Asher-Smith seals dream race with 200m win
BRITISH SPRINTER Dina Asher-Smith sealed her dream race on Jamaican soil with an impressive win in the women’s 200 metres at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium on Saturday night.
Asher-Smith crossed the line first to the roar of the crowd in 22.51 seconds. She held off the fast-finishing Ivorian Jessika Gbai, who finished in 22.53 while Jamaican Lanae-Tava Thomas took third in 22.84.
Following the race, Asher-Smith said that while she would have hoped to have set a much faster time in the half-lap event, she was happy to seal her first ever race in Jamaica with a win.
“This one meant a lot to me,” she said after the race. “I was happy to take the win. I was happy with the way I ran the second half of the race. I was definitely coming for a quicker time than that because I’m in a really good place, and I was hoping to run a bit quicker, but a win is a win.”
Leading up to the event, AsherSmith said it was one of her career ambitions to compete in Jamaica due to the country’s reputation in the short sprints as well as her family members who live on the island.
She said her relatives have always travelled across the world to watch her races, and this was the first time she was able to race in front of their home crowd.
PARIS AMBITIONS
Last year, Asher-Smith made the decision to move to Austin, USA, to train under the guidance of coach Edrick ‘Flo’ Floréal. Having spent a few months under her new training schedule, Asher-Smith has been enjoying a stellar 2024 season, which included setting the women’s world-record for Team International alongside Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke, St Lucian Julien Alfred, and Thomas.
Asher-Smith is aiming for an individual medal at the Paris Olympic Games later this year, the only international medal to have eluded her so far throughout her career.
“I’m just shooting for the stars,” she said. “Obviously, my aim this year is to get an individual medal in the Olympics. It is the only one out of all the competitions that I’m eligible for that I don’t have an individual medal in and I don’t have a gold. Now I feel like I’m in good shape I could have run a bit quicker but nevertheless, it’s a long season and I’m happy to be here and running some strong races.”