Aussie teen Torrie Lewis upsets world champ in stunning Diamond League victory

Australian 100m record holder Torrie Lewis has made a huge statement on the international stage just three months out from Paris 2024, with a breakthrough win in the 200 metres at the season-opening Diamond League event in Xiamen, China.

Lewis, running in the outside lane, flew home to win in 22.96 seconds.

The 19-year-old edged Tokyo 2020 gold medallist and reigning 100m world champion Sha'Carri Richardson by just 0.03 seconds in a photo finish.

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American Tamara Clark (23.01) took third place.

Making her individual Diamond League debut after a successful domestic campaign, which included setting the new national 100-metre record in January, Lewis led the undercard.

Speaking after her Diamond League win, Lewis could barely believe she could win in such a high-calibre field.

"No, not at all. It was so surreal beating Sha'Carri. I didn't even notice I beat them until I saw the replay and I was like, 'Holy crap'. So surreal." she said.

"My goal was to just hold on as long as I could. I was in lane nine, so I knew they would all be in front of me by 50 or 60 metres, but I just wanted to do as well as I could.

"I've come here straight from the nationals, knowing this was my opponents' season-opener, so I knew I had an edge coming in, but I just wasn't entirely sure because I had never raced those athletes before."

Lewis clocked the second fastest 200m of her career as she continued to close the gap between Raelene Boyle's 56-year old Australian under-20 record as well as the Olympic qualifying standard of 22.57.

The English-born Lewis sat out the 100 metres at last week's national athletics championships in Adelaide to focus on her specialty distance and the event she will most likely race in Paris — the 200m.