Tamsyn Lewis

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Tamsyn Carolyn Lewis (born July 20, 1978) is an Australian athlete and middle-distance runner.

Lewis was raised in Melbourne, Victoria and attended Caulfield Grammar School. She made headlines recently when she came out saying that she had suffered from an eating disorder during her schooling years. Her mother Carolyn Wright was a junior high jump champion and her father an Olympic sprinter. She burst onto the national athletics scene in 1994, winning several events at the Australian Championships (100m (U-16), 200m (U-16), 400m (U-20)) and qualifying for the 1994 Commonwealth Games.

Lewis has subsequently gained a reputation as an underachiever, despite competing in two Olympic Games and three Commonwealth Games for Australia. Her best form came at the time of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as she ran career-best times in the 400m and 800m during the year, but failed to qualify for the Olympic 400m behind Cathy Freeman, and only reached the semi-final of the 800m. In 2005 Lewis gave away the 800m to focus on the one-lap event only.

Tamsyn's only international medals have been for relays, where she is now a three-time gold medal winner in the Commonwealth Games 4x400m event.

At Kuala Lumpur 1998, Lewis joined Lee Naylor, Tania Van-Heer and Susan Andrews to win in a time of 3m27.28s.

At Manchester 2002, Lewis ran the third leg in a team which featured Olympic 400m champion Cathy Freeman, Lauren Hewitt and, anchoring, 400m 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 3m25.63s.

At Melbourne 2006, Lewis and her teammates Pittman, Caitlin Willis and Rosemary Hayward were a distant second across the line being well beaten by England; again Lewis had run the third leg, and immediately after the race lodged a protest against Natasha Danvers for a rule breach at the baton change. However Lewis did not seem so willing to inform Natasha Danvers at the time of the race that she was in breach of the rules and seemingly moved aside for her. England was disqualified and Australia awarded the gold medal; the time 3m28.66s.

In 2006, Lewis appeared on the popular Australian television series Dancing with the Stars, partnered by Arsen Kishishian.

[edit] Controversies

In 2004, Lewis posed in bikinis for Ralph magazine, prompting criticsm from the media and professional athletics community for losing focus on her preparation for the Athens Olympics. Also, Tamsyn was voted the 'sexiest babe in Melbourne' award on local radio station Nova 100. When Tamsyn failed to progress past the heats of her individual event, the 800 metres, both Lewis and her coaches (she is coached by former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe) were force again to defend saying that the photoshoot was not to blame for her result.^[1]

In February 2006, Lewis and fellow Australian runner Jana Pittman continued a long-standing feud after the Australian athletics trials ahead of the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Lewis called Pittman a "bitch" during a radio interview after she finished in front of Pittman in the 400m final, and later described their relationship as a "catfight and a bitchfight."^[2]