Aussie sprint sensation Torrie Lewis stuns world at Diamond League debut
Aussie sprint sensation Torrie Lewis is in ominous form heading into the Olympics after beating out American 100m world champion Sha’Carri Richardson in her Diamond League debut.
Athletics
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Aussie sprint sensation Torrie Lewis has put the world on notice with a stunning win in the 200m on her Diamond League debut in Xiamen.
Lewis won the race from lane nine in 22.96, the second fastest 200m time of her career, beating out American 100m world champion Sha’Carri Richardson.
“It was so surreal beating Sha’Carri,” Lewis said after the race. “I didn’t even notice I beat them until I saw the replay and I was like, ‘Holy Crap!’, (it’s) so surreal.
“My goal was to just hold on as long as I could. I was in lane 9 so I knew they would all be in front of me by 50 or 60 metres, but I just wanted to do as well as I could.”
Georgia Griffith and Sarah Billings also excelled in the Diamond League season opener, becoming the fourth and fifth Australian women to clock sub-four minute times in the 1500m, while Peter Bol logged a 800m time of 1:47.02sec to finish 11th in his first overseas appearance since the 2023 world championships.
The 19-year-old Lewis had already cemented her status as one of the next big prospects in Australian athletics during an incredible domestic summer.
She stunned onlookers in Canberra in January by breaking Melissa Breen’s decade-old Australian record in the 100m with a blistering time of 11.10. She followed it up earlier this month by claiming her second-consecutive 200m national title, including a new personal best time in the heats of 22.94.
Speaking to media during the Australian Olympic Team uniform launch on Wednesday, the teenager is under no allusions that she wants to set records that are nearly impossible to break.
“I think (I can be) and I also want to be the first woman in Australia to go sub-11 seconds,” Lewis said. “I think that’s a very realistic goal of mine.
“Similarly in the 200 (metres), I want to get to either the low 22s or sub-22. I think that’s very realistic.
“I want my name to be there (in the record books) forever if it can. Obviously, the records are always going to be broken, but I want to make it as hard as possible for the next person to come and break it.”
Lewis’ times have put her in the box seat for Olympic selection as the fastest woman in Australia. And while she’s still a fraction off the official qualifying times, 11.07 for the 100m and 22.57 for the 200m, she’s not leaving anything to chance.
However, a difficult choice is looming for the rising star as she maps out her path to Paris. In an ideal world, Lewis would love to compete in both the 100 and 200-metre events at the Olympic Games. But scheduling of the events, and the relays, is set to make that unlikely. Her preference is to focus on the longer distance, which is also why she sat out the 100 metres during the recent national championships in Adelaide.
Saturday’s win in China will give extra weight to that decision as she looks to become the first Aussie sprinter to make an Olympic final since Cathy Freeman and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor shared the track in the 200m at Sydney 2000.
“I think I’m going to have to focus on one because we’ve got the relay as well,” Lewis said. “I’m closer in times qualifying for the 100, but I do feel like I would be more competitive at the Olympics in the 200.
“For me, I would rather do the 200. But whatever event gets me there, I’ll be happy.
“There’s a lot of travel coming up trying to get qualifying times for my individual events and also for the relay team. No one has made a final for over 20 years, so being at the front of that possibility is exciting.
“Swimming is so strong, and I feel like it’s kind of expected for them to get a gold medal. When an Australian gets a gold medal in track and field, like Cathy Freeman or Sally Pearson, it’s remembered so well because it’s so hard to get one.
“All I think I need to do is stay fit, healthy and injury-free, get myself to the starting line in one piece and I think I’ll be able to either run the (qualifying) times or run myself into the points quota to qualify.”
Lewis’ joint focus on the relay is set to be shared by her fellow Australian sprinters with genuine enthusiasm about the team’s chances in the 4x100m in Paris.
The women’s team were recently awarded the bronze medal from the 2022 Commonwealth Games after Nigeria was disqualified due to a doping violation.
Since Lewis has come onto the team to run the anchor leg, alongside Ebony Lane, Bree Masters and Ella Connolly, the quartet have gone on to break the national record in a time of 42.94 in March.
The confidence they’ve built from breaking that mark that stood for 24 years means they’ve got their sights set on more.
“The team got a bronze medal and we’ve just recently broken the Australian record,” Lewis said.
“So the team we have now is the fastest it’s ever been. It’s put us in a really good position for the Olympics and yeah, I believe we can make a final in our relay.”
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