WIN TONIGHT …THEN I’LL SLEEP FOR 2 MONTHS!
Asher-Smith aims to go out on a high
DINA Asher-smIth says she is hoping she can end her long season on a high tonight by taking the 100metres Diamond League title, before ‘sleeping for two months’.
Yet the new golden girl of British sprinting is all too aware that, despite boasting the world-leading time, she is not the fastest in the race.
Of her seven rivals on the start line in Zurich, four have previously bettered the 10.85sec she ran to win european Championships gold in Berlin, and one — marie-Josee ta Lou of the Ivory Coast — has run exactly the same time as her this year.
sitting next to ta Lou at a press conference yesterday, Asher-smith appeared to talk down her chances as she described the field as ‘stacked’.
Asked if she thought the collective strength of the field, which also includes Dafne schippers of holland, could lead to her Berlin time being beaten, she said: ‘We’re going to have to wait and see. But yeah, the race is stacked, there are so many talented women who have that time and more within them. We know that, we’ve seen them run for the past how many years and they’re just so incredible.
‘We’re going to have to wait and see. But so much more than just our flat speed dictates a time. It could be windy, it might rain, it might be really cold, so we’re just going to have to see.’
reflecting on her new-found fame since bringing home three golds from the european Championships, Asher-smith warned against all the focus being on whether she wins or loses.
Instead, she said she would like to use her platform to get the British public to concentrate on ‘the journey’ — including the injuries and hurdles facing athletes.
she also hinted at feeling the strain of her intense schedule this year, saying: ‘It’s been a fantastic season for me. It’s gone far beyond what I kind of imagined it would be.
‘But, yes, it’s been very long, starting with indoor and then to Australia for the Commonwealth Games, then back, then to Oregon, start of the Diamond League, then Berlin and now we are here to hopefully end on a high.’
When asked what she had planned for her break after the season is finally over, she suggested she may take a spa holiday before adding: ‘I think I am just going to sleep for two months.’ The women’s 100m final will be live on Eurosport Player at 7.40pm tonight.