross could make a welcome return to the 132nd annual Australia Post Stawell Gift carnival in 2013.
Ross was a crowd favourite when he swept to victory in Australia's richest footrace in 2003 and 2005.
He is one of only two men and the first Australian in the history of the carnival to win from scratch.
His victory in 2005 also saw him etch his name in the record books as only the third dual-winner of the event.
Ross retired in 2009 but returned to represent Australia at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
He was part of the men's 4x100-metre relay team that equalled the national record to qualify for the finals and finished seventh.
Ross won the Bay Sheffield in Adelaide on Thursday.
The win etched his name in the record books again, this time as the first winner of the event from scratch in its
125-year history.
"I had the same feeling I had when I won the Stawell Gift off scratch," Ross told media post-race.
"There was some force or feeling I had it was going to be my day."
The victory sees Ross earn an invitation to compete in the 2013 Stawell Gold Mine Gift Winners Gift.
The invitational 120-metre event is one of the feature races of the Stawell Gift carnival.
Invites are given to Gift winners from the past 12 months including the Bay Sheffield, Queanbeyan and Burnie Gifts.
Gift promoter David Culbert said he was hopeful Ross would accept the invitation and return to Stawell.
"We want the cream of the crop he'll be invited," he said.
"We know he loves coming to Stawell.
"If he does come it'll be interesting to see what the handicapper does with his mark.
"He'd need to run faster than he did to win at Stawell."
The 2012 Australia Post Stawell Gift carnival was one of the best on record, attracting a star-studded field that included Jamaican world record holder Michael Frater, St Kitts and Nevis' former world champion Kim Collins and leading Australian athletes John Steffensen, Brendan Cole, Craig Mottram, Lauren Boden and Melissa Breen.
Ballarat sprinter Matthew Wiltshire won the prestigious event.
The 2013 carnival is on between March 29 and April 1.
