Record run: Australia’s fastest woman helps end 24-year Olympic drought

1 week ago 6

By John Salvado

May 5, 2024 — 4.28pm

A squad anchored by Australia’s fastest pistillate Torrie Lewis has smashed the nationalist 4x100m grounds for the 2nd clip this twelvemonth to assertion an automatic spot astatine the Paris Olympics.

Racing astatine the World Relays conscionable successful the Bahamas, Ebony Lane, Bree Masters, Ella Connolly and Lewis clocked 42.83 seconds to decorativeness 2nd successful their vigor down Germany.

It was the 5th fastest wide time, with the apical 2 successful each vigor advancing to the last and guaranteeing their places for the Olympics successful aboriginal August. The US women were fastest successful the Bahamas qualifying circular successful 42.21.

“I deliberation we each had a batch of spot successful each other, truthful we said, you cognize what, let’s conscionable relax, we’ve done the enactment and we’ve done this a cardinal times,” Connolly said.

“Let’s conscionable spell bash this and suffice for the Olympics together.”

The aforesaid quartet had flagged they were destined for large things by moving 42.94 astatine the Sydney Track Classic successful precocious March, breaking an Australian modular that had stood for 24 years. They volition tally successful the last connected Monday (AEST).

“I’m truthful speechless! I had afloat religion that we could bash it, but we really did it and it’s conscionable wild. To person that automatic Olympic qualification is so, truthful exciting,” Masters said.

Lewis, 19, is besides well-placed to contention either the idiosyncratic 100m oregon 200m successful Paris. Last month, she bushed the satellite 100-metre champ Sha’Carri Richardson successful a stunning 200m triumph astatine the season’s opening Diamond League gathering successful China.

In that contention she clocked 22.96, the 2nd quickest 200 metres of her career. It besides edged her person to Raelene Boyle’s 56-year-old Australian under-20 grounds arsenic good arsenic the Olympic qualifying modular of 22.57.

In the Bahamas, Australia’s 4x100m men went wrong a whisker of besides claiming an automatic Olympic slot connected time 1 astatine the World Relays.

The young squad of Sebastian Sultana, Jacob Despard, Calab Law and Joshua Azzopardi clocked 38.50, lone to beryllium pipped for 2nd spot by Jamaica successful a photograph finish.

They person different accidental to enactment up an Olympic berth successful the repechage circular connected Sunday (Monday AEST).

“Jamaica person ever been specified a powerhouse team, truthful to adjacent beryllium successful the aforesaid speech with them is benignant of surreal,” said Azzopardi.

“If we tally astir the aforesaid clip tomorrow, past we should beryllium going to Paris but we volition request to execute and tally to our afloat potential.”

If they are palmy successful that quest, Australia’s starring antheral sprinter Rohan Browning would beryllium added to the relay squad successful Paris.

An American squad including satellite 100m and 200m champ Noah Lyles led the automatic qualifiers successful 37.49 – the fastest clip successful the satellite this year.

Australia’s men’s and women’s 4x400m squads volition contention the repechage rounds successful the Bahamas connected Sunday.

AAP