Tamsyn Lewis
Encyclopedia
Tamsyn Carolyn Lewis (born 20 July 1978) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n athlete and middle-distance
Middle distance track event
Middle distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle distance event. The 880 yard run, or half mile, was the forebear to the...

 runner
Running
Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...

, who has won a total of seventeen Australian Championships
Australian Championships in Athletics
The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athletes wishing to compete at the Olympic Games,...

 at 400 metres
400 metres
The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...

, 800 metres
800 metres
The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...

 and 400m hurdles.

An Australian international representative since 1994, Lewis won the World Indoor Championship
2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7-9, 2008.-Bid:Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, Russia.-Men:...

 at 800 metres
800 metres
The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...

 in March 2008.

Personal life

She was born and raised in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 and attended Methodist Ladies' College
Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne
Methodist Ladies' College is an independent, non-selective, day and boarding school for girls, located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...

 and Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School is an independent, co-educational, Anglican, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield began admitting girls exactly one hundred years later...

.

Her mother Carolyn Wright
Carolyn Wright
Carolyn Lewis , is a former Australian athlete who competed in the high jump.She competed for the Novacastrians club in Newcastle and the Ryde Athletics Club in Sydney...

 was a six time national high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....

 champion, while her father, Greg Lewis
Greg Lewis (athlete)
Gregory Lewis is a former Australian Olympic athlete who competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres.-Achievements:...

, was a semi finalist in the 200 metres
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...

 at the Mexico City Olympic Games.

Through her career Lewis has been assisted by a number of well-known athletics coaches, including Peter Fortune (Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman
Catherine Astrid Salome "Cathy" Freeman, OAM is former Australian sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.Freeman was the first ever Aboriginal...

's coach), Sebastian Coe and Daley Thompson
Daley Thompson
Francis Morgan Ayodélé "Daley" Thompson CBE , is a former decathlete from England. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four times....

. Her husband is Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

er Graham Manou
Graham Manou
Graham Allan Manou is an Australian cricketer who plays for the Southern Redbacks in Australian domestic cricket. He is a wicket-keeper and aggressive right-handed batsman who has taken more dismissals than any other South Australian player in One Day domestic cricket.Manou was a successful junior...

.

Athletics career

Lewis burst onto the national athletics scene in 1994, winning several events at the Australian Championships: the Under-16 100 m/200 m double and the Under-20 400 m. After these performances she was chosen, aged just 15, for the 1994 Commonwealth Games
1994 Commonwealth Games
The 1994 Commonwealth Games were held in Victoria, in the province of British Columbia in Canada, from 18 August to 28 August 1994.The XV Commonwealth Games marked South Africa's return to the Commonwealth Games following the apartheid era, and over 30 years since the country last competed in the...

 as a 4 x 400 metres relay
4 x 400 metres relay
The 4 x 400 meters relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams comprise four runners who each complete 400 meters or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, the first 500 meters is run in lanes...

 runner, though she did not eventually compete in the event.

Her next international selection was for the 1996 World Junior Championships
1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics
The 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 1996 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Sydney, Australia.-Men:-Women:-Medals table:-External links:* at GBRathletics.com...

 in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, where she won a bronze medal as part of the Australian 4 x 400 metres relay team.

In 1998, Lewis moved up to the 800 metres distance, winning the National Championship
Australian Championships in Athletics
The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athletes wishing to compete at the Olympic Games,...

 and gaining a place in the 1998 Commonwealth Games
1998 Commonwealth Games
The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...

 team. Though she did not win a medal in the 800 m, she contributed to Australia's gold medal winning 4 x 400 m relay team.

She next ran internationally in the 800 metres and 4 x 400 metres relay at the 1999 World Indoor Championships
1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the Green Dome Maebashi stadium in Maebashi, Japan from March 5 to March 7, 1999. It was the first time the Championships were staged outside Europe or North America. Primo Nebiolo, president of the IAAF, characterized the...

 in Maebashi. Here she set an Australian indoor record of 2-02.42 in her individual event and again won a medal as part of Australia's 4 x 400 metres relay team.

Leading into the 2000 Sydney Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

, Lewis enjoyed her best form, setting new personal best times for 400 and 800 metres in qualifying for the Australian team. At the Games, she was unlucky to miss out on making the Olympic final in the 800 metres, failing by less than one tenth of a second, but ran in Australia's 4 x 400 metres relay team which set two national records.

In the years after Sydney, Lewis could not improve her personal best performances and gained a reputation as an underachiever in international competitions. Lewis gave away the 800 m in 2005 to focus on the one-lap event and develop her speed. She competed at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...

 only in the 400 m, where she missed making the final, and in the 4 x 400 metres relay event, where she won her third successive gold medal amidst a major controversy, as part of the victorious Australian quartet.

In 2007 Tamsyn made a return to the 800 m distance under new coach, and brother, Justin Lewis, winning the 800 m national championships, placing in several European Meetings and qualifying for the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Athletics
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.-History:...

. In Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

 she finished fourth in her heat in 2.01.21 and was again unable to make the final.

Lewis enjoyed a return to her very best form in early 2008, remaining undefeated over 400 m and 800 metres in Australia. She ran a personal best time of 51.44 to win the national 400 metres titles and comfortably retained her 800 metres crown. These performances earned Tamsyn selection in a third consecutive Australian Olympic team.

At the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships
2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7-9, 2008.-Bid:Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, Russia.-Men:...

, held in Valencia, Spain, Lewis qualified for the final running an Australian record of 2-01.85 in her heat. In a tactical final, Lewis broke away from perennial champion Maria de Lurdes Mutola and Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 Tetiana Petlyuk to win the gold medal in a major upset. Lewis was shocked herself saying: "I was wondering what I was doing out there. Then I realised that I could win the race. This is amazing. I still can't believe it."

Lewis represented Australia at the 2008 Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

. Here she made the semi final of the 800 m and narrowly missed qualifying for the semi final of the 400 m.

At the Australian National Championships in Brisbane 2009 Lewis won both the 400 m and the 400 m Hurdles. This took her career tally to 15 National Titles.

Relay teams

Tamsyn has won a number of international medals in the 4 x 400 m relay:
  • At the 1996 World Junior Championships in Sydney
    1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics
    The 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 1996 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Sydney, Australia.-Men:-Women:-Medals table:-External links:* at GBRathletics.com...

    , Lewis, Rosemary Hayward, Josephine Fowley and Jennifer Marshall won a bronze medal, recording a time of 3-32.47. SEUNG HYUN WOO.

  • At the 1999 World Indoor Championships
    1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships
    The 7th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the Green Dome Maebashi stadium in Maebashi, Japan from March 5 to March 7, 1999. It was the first time the Championships were staged outside Europe or North America. Primo Nebiolo, president of the IAAF, characterized the...

     in Maebashi, Lewis combined with Susan Andrews, Tania Van-Heer and Cathy Freeman
    Cathy Freeman
    Catherine Astrid Salome "Cathy" Freeman, OAM is former Australian sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.Freeman was the first ever Aboriginal...

     to win a silver medal in an Australian record of 3-26.87.


Lewis is also a three-time gold medal winner in the Commonwealth Games 4 x 400 m relay event.
  • At Kuala Lumpur 1998
    1998 Commonwealth Games
    The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...

    , Lewis joined Lee Naylor
    Lee Naylor (athlete)
    Lee Michelle Naylor is a retired middle-distance runner from Australia. She qualified to the quarterfinals in the 400 metres at the 1996 Summer Olympics before finishing 8th and ran on her national 4x400 metres relay team that finished 6th in the qualifying round...

    , Tania Van-Heer and Susan Andrews to win in a time of 3-27.28s.

  • At Manchester 2002
    2002 Commonwealth Games
    The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...

    , Lewis ran the third leg in a team which featured Olympic 400 m champion Cathy Freeman
    Cathy Freeman
    Catherine Astrid Salome "Cathy" Freeman, OAM is former Australian sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.Freeman was the first ever Aboriginal...

    , Lauren Hewitt
    Lauren Hewitt
    Lauren Katherine Hewitt is a track and field sprinter from Australia. She competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996, and won the bronze medal in the women's 200 metres at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.-References:* * *...

     and, anchoring, 400 m hurdles champion Jana Pittman. Australia's win was largely due to Tamsyn's run - having taken the baton from Hewitt in second place, she was able to give Pittman a lead at the last change - and the time was a Games record 3-25.63s.

  • At Melbourne 2006
    2006 Commonwealth Games
    The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...

    , Lewis and her teammates Pittman, Caitlin Willis and Rosemary Hayward were second across the line being beaten by England; again Lewis had run the third leg. After consultation with her fellow runners, both Lewis and Pittman informed officials of a rule breach by England's Natasha Danvers (IAAF Rule 170 – Item 9), which the officials had already noted. England was subsequently disqualified and Australia awarded the gold medal; the time 3-28.66s. Afterwards, Australian track legend Ron Clarke
    Ron Clarke
    Ronald William "Ron" Clarke, MBE is a former Australian athlete, writer, and current Mayor of the Gold Coast. He is one of the best known middle and long distance runners in the 1960s, notable for setting seventeen world records.- Early life and family :He attended Melbourne High School...

     called on the Australian team to return their gold medal.

Media career

Tamsyn commenced a media career with Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 radio station Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...

, as part of the 'Dead Set Legends' crew, in 2005.

In 2006, she appeared on the popular Australian television series Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series)
Dancing with the Stars is a Logie Award-winning, Australian light entertainment reality show airing on the Seven Network and filmed live from the HSV-7 studios in Melbourne...

. Partnered by Arsen Kishishian, Lewis finished third.

With Jules Lund
Jules Lund
Jules Lund is an Australian television presenter from Melbourne. He attended De La Salle College MalvernLund's career began when he won the FOX FM's "15 Minutes of Fame" competition on radio in the early 2000s...

 and Ryan Shelton
Ryan Shelton
Ryan Shelton is an Australian comedian, actor, radio presenter, television personality, host and writer.- Biography :He attended St Leonards College for some of his schooling, where he met Hamish Blake...

, Lewis presented the Summer Fling breakfast show across the Austereo Today Network, from December 2007.

Controversies

In 2004, Lewis posed in bikinis for Ralph magazine, prompting criticism from the media for losing focus on her preparation for the Athens Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

. Also, Tamsyn was voted the 'sexiest babe in Melbourne' award on local radio station Nova 100
Nova 100
Nova 100 is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, broadcasting on 100.3 MHz. It is in the Melbourne radio market, with the intention of challenging the number one FM Austereo station Fox FM by playing alternative, hip hop, pop & dance music, with a strong lean towards...

. When Tamsyn failed to progress past the heats of her individual event, the 800 metres, both Lewis and her coaches defended the photoshoot saying it was undertaken in five hours on one day and was not to blame for her result.

In February 2006, Lewis and fellow Australian runner Jana Pittman were involved in a very public feud after the Australian athletics trials for the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...

. Pittman, in answer to a media question following her heat win, had stated she had "no competition" in Australia; Lewis responded "I was standing behind the blocks [for the final] going, 'I'll give you no competition, bitch.'" in a radio interview after she won the final with Pittman finishing last. The media later described their relationship as a "catfight" and a "bitchfight."

In the 29 May 2006 edition of Australian "Zoo Weekly" magazine, Lewis again posed in what Nova 100
Nova 100
Nova 100 is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, broadcasting on 100.3 MHz. It is in the Melbourne radio market, with the intention of challenging the number one FM Austereo station Fox FM by playing alternative, hip hop, pop & dance music, with a strong lean towards...

 afternoon DJ's described as "incredibly racy" lingerie. In the accompanying article, Lewis went into detail about her relationship with Jana Pittman and the furore caused over comments by Pittman that the team should all return their medals.

In the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics she stated she would be running against drug cheats; "I have no doubts that when I line up next week, I will look left and right and know the other girls aren't all clean”.

Personal Bests

  • as at 10 March 2008
    Event Time Place Date
    400 m 51.42 Brisbane
    Brisbane
    Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

    , Australia
    Australia
    Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

     
    20 March 2009
    400m Hurdles 56.27 Brisbane
    Brisbane
    Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

    , Australia
    Australia
    Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

     
    21 March 2009
    800 m 1-59.21 Canberra
    Canberra
    Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

    , Australia
    Australia
    Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

     
    15 January 2000
    800 m indoor 2-01.85 Valencia, Spain
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

     
    7 March 2008

Australian Championships Record

  • as at 19 April 2010
    Year 400 m 800 m 400m Hurdles
    1998 - 1 -
    1999 - 1 -
    2000 - 1 -
    2001 - 1 -
    2002 - 1 -
    2003 - 1 -
    2004 - 2 (1st Australian) -
    2005 1 - -
    2006 2 (1st Australian) - -
    2007 1 1 -
    2008 1 1 -
    2009 1 - 1
    2010 4 (3rd Australian) - 2
    2011 1 1 -

Yearly Progression

  • as at 23 March 2009
    Year 400 m 800 m 400m Hurdles
    1993 54.84 - -
    1994 52.90 - -
    1995 53.01 - -
    1996 53.34 - -
    1997 - - -
    1998 52.60 2-01.71 -
    1999 52.58 2-00.95 -
    2000 51.51 1-59.21 -
    2001 53.07 2-00.86 -
    2002 52.21 1-59.73 -
    2003 52.85 1-59.35 -
    2004 53.72 2-00.96 -
    2005 52.44 2-11.37 -
    2006 52.36 2-06.52 -
    2007 51.71 1-59.37 -
    2008 51.44 1-59.43 -
    2009 51.42 - 56.27

External links

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