Paris Olympics 2024: Torrie Lewis runs a PB in 200m heats

John Salvado
AAP
Australian sprinter Torrie Lewis looked right at home on her Olympic debut.
Australian sprinter Torrie Lewis looked right at home on her Olympic debut. Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Running in lucky lane nine, rising Australian sprint sensation Torrie Lewis has clocked a personal best in the opening round of the Paris Olympics women’s 200m but just missed out on a direct route to the semi-finals.

The 19-year-old Queenslander - who broke the Australian 100m record early this year - stopped the clock at 22.89 seconds for fourth place on Sunday.

But with only the top three - including winner and newly-crowned Olympic 100m champ Julien Alfred from St Lucia - advancing automatically, Lewis will be back at Stade de France on Monday for the repechage round.

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“I’ll go in with the same mindset I had this morning - try and run another PB,” said Lewis, whose previous best was 22.94.

“... You always have to constantly prove yourself.

“That’s why track and field is so hard, because there’s always people going faster.

“We saw that last night - (Sha’Carri Richardson) is no longer the fastest woman in the world.

“Now it’s Julien (Alfred).”

Lewis grabbed international headlines in May when she beat the great American Richardson in the 200m on her Diamond League debut in China, flashing home in lane nine.

Fellow Australian Mia Gross was also pitched into the repechage round after finishing sixth in her heat on Sunday in 23.36.

American Gabby Thomas clocked the fastest opening-round time of 22.20, while Alfred remained on track for the Olympic sprint double after easing through in 20.41.

Alfred is aged just 23, a fact not lost on the teenaged Lewis.

“She was so dominant last night, like a real pro,” said the Australian, who will be the highest-ranked runner in her 200m repechage race.

“You wouldn’t even really tell how young she was.

“So she’s definitely a really good role model to look up to in that sense.”

Tayleb Willis made a solid Olympic debut, finishing fifth in his 110m hurdles heat in 13.63, with the prospect of something quicker to come in the repechage.

Torrie Lewis
Australian sprinter Torrie Lewis looked right at home on her Olympic debut. Credit: AAP

Three-time world champ Grant Holloway from the US was a runaway winner of that heat in 13.01 and Australian-born French athlete Sasha Zhoya was third in 13.43.

Superstars Femke Bol from the Netherlands (53.38) and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone from the US (53.60) produced the fastest qualifying times in the opening round of the women’s 400m hurdles without breaking a sweat.

Australians Alanah Yukich (55.46) and Sarah Carli (55.92) faded in the final straight but will have another chance in the repechage round on Monday.

Reigning national champion Chris Mitrevski (7.79m) and Liam Adcock (7.56m) were eliminated in long jump qualifying.

Originally published on AAP

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