Asher-smith focuses on world honours
Dina Asher-smith has downplayed the unprecedented trio of gold medals she secured at last year’s European Championships, as she targets more success on the world stage in September.
The 23-year-old became the first British athlete to achieve the feat after winning in the 100 metres, 200m and 4x100m relay in Berlin last summer.
Asher-smith will headline the British challenge at the Anniversary Games tomorrow, where she will contest only her third 100m race of this year’s Diamond League season. The meet will provide key preparation for Britain’s sprint queen as she prepares to emulate her European form at this year’s World Championships in Doha in the autumn, which she views as a different mission altogether.
“It’s all well and great doing well at Europeans, but you have to translate it to a world level and in the next year, you have to translate things to an Olympic level,” Ashersmith said.
“For me, it’s about improving myself and making sure I’m the best athlete that I can be. I’m leaving no stone unturned in time for the World Championships, so I can go there and put my best foot forward in earnest.”
Following times of 10.94sec and 10.91 sec in Rome and Lausanne respectively, Asher-smith will turn her attention again to the shorter sprint distance following a period of scintillating form over 200m in this year’s Diamond League season, beating Olympic champion Elaine Thompson and world champion Dafne Schippers over the longer event in May.
With only two more meetings to go before the series reaches its climax at the finals in Zurich on Aug 29 and Brussels the following week, Asher-smith is not yet thinking of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
“I’m very much a take-one-stepat-a-time sort of person and I don’t think it’s [Olympics] going to be properly in my consciousness until I’ve passed all the stages of the way there,” said Asher-smith.
“I’ll start thinking about that after the World Championships this year, because Doha is my immediate focus, and properly once I’ve made the team. You can’t start thinking about something you’re not on the plane for.”