As a former Australian Rules football player, Lacey said he was untroubled by the wet conditions.

Backmarker Jake Ireland was second.

The finals of the Stawell Gift running races had been temporarily delayed after torrential rain filled the grass track at Central Park in the western Victorian town.

The women's final scheduled for 1:45pm this afternoon and the men's final at 2:20pm had been put on hold following a major storm, which is believed to have dropped around 10 millimetres of rain in half an hour.

A severe weather warning and heavy rainfall remains in place for the Wimmera and South West regions of Victoria, as a strengthening cold front moves across the state.

SES State Agency Commander Alistair Drayton said motorists in particular should take extra care as flooding was possible.

"There is a risk of flash flooding with that heavy rain, and if we are in unfamiliar areas it's really important to drive to the conditions today," he said.

"Be mindful of the environment, particularly with the school holidays … for the next 24 hours."

Damaging winds gusts of up to around 90 kilometres per hour are also possible across the central and north-eastern ranges later tonight.

A place for Olympian Peter Bol:

Earlier in the afternoon, Olympian Peter Bol (Above) finished second to Riley Bryce in the invitational 1km handicapped challenge, after starting 32 metres behind some in the field.

The runners raced in heavy rainfall and the long-distance event was the last at Stawell before the delays.

The race drew comparisons to Cathy Freeman's 1996 Stawell Gift win. 

Bryce will take home take home $5,000 for the win.

At the Tokyo Olympics, Bol placed fourth in the 800-metre final, the highest place of any Australian for more than half a century.

The Stawell Gift began at the end of the gold rush in 1878 and has been held in all but five years since.

Video #1 | 1996 Australia Post Stawel Gift - Cathy Freeman wins Women's 400m Final 4 years before gold at the Sydney Olympics.

Original Story By | Emile Pavlich