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Tokyo: Things didn’t bode well for Torrie Lewis before she even crouched to the blocks.
In the lane next to her was Sha’Carri Richardson, the flamboyant American reigning world champion. Two lanes beyond her was Shericka Jackson, the Jamaican who won silver behind Richardson when she won gold in Budapest two years ago. Oh, and she won silver at the worlds before that and has more gold on her walls than the Oval Office from her sprint relay wins.
You might be able to draw a tougher heat, but I’m not sure how. To advance, Lewis needed to finish in the top three. Or be in the next three fastest times.
She did both.
Lewis broke her own national record to finish third behind Richardson and Jackson, of course, in 11.08 seconds. The wind was a legal +1.4.
It was the slowest of the times Lewis had in her head that she would run in the heat of the packed Tokyo Olympic Stadium on night one of the World Athletics Championships.
“That’s very, very good, very. It’s very satisfying,” Lewis said.
Suffice to say she was very happy. Very.
“I think I was super nervous for this competition because I knew in training that these are the times I can hit. Actually, this is the slowest time in my mind [that] I had. So hopefully I can just build on that.
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“But I was so nervous coming into this because I just knew I could do it – I just needed to actually do it.”
Lewis did a double take when she saw the start list and the quality of the field she had drawn. Then she told herself it was a good thing.
“I was like, ‘Thanks guys – giving me the hardest one’. But after I let it sit, I was very glad I had them because, you know, I can just run with them, like, who cares if they beat me? They’re like the best in the world, ever, almost,” she said.
“So I just wanted to run as fast as I could with them, and see how I go.”
Lewis was coy on what the quickest time that she had in her mind was, but suffice to say it started with a 10, not an 11, and she’d obviously then be the first Australian woman to break 11 seconds for the 100.
“Yeah another one [record]. Now we’ll make it another one, and another,” she said.
Torrie Lewis produced a stunning run up against US superstar Sha’Carri Richardson.Credit: Getty Images
In a year of obsession over the new phenomenon Gout Gout, this was a reminder that before him came Lewis, also still a teenager, and the fastest Australian woman ever.
“I know I still have a lot of improvement in that start area, but I’m putting it together, so I’m happy.
“I’m just glad I didn’t let the nerves get the best of me – like I said I’ve been running those times and faster in training, so I just needed to come here and not get nervous and run. And, you know, it was a great test having Sha’Carri next to me and Shericka. I’ve proved to myself that I can do it.”
Did she plan to beat Richardson, or sit on her shoulder and let her drag her faster?
“I thought beat her,” Lewis explained.
“I thought, get out in front and beat her. But you know, when you’re that close, you can’t really tell if you beat her or not, so you just have to run anyway.
“I knew if I stuck with them, it would be [a national-record time] but you know, you obviously don’t know until you cross the line.
“I can get out there now with less nerves, do better and if I do as well as I think I can, make a final, but, you know, it’s gonna be very tough. I’m happy with my time now, so we’ll just see how it goes tomorrow.”
More to come
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