Tamsyn Lewis out of 400m hurdles

Tamsyn Lewis's late-career change of event has hit a barrier, with the Victorian
failing in a bid to better the final qualifying mark in the 400m hurdles for the
world athletics championships.

Lewis had provisionally qualified in both the 400m flat and hurdles races for the
world titles starting in Berlin on Friday.
But she decided last month to focus on the one-lap hurdles, only to fail to match
the village entry standard of 56.55 seconds by the cut-off date on Monday.
She made two late unsuccessful bids over the last couple of days in provincial meets
in Germany, clocking 57.31 in Cottbus on Saturday and 56.81 in Dusseldorf on Monday
night.
Australia will now be unrepresented in the women's 400m hurdles in Berlin, with
two-time world champion Jana Pittman-Rawlinson forced out last month with a back
injury.
After focusing on the 800m and then the 400m for much of her long career, Lewis
decided to target the 400m hurdles after claiming an impressive victory in 56.27 at
the national titles in Brisbane in March.
She and her coach and brother Justin Lewis must now decide which event she should
specialise in for the remainder of her career.
But Lewis will remain with the Australian team in Berlin as part of the 4x400m relay
squad.
Young sprinter Melissa Breen also failed to match the final qualifying mark in the
100m and was withdrawn from the team.
But the other two athletes who were on the cusp of selection, steeplechaser Youcef
Abdi and high jumper Petrina Price, performed impressively in the German meets over
the weekend to secure their places in the Australian squad.