Australia’s fastest woman Torrie Lewis, has scorched her way to a new national record, advancing to the 100m Semis on the opening night of the World Athletics Championships, while Australia’s race walking and middle distance stars made their presence known in the green and gold in Tokyo.
Queenslander Lewis, 20, ran 11.08 (-0.8) to finish third in her star-stacked heat, won by defending World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson (USA) in 11.04s, with Jamaican Shericka Jackson second (11.04).
Lewis, who relocated to The Netherlands to train under internationally renowned coach Laurent Meuwly earlier this year, was buzzing after her brilliant run.
“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 for this race, so hopefully I can build on that,” Lewis said.
“I was so nervous because I just knew I could do it. I got the hardest line-up but after I let it sit, I was very glad I had them, because I can just run with them. Like, who cares if they beat me? They’re the best in the world ever, so I just wanted to run as fast as I could and go with them.”
The fastest qualifier from the heats was Olympic 100m Champion Julian Alfred in 10.94s, with Lewis the 10th fastest.
Teammate Bree Rizzo (QLD, Ryan Hoffman) ran 11.45 (-0.9) to finish sixth in her heat after battling a stint of long COVID and Ella Connolly (NSW, Andrew Murphy) finished seventh in her heat in a time of 11.43 (+0.5). Rizzo and Connolly will now look ahead to the 4x100m Relay later in the Championships.
In the men’s 100m heats, Australian champion Rohan Browning (NSW, Jack Edwards) narrowly missed a semi-finals berth, finishing fifth in his 100m heat in 10.16 (-0.8) seconds, with the lucky loser of the event advancing in 10.15. Joshua Azzopardi (NSW, Rob Marks) placed sixth in his heat in a time of 10.41 (-0.6).
Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull (NSW, Simon Hull) and former Australian 1500m record holder Linden Hall made light work of the Women’s 1500m heats, cruising to the semi-finals in style. Hull took advantage of a slower heat to win in 4:04.40 and boost her confidence ahead of her second round tomorrow, while compatriot Hall crossed the line fourth in 4:07.61, doing all she needed to, to secure a semi-finals berth.
“It was fun to win the heat. You don’t get to win too often and to do it here in Tokyo is pretty special, even though it’s a heat. It’s just practise and I felt really strong,” Hull said.
“My training, everything has been perfect but winning this, I got the reassurance I needed tonight and I’m feeling really good for tomorrow.”
World Athletics Championships debutant Sarah Billings (VIC, Nic Bideau) featured in Heat 3 but was unable to advance, finishing in 4:06.22 for ninth in a challenging field that featured Ethiopian star Freweyni Hailu (4:01.23) and USA medal hopeful Nikki Hiltz (4:01.73).
Lauren Ryan (VIC, Lara Rogers) and Isobel Batt-Doyle (SA, Nic Bideau) were the final Aussies in action on Day 1, racing the 10,000m Women’s Final.
Ryan had a great run to finish ninth in 31:27.78, and improve on her 13th-place finish at the Paris Olympics. Only Benita Willis, when eighth in 2003, has placed higher for Australia at a World Championships. Compatriot Batt-Doyle put in a solid run and finished 18th in 31:53.41, with the versatile marathon runner showing off her ability on the track.
Australia’s 2025 World Championship campaign began with strong performances in hot and steamy conditions for the 35km Men’s and Women’s Walk on Saturday morning in Tokyo.
Dual Olympian Rebecca Henderson (VIC, Simon Baker) produced her best performance at a major championships to walk into the top 10 over the final stages, finishing ninth in 2:50.03.Only one of four Australian women to achieve the top-10 status at the World Championships, Henderson was very pleased with her race and delivering a top performance on the world stage.
“I knew that on my best day I could probably be around that eighth to 12th, so to achieve that was very exciting,” Henderson said.
“I just tried to stay relaxed at the start and not worry if people got ahead because I knew it was hot and people were definitely going to come back to me throughout the race, which is what happened.”
Olivia Sandery (SA, Jared Tallent), who was side-by-side with Henderson for most of the race, held tough over the final kilometre but dropped a few places to finish 14th in 2:51.43. Alannah Pitcher (NSW, Frank Overton) remained composed, moving from 25th at halfway to 19th in 3:00.08. Spain’s Maria Perez defended her title, having made a break around the 25-kilometre mark and never looked back, winning comfortably by over three minutes in 2:39.01.
Rhydian Cowley (VIC, Brent Vallance), competing at his sixth World Championships, achieved his best placing across any distance with 11th in 2:33.28. The Australian record holder was in the lead pack throughout and maintained great form during a very tough and dramatic race – his first of two in Tokyo.
In their first Senior Australian Teams, World University Games medallist Will Thompson (VIC, Brent Vallance) and Canberran Mitchell Baker (Jared Tallent) both produced season-best performances and held their form in the gruelling later stages, despite Thompson citing a calf strain through competition. Thompson finished 25th (2:40.19) despite having cramping from around 20 kilometres into the race, and Baker held back early and finished stronger than many of his competitors to move up to 32nd (2:51:11).
Canada’s Evan Dunfee, who trains regularly in Australia, won his first global gold medal and the first gold of Tokyo 2025. Dunfee took the lead with four kilometres to race to withstand cramping and win by over 30 seconds in 2:28.22.
Discus thrower Taryn Gollshewsky (QLD, Les Kuorikoski) was hoping to find the best form of her season in the Tokyo qualification. Still, it wasn’t to be today for the Bundaberg product with a best throw of 55.40 metres.
Tokyo Olympian Ed Trippas (VIC, Craig Mottram) raced the opening heat of the Men’s 3000m Steeplechase in 8:46.51 to finish 12th. Despite not progressing to the final, national record holder Trippas was proud of his effort after suffering a minor back injury just three days ago, preventing him from finalising his preparation.
Australia was also represented in the Mixed 4x400m Relay at the World Championships for the first time by Luke van Ratingen (NSW, Ben Liddy), Mia Gross (VIC, John Nicolosi), Thomas Reynolds (VIC, Matthew Oakley) and anchor Carla Bull (QLD, Brett Robinson). Despite not being able to progress to the evening’s final, the team placed sixth in their heat and 10th overall in 3:13.36 – a jump from 34th in the world in April this year.
The 2025 World Athletics Championships continue tomorrow from 830am AEST. Australian viewers can watch every session live and free on SBS and the Nine Network.
By Sascha Ryner and Andrew Reid, Australian Athletics
Posted: 13/9/2025
