The Olympic sprinter on championing women in sport, adjusting to life in the spotlight and what comes next.
MUCH HAS CHANGED for 19-year-old sprinter Torrie Lewis over the past 12 months. In January, she became the fastest woman in Australian history by setting the national record in the 100 metres with a blistering time of 11.10 seconds. In August, Lewis made her Olympic debut, progressing to the semifinals of the 200 metres by winning her repechage heat. Then, later in the month, she took home silver in the same event at the under 20 athletics world championships in Peru. But really, Lewis is just getting started.
When she catches up with Women’s Health, Lewis is wandering the bustling streets of New York City searching for something gluten-free to eat for dinner. “I’m in the middle of Times Square right now,” is what she says by way of explaining the taxi horns that are blaring through the speaker of her phone as she navigates the crowds. “Are you sure you can hear me properly?” she asks multiple times.
Lewis is in New York for Athlos, an all-female track meet that aims to champion women’s sports by providing a larger financial reward than any other athletics event. Athlos – which will take place on September 26th – is the brainchild of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who has long been a backer of women’s sports, dating back to his role as his wife Serena Williams’ unofficial cheerleader. Thirty-four athletes will compete across six races during Athlos, with the winner of each event receiving $60,000 in prize money, double the purse of any other official athletics event. A further 10 per cent of all profits raised by the event will go to the athletes competing.
The idea is to increase the financial incentive for women to compete in sports by investing in them when governing bodies won’t. This, Lewis believes, can only have a positive impact on women’s sports. “It’s just hard to live up to the title of ‘professional athlete’ when you’re struggling for rent, food, or groceries, which is the reality sometimes,” she says. “Having an event like Athlos that gives more financial support to athletes is great, and it can only lead to improved performance because having that financial backing means you can focus more on preparing for the track.”
Lewis’ claims aren’t unfounded. She points to Australia’s recent female-fronted dominance at the 2024 Paris Olympics as evidence. “Australia definitely is one of those nations that has been prioritising women’s sport with investment and I think we’ve seen the results of that this year with how amazing the women did at the Olympics,” she says. “Hopefully that can have an effect all over the world and we can show everyone else what prioritising women’s sport can lead to.”
In case you’re in need of a refresher, Australian athletes brought home a record tally of 18 gold medals from the Paris Olympics – 13 of which were won by female athletes. Lewis wasn’t one of the gold medal winners, but she’s flashed enough potential to show that she can be one in the future.
Lewis came into the Paris Olympics with high expectations of herself. She’d elected not to run in the 100 metre event to focus on the 200 metres (she assures us she will run both in the future) and it paid off. She ran a personal best time in her heat but finished one place short of direct qualification to the semifinals. Instead, she went into the repechage round, winning her heat to progress. In the semis, she was only 0.54 seconds away from qualifying for the Olympic final.
Lewis lived up to expectations at the Olympics, and the Games also lived up to hers. “I think [the Olympics] did live up to the hype. Everyone says how it’s so amazing and you kind of take that with a grain of salt, but it really did live up to the expectations that I had for it,” she says.
Less than a month later, Lewis’ star rose even higher after she won silver at the under-20 athletics world championships, setting another personal best in the process. It was this performance that Lewis says proves she has what it takes to compete with the best athletes in the world. “I think it shows that I have that bounce back ability, which is definitely needed if you want to be one of the best,” she says. “To come off the Olympics and run a PB and get that silver medal, I was very happy with it, especially with how I dealt with the pressure of coming in as one of the favourites.”
Lewis’ recent results haven’t gone unnoticed. During Athlos, she’ll be competing alongside names like Gabby Thomas and Faith Kipyegon, who were both Paris gold medallists. It’s Thomas in particular, the Olympic 200-metre champion, who Lewis has taken a shine to as a role model and training partner. “I’ve learned so much from her and she’s just so humble, welcoming and has been so kind to me, even though to her I’m probably just this random chick from Australia.”
Thomas and Lewis will go head-to-head during Athlos, and while Lewis has the potential to be a future gold medallist, she’s modest about her current chances against the reigning champion. “I’m a realist, I do not think I can beat her at all,” she says with a chuckle. “I’ve just spent the last three weeks training with her and getting my butt beat at training every day, so I don’t think I’m quite ready to beat her just yet. But I’ll give it my best shot.”
At 19, Lewis is already the fastest Australian woman in history and is mentioned in the same breath as Olympic champions. As a result, she’ll have to shoulder the weight of heavy expectations for the rest of her athletic career. Not one to buckle under stress, Lewis is taking the extra attention in her stride. “I think the spotlight brings more excitement, especially with how track is beginning to get more global recognition. I wouldn’t say that it adds any pressure to perform though. It’s a privilege that I get these eyes on me to hopefully help other people fall in love with the sport.” With an attitude like that, the only way is up.
STORY BY – CAYLE REID