Dina Asher Smith and Sam Atkin break British athletics records in 60m and 3,000m respectively
Dina Asher-Smith sets British 60m record after running 7.04 seconds in Germany; Sam Atkin eclipses Sir Mo Farah's British 3,000m record by clocking seven minutes 31.97 seconds in Boston; highlight of 2023 athletics calendar is World Championships in Budapest in August
Last Updated: 28/01/23 9:20am
Dina Asher-Smith and Sam Atkin have set new British athletics records in the women's 60m and the men's 3,000m respectively.
Asher-Smith clocked a time of 7.04 during her win at the World Indoor Tour in Germany, eclipsing the 7.06 seconds achieved by Asha Phillips in 2017.
The 27-year-old told World Athletics: "I'm really happy to have run a British record, it was one of my indoor aims so I'm really happy to have ticked that off kind of on my second race of the season. I'm just hoping to continue running fast and enjoy the next few races I have coming up.
"I was just focused on ticking off what I needed to do in the race, making sure I stayed focus and ran my race plan, I knew if I did that I'd be in with a shot of a really good time. I'd have loved to have run a little faster but I'm taking this one."
Atkin's time of seven minutes 31.97 seconds at the John Thomas Terrier Classic event in Boston topped the previous British record held by Sir Mo Farah, who ran seven minutes 32.62 seconds in 2016.
Atkin finished second in Massachusetts to American Yared Nuguse, who won in 7:28.24.
Speaking to letsrun.com, the 29-year-old added: "I wish I'd gone a little bit earlier but I can't complain as it's a British record. It's a good first win of the season."
The highlight of the 2023 athletics calendar is the World Championships in Budapest from August 19-27.
Asher-Smith won bronze in the 200m at the 2022 edition in Eugene, having scooped two individual medals at the 2019 World Championships in Doha - gold in the 200m and silver in the 100m.
Asher-Smith is set to be back in action at the UK Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham on February 18-19.
The Brit, who had been forced to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games last year, added that she is not anticipating being involved at the European Indoor Championship in March as she gears up for the outdoor season.
