ICYMI: Teenage track and field athlete Torrie Lewis broke the national 100m record over the weekend - making her the fastest Australian woman EVER.
The 19-year-old, who was competing at the ACT Open and Under-20 championships in Canberra, finished the 100m in a record 11.10 seconds on Saturday. It's the fastest ever 100m time recorded here in Australia - meaning that Torrie broke records held by Melissa Breen (11.11 seconds set in 2014), and Aussie icon Raelene Boylee (11.20 set in 1968).
We're calling it now: Torrie is going to become one of the biggest names in Australian sport, particularly in the lead-up to the Olympics this year. And yes, it's only January.
So, who is Torrie Lewis?
Torrie was born in Nottingham in the United Kingdom, and moved to Australia when she was six years old. “When my mum was 16, she moved from Switzerland to England and lived by herself. And when I was 6, my mum and I moved to Australia without ever visiting or knowing anybody in Australia," Torrie told Athletics Australia.
Torrie is proud of her heritage being Jamaican/Indian from her father, and Scottish from her mother. In 2019 she said: “I’ve never been to Jamaica, but when I was younger they joked about me running for Jamaica.” She has shared that she's inspired by Jamaican athletes Elaine Thompson and Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Fun fact: Torrie started out competing in gymnastics at just seven years old. She won the Hunter, Country and State titles before placing second at the National Club Championships. She eventually decided to concentrate on her track and field career, qualifying for the NSW State Championships in the 100m, 200m, and long jump (just casually).
Not long after, she began her meteoric rise, cementing her status as a force in Australia's track and field circuit. In 2020, Torrie relocated to Queensland and won the 100m and 200m Under 16 events at her first ever QLD School State Championships. In 2022, she won the Under 20 Australian National Championships before being selected for the Under 20 World Championships in Colombia.
At this event she suffered a nasty hamstring injury, forcing her to withdraw and kicked off 6 months of rehabilitation. She went onto recover and win the 100m and 200m at the Australian National Championships in 2023.
Torrie was recently awarded a Tier 1 Scholarship within the 2024 Sport Australian Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program, and was paired with Aussie icon and mentor Dawn Fraser AC MBE. Commenting on having Dawn as a mentor, Torrie said: "Learning from a legend of the sport who has gone out and put the work in to achieve something so incredible and experienced all the highs and lows of international competition is invaluable to me."
One final fun fact: Torrie was accepted to study a Software Engineering course at Griffith University after achieving an ATAR score of 95.2 for her year 12 studies. Seriously, what can't this woman do!?
Where will we see Torrie compete this year?
It goes without saying that Torrie's sights are set on a spot at the Paris Olympics in July this year. She's also eligible to compete in the world under-20 championships in Peru.
“With the Olympic year, the goal for the season is to try and run around that similar time, which should get me pretty close to qualifying,” Lewis said.
“Two weeks after the Olympics is the World Juniors in Peru, so that’s still on my card hopefully. They are the two big ones for me this season.”