Jessica Lewis missed out on a podium finish after coming fourth in the T53 200 metres at the International Paralympic Committee Athletics World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Competing against the best wheelchair sprinters in the world, Lewis finished in a time of 31.58sec, less than a second behind third-place Samantha Kinghorn, of Britain, in 30.72.

Race winner Angela Ballard, of Australia, set a championship record in 29.33, with Catherine Debrunner, of Switzerland, taking silver in 30.64.

Considering she missed out on the finals in the 200 at the previous championships in Lyon in 2013, Lewis said she was elated with her fourth-place finish.

“I feel absolutely incredible about finishing fourth,” said Lewis, who will also race in the 100, 400 and 800.

“I felt really strong and powerful in the race and hit a max speed of 28.5 [kilometres per hour] which is what my coach [Ken Thom] wanted me to hit.”

Lewis become the golden girl of Bermuda athletics after storming to gold in the 100 metres at the Parapan Am Games in Toronto last summer.

She will be hoping to medal in the 100 — her favourite event — when she returns to the Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium for today’s semi-finals. The final will take place tomorrow.

“I feel so lucky that I get to race against the best athletes in the world,” said Lewis, who set a Parapan Am record in the 100 in 17.67.

“To know that I’m up there with them is definitely humbling.

“This is definitely just the beginning for me in track and I’m looking forward to working even harder to get faster and stronger in the future.

“I’m not really focusing on medalling [in the 100]. I’m focusing on my technique and running the race I’m capable of running. If I do that the time and the medal will come.”

Lewis’s mother Lorri, who has travelled to Doha, said her daughter’s performances this season have more than proven that she belongs on the world stage.

“Jessica has had an amazing year,” she said. “We are all so proud of her. It’s so incredible to see her out on that track keeping up with the best women in the world in the T53 class.

“It just shows that if you put your mind to something and work really hard you can achieve greatness. She is living proof of this.

“It should be remembered that Parapan Am was a regional competition whereas in Doha she is racing against the best in the world.”

“Jessica didn’t make the 200 final in 2013 and now we are fourth in the world.”

Lewis became Bermuda’s first Paralympian at the London Games in 2012 and has already qualified in the 100 and 400 for the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next summer.

The Brock University student represented Bermuda at the Parapan Am Games alongside team-mates Steve Wilson and Yushae DeSilva-Andrade, who competed in the preliminary rounds of Boccia — a precision ball game, related to bowls, played by wheelchair athletes.

All three athletes were introduced to the world of adaptive sport at WindReach Bermuda in Warwick, which helps people with a wide range of disabilities.

Germany’s Vanessa Low, a T42 long jumper, set one of six world records on the first day of the World Championships.

Low was in scintillating form as she got the better of her great rival Martina Caironi of Italy — who she beat to the European title last year — to take gold.

She bettered the world record two times — a record that she had previously shared with the 2013 world champion Caironi.

Her third round leap of 4.79 added 19 centimetres on to her previous best and the 25-year-old said she was thrilled with her performance, which included three jumps over 4.70.

“I’m over the moon. It was a great competition for me, I was so nervous,” said Low.

About 1,400 athletes from 100 countries are competing in Doha in the final major international event ahead of next year’s Paralympic Games in Rio.