Dina Asher-Smith

Dina Asher-Smith
Asher-Smith at the 2018 European Championships
Personal information
Full name Geratitina Rachel Asher-Smith
Nationality British
Born (1995-12-04) 4 December 1995
Orpington, London, England
Education King's College London
Height 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight 58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
Sport Track and Field
Event(s) 100 m, 200 m
Club Blackheath and Bromley Harriers Athletic Club
Coached by John Blackie
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 60 m: 7.08 (Prague, 2015)
100 m: 10.85 (NR) (Berlin, 2018)
200 m: 21.89 (NR) (Berlin, 2018)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de Janeiro4×100 m relay
World Championships
2017 London4×100 m relay
2013 Moscow4×100 m relay
European Championships
2016 Amsterdam200 m
2018 Berlin100 m
2018 Berlin200 m
2018 Berlin4×100 m relay
2016 Amsterdam4×100 m relay
European Indoor Championships
2015 Prague60 m
World Junior Championships
2014 Oregon100 m
European Junior Championships
2013 Rieti200 m
2013 Rieti4×100 m relay-->
Representing Europe Europe
Continental Cup
2018 Ostrava100 m
2018 Ostrava4×100 m
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
2018 Gold Coast4×100 m relay
2018 Gold Coast200 m

Dina Asher-Smith (born 4 December 1995) is a British sprinter. She is the 2016 and 2018 European champion at 200 metres and the 2018 European champion at 100 metres. She has also won 2018 Commonwealth Games and European Championship gold medals, 2016 Olympic bronze, 2017 World Championship silver and 2013 World Championship bronze in the 4 × 100 metres relay. She holds the British records in the 100 and 200 metres, with 10.85 secs (2018) and 21.89 secs (2018).

Asher-Smith won the 2013 European Junior 200m title and the 2014 World Junior 100m title, and became the first British woman to legally run under 11 seconds for the 100 metres in July 2015.[1] She then broke Kathy Cook's 31-year-old British 200 metres record when finishing fifth at the 2015 World Championships. She also finished fifth in the 200 metres final at the 2016 Olympic Games and fourth in the 200 metres final at the 2017 World Championships.

Personal life

Asher-Smith was born in Orpington, London, England and attended Perry Hall Primary School as a child - where she began her love for running in their weekly running club. From 2008–2014, she attended Newstead Wood School in Orpington. In August 2014, Asher-Smith's A-Level exam results allowed her entry into King's College London to study history; upon receiving the results, she called it "the best morning" of her life.[2][3] She graduated with a BA (Hons) in 2017.[4][5]

Career

Asher-Smith is a member of Blackheath and Bromley Harriers Athletic Club and is coached by John Blackie. In 2009, she ran the 300 metres in 39.16 sec to set the current World age 13 best.[6] She has won the English Schools Championships 200 m title as an Under 15 (2010), U17 (2011) and U20 (2013). She won the 2013 event in a time of 23.63 seconds into a strong headwind.[6] At the 2012 World Junior Championships she finished 7th in the 200 m final in a then personal best time of 23.50. She said afterwards that "I am elated to have made the final and achieve a PB in the process, and I'm looking ahead to next year in Italy."

In 2013, Asher-Smith won two gold medals at the European Junior Championships in Rieti, winning the 200 m in 23.29, before joining Yasmin Miller, Steffi Wilson and Desiree Henry to win the 4 × 100 m relay and break the UK junior record. She was the youngest athlete selected for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Squad for the 2013 World Championships in Moscow and along with teammates Annabelle Lewis, Ashleigh Nelson and Hayley Jones, won the bronze medal in the 4 × 100 m relay. The British squad originally finished fourth in the final but were promoted to the bronze medal after the disqualification of the French team. Asher-Smith was shortlisted for the 2013 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.[7]

In 2014, Asher-Smith won the 100 metres at the World Junior Championships in Eugene, running 11.23 secs. At the 2014 European Athletics Championships in Zurich, Asher-Smith qualified for the 200 m final but pulled up with a hamstring injury on the bend.

Asher-Smith took the silver medal at the 2015 European Athletics Indoor Championships for the 60 m. It was the first time in 30 years that a British female won a medal in the event. In doing so, she equalled Jeanette Kwakye's British record of 7.08 s and, being 19 years old, became the fastest ever teenager at 60 m.[8] She first broke the British 100 metres record with 11.02 secs on 24 May 2015 in Hengelo, before becoming the first British woman to run a legal time under 11 seconds, with 10.99 secs on 24 July 2015 at the London Anniversary Games. She then finished fifth in the 2015 IAAF World Athletic Championships in Beijing with a time of 22.07, a new British record.

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Asher-Smith finished fifth in the 200 metres, in 22.31 seconds, before winning a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay in a British record of 41.77 seconds, along with her teammates Asha Philip, Desiree Henry and Daryll Neita.[9]

On 17 February 2017, Asher-Smith broke her foot in a training accident,[10] but still managed to secure fourth place in the women's 200m [11] and a silver medal as part of the Great Britain 4 × 100 m relay later that year at the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships in London.

Asher-Smith went to Australia early to train and get used to the conditions prior to the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast, Australia. She qualified for the final, and came away with a Commonwealth bronze medal with a time off 22.29 seconds. England ladies (including Asher-Smith) qualified for the 4x100 m relay final, where they won gold in a time of 42.46 seconds, beating one of the favorites, Jamaica.[12]

At the 2018 European Championships in Berlin, Asher-Smith won both the 100 and 200 metres titles, improving her British records to 10.85 and 21.89 secs, becoming the first British woman in history to run below 22 seconds for 200 metres, and moving to 22nd on the 200 metres world all-time list (35th at 100m). She won a third gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay.

Major competitive record

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Great Britain /  England
2013 European Junior Championships Rieti, Italy 1st 200 m 23.29 [13]
1st 4 × 100 m relay 43.81 NJR
2014 World Junior Championships Eugene, United States 1st 100 m 11.23 [14]
European Championships Zürich, Switzerland 3rd (sf) 200 m 22.611
2015 European Indoor Championships Prague, Czech Republic 2nd 60 m 7.08 =NR [15]
World Championships Beijing, China 5th 200 m 22.07 NR
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 6th (sf) 60 m 7.112 [16]
European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 1st 200 m 22.37
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 42.45
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 5th 200 m 22.31 [17]
3rd 4 × 100 m relay 41.77 NR
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 4th 200 m 22.22
2nd 4 × 100 m relay 42.12
2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 3rd 200 m 22.29
1st 4 × 100 m relay 42.46
European Championships Berlin, Germany 1st 100 m 10.85
1st 200 m 21.89
1st 4 × 100 m relay 41.88

1Did not finish in the final
2Did not start in the final

References

  1. ↑ "Dina Asher-Smith, Britain's fastest woman: student and sprinter". 5 June 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  2. ↑ "Dina Asher-Smith Reaches 200m Final On Morning Of A-Level Results". Huffingtonpost.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  3. ↑ "Dina Asher-Smith passes the mark on the track and in her A-level results". The Guardian. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  4. ↑ "Meet Dina Asher-Smith". King's College London. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  5. ↑ "Interview: Great British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith". Retrieved 2015-03-11.
  6. 1 2 "Athlete Profile". Thepowerof10.info. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  7. ↑ "BBC Sport – Young Sports Personality: Shooter Amber Hill wins BBC award". Bbc.co.uk. 2013-12-15. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  8. ↑ "European Indoor Athletics – GB wins 9 medals in Prague". Runner's World. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Rio Olympics 2016: Great Britain win Olympic women's 4x100m relay bronze". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  10. ↑ "Dina Asher-Smith breaks foot in final training session before Indoor Grand Prix". 17 February 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  11. ↑ "Medal drought continues at World Championships as Asher-Smith fourth in 200m final". 11 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  12. ↑ "Commonwealth Games - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  13. ↑ "European Athletics Results 2013". European Athletics. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  14. ↑ "Morgan Lake and Dina Asher-Smith win World Junior golds". BBC Sport. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "European Athletics Results 2015". European Athletics. Retrieved 20 August 2018. |
  16. ↑ "Women 60m 2016 World Indoor Championships". Todor 66. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  17. ↑ "Elaine Thompson wins women's 200m gold, Dina Asher-Smith fifth". BBC Sport. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
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