Hindered in recent months by COVID-19, he wished for nothing more than a strong performance on his home track in Bendigo.

On Saturday night he fulfilled his goal by securing the top step of the podium.

Burnett (58m) charged to victory and held off Cameron Yorke (58m) and Cooper Lubeck (52m) on the home straight to win the 800m open at the Bendigo Gift athletics meet, final time 1:49.952.

It was more than just a win on home soil - Burnett emulated the success of his father Craig who is also a keen athlete.

"This feels really good," Burnett said after the race.

"My dad won this race back in the 1980s so this is a very sentimental win.

"It's an absolutely magnificent feeling."

Burnett said the win didn't come easy as he had to hold off several top athletes on the home straight at the Flora Hill athletics complex.

"Yorke is an incredible runner and never leaves anything on the track when it comes to finals," he said.

"Also all of the younger guys here today know no different than going as hard as they possibly can, it was very competitive and tough."

The past few months have been tough for Burnett who had to overcome COVID-19 which he said had "a big effect" on his usual training regime.

"The recovery has been a long road back and I had to take an entire month off racing to recover in isolation as well as other commitments," he said.

"To get back to where I am now, which I feel is about where I was with my progress this time last year, has taken a lot of effort and hard training.

"It's been nose down and bum up and today I just went for it."

Melbourne sprinter Chris Vi cruised to victory in a strong field to take the men's 100m Gift in 10.223.

Vi (8.75m) showed top form during the heats and continued with the same momentum in the final to secure the top step of the podium from Jesse Cordoma (6.75m) and Jackson Bennett (4m).

"It was pretty tough out there tonight," Vi said after the race.

"But the conditions were really good and all I needed to do was hold them off as I could really feel them coming after me at the end."

Vi finished second in the Ballarat Gift earlier this year and dug deep in the weeks leading up to Bendigo in order to secure the win.

"After just missing out at Ballarat I trained harder, ensured I had smarter recoveries and just tried to bring my best here to Bendigo," he said."

In the women's 100m sprint Ballarat runner Tiana Shillito secured a three-peat triumph taking her third Gift Victory (2019, 2020).

Shillito (11.25m) held nothing back and was able to take the win from Torrie Lewis (Scr) and training partner Grace O'Dwyer (6.5m) with a final time of 11.313.

"I am so stoked, there's not many people that can do this (win three in a row)," Shillito said after the race.

"It was an amazing and tough win, especially running against athletes such as Torrie Lewis and Tayla Cruttenden.

"There really couldn't have been a more challenging field."

With three-straight Bendigo wins to her name, Shillito is now looking ahead to her next events - Geelong and the iconic Stawell Gift on Easter weekend.

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