CLEAN CUT, TALENTED AND A ROLE MODEL . . . SHE COULD EARN MILLIONS

AFTER inheriting Jessica EnnisHill’s mantle as the queen of British sport, Dina Asher-Smith found herself in a unique position upon landing at Heathrow yesterday morning. On her prime objective of sporting domination, the world would appear to be open to a 22-year-old sprinter whose performances in the 100m, 200m and relay in Berlin last week have re-written the script on what we might expect in Doha at next year’s World Championships and the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. As Neil Black, the performance director of British Athletics, says: ‘Competitors have

finally registered what she can do. When you put Dina’s multiple gold medal-winning and world-class times together, if they are not fearful, if they are not respectful, then they must be crazy.’ But it is into the world of other crazy numbers that Asher-Smith will now gain access, and in which she ought to tread carefully. She stands to make the kind of money not seen by a female sportswoman in this country since Ennis-Hill, according to industry experts, and that is not without its complications. The consensus of those who have spent even the smallest amount of time with Asher-Smith is that no amount of riches will distract her from her pursuit of medals. But it will be fascinating to see how she deals with the elevated profile and pressure that comes from mass, prime-time audiences on the BBC across three nights in the past seven days. James Melville, a director of 95, a sponsorship consultancy, believes there will be a major clamour from brands to get on board with Asher-Smith between now and 2020. On that score, it is interesting that as of yesterday, the only company logos obvious on her personal website belonged to Nike, Six Pad training gear and Muller, the dairy company that partners with British Athletics and for whom Asher-Smith is an ambassador. Forecasting a surge in interest, Melville told Sportsmail: ‘The fact that Dina Asher-Smith was live on the BBC will have put her in front of a massive audience, and that extra visibility is very important to a brand. ‘Her commercial potential at this point is extremely high, but it is also linked to performance. If she does well in Doha next year it will grow and if she continues doing well in the build-up to the Olympics then that is when you will see real growth. ‘There is a real chance that she could become a household name and if she then does well at the Olympics, such as winning a medal, then we could even see her reaching the levels of Jessica Ennis-Hill. ‘If I was advising a brand I would be saying that now is a perfect time to work with her. She comes across well on TV, she is a good role model, she doesn’t say the wrong things. ‘She has potential for seven-figure earnings and that will only grow as the Olympics get closer but the key is that her performances keep improving and that she strikes a balance.’ Ennis-Hill, who two years after her retirement remains prominent in the marketing of Santander bank and is worth a reported £5m, has previously spoken of the vast challenges that came with being the face of London 2012. Asher-Smith hasn’t won nearly as much as Ennis-Hill at this stage. And the sprinter won’t have the blinding spotlight of a home Olympics, but, even more so than Ennis, she is the main hope of her team. Britain is not blessed with obvious challengers at world level, beyond perhaps Laura Muir, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and the male sprinters, so it is a reasonable expectation that Asher-Smith will shoulder the vast majority of a nation’s hopes. How she copes will be key. But for now, the skies are clearer for British Athletics than they have been in some time, thanks largely to that one 5ft 5in runner. As Black said: ‘There is more to come, and Dina knows that. I honestly think this is the beginning. I don’t think these performances are it.’ Her potential is great across the board.