Tamsyn Carolyn Lewis (born 20 July 1978) is an Australian media personality and formertrack and fieldathlete who won a total of eighteenAustralian Championships across the400 metres,800 metres and400 m hurdles.[1] She first represented Australia in 1994, and won the800 metres in the2008 World Indoor Championships.[2]
Lewis was born and raised inMelbourne,Victoria and attendedMethodist Ladies' College andCaulfield Grammar School.[3] Her motherCarolyn Wright was a six-time nationalhigh jump champion, while her father,Greg Lewis, was a semi-finalist in the200 metres at theSummer 1968 Olympics. She marriedAustraliancricketerGraham Manou in 2011.[2][4]
Lewis emerged 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 15, for the1994 Commonwealth Games as a4 × 400 metres relay runner, though she did not eventually compete in the event.[5] Her next international selection was for the1996 World Junior Championships inSydney, where she won a bronze medal as part of the Australian 4 × 400 metres relay team.
In 1998, Lewis moved up to the 800 metres, winning theNational Championship and gaining a place in the1998 Commonwealth Games team. Though she did not win a medal in the 800 metres, she contributed to Australia's gold medal winning 4 × 400 metres relay team.[5] She next ran internationally in the 800 metres and 4 × 400 metres relay at the1999 World Indoor Championships inMaebashi, where 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 × 400 metres relay team.
Leading up to the2000 Sydney Summer Olympics, Lewis set new personal bests in the 400 and 800 metres to qualify for the Australian team. At the Olympics, she missed the Olympic final in the 800 metres by less than a tenth of a second, but ran in Australia's 4 × 400 metres relay team which set two national records.
In the following years, Lewis did not improve her personal best performances and gained a reputation as an underachiever in international competitions.[6] She stopped running the 800 metres in 2005 to focus on the 400 metres and develop her speed. She competed only in the 400 metres at the2006 Commonwealth Games, where she missed making the final, and in the 4 × 400 metres relay event, where she won her third successive gold medal amidst amajor controversy, as part of the victorious Australian quartet.[5]
In 2007 Lewis made a return to the 800 metres under new coach, and brother, Justin Lewis, winning the national championships, placing in several European Meetings and qualifying for the2007 World Championships, where she finished fourth in her heat in 2:01.21 and again missed the final.[5]
Lewis enjoyed a return to her best form in early 2008, remaining undefeated over 400 metres and 800 metres in Australia.[7] She ran a personal best time of 51.44 to win the national 400 metres titles and comfortably retained her 800 metres crown.[7] These performances earned Lewis selection in her third consecutive Australian Olympic team.[2]
At the2008 World Indoor Championships, held inValencia, Spain, Lewis qualified for the final by running an Australian record of 2:01.85 in her heat. In a tactical final, Lewis broke away from perennial championMaria de Lurdes Mutola andUkrainianTetiana Petlyuk to win the gold medal in a major upset.[8] Lewis said "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."[8]
Lewis represented Australia at the2008 Olympics inBeijing.[2] Here she made the semi-final of the 800 metres and narrowly missed qualifying for the semi-final of the 400 metres.
At the 2009 Australian Championships, Lewis won both the 400 metres and the 400 m hurdles.
Over her athletics career, Lewis won a total of 18 national titles,[1] and her coaches included Peter Fortune (Cathy Freeman's coach),Sebastian Coe andDaley Thompson.
Lewis won a number of international medals in the 4 × 400 m relay:[5]
Lewis began her media career withMelbourne radio stationTriple M, as part of the 'Dead Set Legends' crew, in 2005.[10]
In 2006, she appeared on the Australian television seriesDancing with the Stars. Partnered by Arsen Kishishian, Lewis finished third.[11]
From December 2007, withJules Lund andRyan Shelton, Lewis presented theSummer Fling breakfast show across the Austereo Today Network.[12]
Lewis andBruce McAvaney presented the athletics track events for theSeven Network at the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro[13] and at the2021 Summer Olympics inTokyo.
In 2004, Lewis posed in bikinis forRalph magazine, prompting criticism from the media for losing focus on her preparation for theAthens Olympics. After Lewis failed to progress past the heats of her individual event, the 800 metres, she and her coaches defended the photoshoot saying it was undertaken in five hours on one day and was not to blame for her result.[14]
In February 2006, Lewis and fellow Australian runnerJana Pittman were involved in a public feud after the Australian athletics trials for the2006 Commonwealth Games.[15] 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."[16]
In the 29 May 2006 edition of Australian "Zoo Weekly" magazine, Lewis again posed in whatNova 100 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".[17]
| Event | Time | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 m | 51.42 | Brisbane,Australia | 20 March 2009 |
| 400 m hurdles | 56.27 | Brisbane,Australia | 21 March 2009 |
| 800 m | 1:59.21 | Canberra,Australia | 15 January 2000 |
| 800 m indoor | 2:01.85 | Valencia,Spain | 7 March 2008 |
| Year | 400 m | 800 m | 400 m 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 | – |
| 2012 | - | 1 | – |
| Year | 400 m | 800 m | 400 m 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 |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Commonwealth Games champions in women's4 × 400 metres relay | |
|---|---|
|
Australians at the2009 World Championships in Athletics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  | ||
Australian athletes at the2011 World Championships in Athletics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| | ||
| Preceded by Toby Allen & Leanne Bampton | Dancing with the Stars (Australia) third place contestant Season 5 (Late 2006 with Arsen Kishishian) | Succeeded by |
