By John Salvado
A squad anchored by Australia’s fastest woman Torrie Lewis has smashed the national 4x100m record for the second time this year to claim an automatic spot at the Paris Olympics.
Racing at the World Relays meet in the Bahamas, Ebony Lane, Bree Masters, Ella Connolly and Lewis clocked 42.83 seconds to finish second in their heat behind Germany.
Australia’s fastest woman Torrie Lewis.Credit: Getty Images
It was the fifth fastest overall time, with the top two in each heat advancing to the final and guaranteeing their places for the Olympics in early August. The US women were fastest in the Bahamas qualifying round in 42.21.
“I think we all had a lot of trust in each other, so we said, you know what, let’s just relax, we’ve done the work and we’ve done this a million times,” Connolly said.
“Let’s just go do this and qualify for the Olympics together.”
The same quartet had flagged they were destined for great things by running 42.94 at the Sydney Track Classic in late March, breaking an Australian standard that had stood for 24 years. They will run in the final on Monday (AEST).
“I’m so speechless! I had full faith that we could do it, but we actually did it and it’s just wild. To have that automatic Olympic qualification is so, so exciting,” Masters said.
Lewis, 19, is also well-placed to contest either the individual 100m or 200m in Paris. Last month, she beat the world 100-metre champ Sha’Carri Richardson in a stunning 200m triumph at the season’s opening Diamond League meeting in China.
In that race she clocked 22.96, the second quickest 200 metres of her career. It also edged her closer to Raelene Boyle’s 56-year-old Australian under-20 record as well as the Olympic qualifying standard of 22.57.
In the Bahamas, Australia’s 4x100m men went within a whisker of also claiming an automatic Olympic slot on day one at the World Relays.
The young team of Sebastian Sultana, Jacob Despard, Calab Law and Joshua Azzopardi clocked 38.50, only to be pipped for second spot by Jamaica in a photo finish.
They have another chance to shore up an Olympic berth in the repechage round on Sunday (Monday AEST).
“Jamaica have always been such a powerhouse team, so to even be in the same conversation with them is kind of surreal,” said Azzopardi.
“If we run roughly the same time tomorrow, then we should be going to Paris but we will need to execute and run to our full potential.”
If they are successful in that quest, Australia’s leading male sprinter Rohan Browning would be added to the relay squad in Paris.
An American team including world 100m and 200m champ Noah Lyles led the automatic qualifiers in 37.49 – the fastest time in the world this year.
Australia’s men’s and women’s 4x400m squads will contest the repechage rounds in the Bahamas on Sunday.
AAP
