DINA READY TO BEAT THE ELITE AND RULE THE WORLD
Asher-Smith taking on sprint royalty in Doha in bid to end 36-year wait
DINA ASHER-SMITH almost has to pinch herself that she is now sprinting royalty as she bids for golden glory at the World Championships in Doha.
“Being there among the top women in the world has blown all of our minds,” she said. “But I still want to push on, I want to come away and be the best.”
No British sprinter has won a World Championship title since Linford Christie in 1993.
Kathy Cook’s 200m bronze in Helsinki 36 years ago stands alone as the only individual world sprint medal won by a British woman.
Yet Asher-Smith arrives from this barren landscape as the favourite to win the 200m ahead of Elaine Thompson and ShellyAnn Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica.
“To be among the top one per cent in the world in track and field is a big thing, let alone the top one per cent as a sprinter,” added Asher-Smith.
“There definitely is a little expectation but it’s something that’s nice and refreshing as a British female sprinter.”
Asher-Smith has spent two years since the last worlds building up to the challenge of doubling up in Qatar.
She must race six days out of seven, with finals this Sunday (100m), next Wednesday (200m) and Saturday week (4x100m relay).
“My coach, John Blackie, has tested me and it has been painful, which is why the decision to double up isn’t one I’ve taken lightly,” she said.
“But two years is the time period you need to build up the strength to be able to put together six elite standard sprint races and then recover and be ready for the relay.”
Asher-Smith’s hard work has already paid dividends. She won the Diamond League 100m title in Brussels earlier this month a year after sweeping the board with a hat-trick of golds at the European Championships in Berlin.
Blackie recalled of the European 100m: “I don’t break down in tears too often but watching Dina that day I did get emotional.”