MUCH HAS CHANGED for 19-year-old sprinter Torrie Lewis over the past 12 months. In January, she became the fastest woman in Australian history by setting the national record in the 100 metres with a blistering time of 11.10 seconds. In August, Lewis made her Olympic debut, progressing to the semifinals of the 200 metres by winning her repechage heat. Then, later in the month, she took home silver in the same event at the under 20 athletics world championships in Peru. But really, Lewis is just getting started.
When she catches up with Women’s Health, Lewis is wandering the bustling streets of New York City searching for something gluten-free to eat for dinner. “I’m in the middle of Times Square right now,” is what she says by way of explaining the taxi horns that are blaring through the speaker of her phone as she navigates the crowds. “Are you sure you can hear me properly?” she asks multiple times.
Lewis is in New York for Athlos, an all-female track meet that aims to champion women’s sports by providing a larger financial reward than any other athletics event. Athlos – which will take place on September 26th – is the brainchild of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who has long been a backer of women’s sports, dating back to his role as his wife Serena Williams’ unofficial cheerleader. Thirty-four athletes will compete across six races during Athlos, with the winner of each event receiving $60,000 in prize money, double the purse of any other official athletics event. A further 10 per cent of all profits raised by the event will go to the athletes competing.
The idea is to increase the financial incentive for women to compete in sports by investing in them when governing bodies won’t. This, Lewis believes, can only have a positive impact on women’s sports. “It’s just hard to live up to the title of ‘professional athlete’ when you’re struggling for rent, food, or groceries, which is the reality sometimes,” she says. “Having an event like Athlos that gives more financial support to athletes is great, and it can only lead to improved performance because having that financial backing means you can focus more on preparing for the track.”
