When Dina met Joanna Coates and Paula Dunn
Two women central to the future of athletics in the UK tell world champion Dina Asher-smith of their plans for the sport in the coming years
British athletics is in a transformative period, not just because of the pandemic, but due to big internal shifts in leadership and philosophies. Over the past year, I have been asked many times how this has affected me day to day, but, in all honestly, it has not.
My contact with UK Athletics mainly revolves around relay commitments and major championship events, with the occasional use of biomechanical resources. Since 2017, I have been largely independent, and – like many athletes – working away from the main hub in Loughborough. So, when there have been central changes, it has not affected what would have been my build-up to Tokyo 2020.
I value that independence, I am fortunate to have a strong support system in my parents, coach and management to help guide my decision-making, and loyal sponsors to give me financial freedom. And it has paid off, in the shape of three European golds and a World gold. But I am well aware that not all athletes have had the opportunity and means to make that choice and investment, which is why it is great to see UK Athletics making changes for the future of the sport.
If we are truly to talk about the future of our sport, from an athletes’ perspective, I thought it would be valuable to hear from the two most senior and influential figures in our sport right now: Joanna Coates and Paula Dunn, the new chief executive of UK Athletics and the para-athletics head coach respectively – two people with the power to bring about change.
As a former sprinter, Paula’s strategy is partly inspired by her experiences in the sport – good and bad. “When I left the sport, I didn’t feel I was really valued as an athlete,” she says. “So, my thinking is, I want to make sure everyone reaches their true potential, but also enjoys the event and feels valued by the sport. That, to me, is really important. Everybody should have a really positive memory whether they win a medal or not. It’s a tough gig, so if we get people to fulfil their potential – if that gets them on the podium, great, but if they get fourth or sixth – we should celebrate that too because it’s a tough journey and sometimes people forget that.”
Jo, who was chief executive of England Netball as the team won Commonwealth Games gold in 2018, agrees. “It’s about putting the athlete at the heart of everything we do,” she says. “We’ve got to think of an athlete as a 24 or 25-year-old who has made it to the top. It’s about everybody. That’s what the sport should be.”
To hear this as an athlete is music to my ears. Of course, we will have to wait and see how it pans out, but it makes me smile to hear Paula and Jo emphasise happiness, mental health and fulfilment in their vision for our future. Of course we want to win medals, get on podiums, smash personal bests and break records – that is why we work so hard, but that has to go hand in
‘I want to make sure everyone reaches their true potential, but also enjoys the event and feels valued. Everybody should have a positive memory, medal or not’
hand with welfare and well-being. The momentum has been growing behind this for a while and I am happy to hear them open our conversation with it.
Paula has been behind the drive to change the norm of our sport in other ways, too. There is her passion to modernise the support system needed for disabled children to access athletics. From inspiring children in schools, to ensuring they are welcomed and integrated in athletics clubs. “If you go to a track and you’ve got a child with a disability, and no one looks like your child, you’re not going to walk through the door again. It’s really important that all the clubs – and they’re getting better – are open to accepting athletes with a disability and integrating them into their coaching system. The coaching model is the same. John [Blackie] treats you as a unique athlete. It’s the same with an athlete with a disability. It’s a bugbear of mine.”
If it had not been for the global pandemic, she reveals, this summer’s GB trials would have integrated para and able-bodied athletes. “So, next year,” she says, “we will have more para athletes at the British trials. It’s about giving our athletes the ability to compete in front of a crowd. I want us to get to the point where no one even says, ‘para athletics’, it’s just athletics.”
And that phrase she said at the end, for me, is the future of sport. The eradication of these prefixes, “women’s” or “para”. I understand why they are there, a marked effort to give a platform to something that had previously been under-reported, omitted or actively suppressed. But, for me, the future should just be “sport”.
Essentially, this is about equality, giving people the opportunity to shine and putting those values at the centre of our sport. So, I wanted to hear from Jo how she intends to make this happen across all strands of athletics – from governance to coaching. Her response explains why many people hope that she will be a breath of fresh air.
“For me, it starts with recruitment,” says Jo, “that we don’t dismiss certain people.” She was surprised to see how few women work in athletics, and feels “strongly about [women] in this area”. Behind the scenes, athletes do have these discussions. Whether it is coaches, doctors or support staff, diversity is important in all its forms, from race to socioeconomic background.
“You can’t have athletes who represent our society, and then the entire infrastructure around them doesn’t,” says Jo. “And when we launch our new coaching strategy, you will see diversity and inclusion absolutely embedded in that. To create change, you have to have leaders who want to make that change.”
Paula and I exchange a grin. “I know!” Paula laughs. “Before I met her, I was thinking, ‘Oh, my God, what’s she going to be like?’ I spoke to Jo and I thought, ‘She’s so nice’. It is very refreshing to us, and I know all the staff have been very impressed.”
I asked Jo where she would like to see our sport in four years’ time over the next Olympic cycle and she came straight back with “I hope it’s a joined-up sport, from grass roots right through to elite performance, so we’ve joined the home countries up with UK Athletics and it’s a seamless journey at any level. I hope I’ve done that. I’d be proud of that.”
And that is what we need. It is such a beautiful, simple sport, with so many active runners – even over the lockdown period, thousands of people ran a 5k, donated £5 and nominated five more people to raise money for the NHS – we have to make a clear, united pathway to engage these people, turn the casual to “grass roots” and connect them to the elite.
“People are passionate about our sport,” says Paula. “That’s why it’s always in the headlines. And rather than see that as a criticism, I see it as passion.” She recalled that when the athletics was about to begin at Rio 2016, her neighbour remarked: “The Olympics really start now!”
That sentiment, shared by so many, is exactly why our sport will always have a bright future – so long as we can navigate the hurdles and challenges along the way. I hope that this new shift brings about the changes that many want to see, helps us to realise our potential and have even more people falling in love with our sport.