Australia’s fastest woman Torrie Lewis secured a stunning win in the 200m race at the Diamond League in Xiamen, China over the weekend. The 19-year-old beat the 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson by a slim 0.03 seconds, clocking a time of 22.96 seconds.
The English-born, Newcastle-raised sprinter described beating her idols Richardson and fellow American Tamara Clark, who came in third, as “surreal”.
“It was so surreal beating Sha’Carri,” she said after her win. “I didn’t even notice I beat them until I saw the replay and I was like, ‘Holy Crap!’ 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.”
“I’ve come here straight from the nationals, knowing this was my opponents’ season-opener so I knew I had an edge coming in, but I just wasn’t entirely sure because I had never raced those athletes before.”
It’s a positive win for Lewis in the run-up to the Olympics, where she hopes to quality for the 200m race. Last week, she told the press at the launch of Australia’s official uniform that she has always considered herself better at the 200m.
“I was really surprised when I broke the 100m record. But it gives me a lot of confidence because I know that if I can run 100m that fast, I can run a 200 way faster,” she said. “And I can hopefully get the record with a 200 as well one day. I just think that I would probably be a bit more competitive in the Olympics at the 200.”
“I’m obviously closer to qualifying in the 100m. I’m going to be happy with whatever, but if I can choose, I think I would run the 200.”
In January, Lewis became the country’s fastest 100m female sprinter, clocking in 11.10 seconds at the ACT Open and Under 20 Championships. She eclipsed Raelene Boyle’s Under 20 record of 11.20 from 1968, and Melissa Breen’s 2014 Open record of 11.11.
At the time, Lewis said, “To me it is finally, I’ve been after times like these for what seems like ages now, never letting myself think too much of it but always wanting to get there.”
After her 200m win over the weekend, the World Athletics’ official account on X wrote: “A star is born”.
Australian track and field Olympian Tamsyn Manou posted her support on her socials, praising Lewis: “Torrie Lewis just beat a field that included the 100m world champion over 200m. Our Aussies are awesome. Bring on Paris!”
Lewis will travel to Nassau in the Bahamas next month with the 4x100m relay team, where they will attempt to qualify for Paris.