Dina Asher-Smith not fazed by racing against the world's top sprinters
By Dev Trehan
Last Updated: 08/07/15 11:46am
Dina Asher-Smith says her love for the sport allows her to run without fear when she lines up against the world's top sprinters.
The World Junior champion finished half a second ahead of Bianca Williams on Sunday to add the British 100 metres title to the British record of 11.02 seconds she set at the FBK Games in The Netherlands in May.
Asher-Smith also ran the second fastest 200 metres by any British female ever in a photo-finish with gold medal-winning Olympians Jeneba Tarmoh and Allyson Felix last month, with just 0.1s separating the top three places.
And the 19-year-old believes performances like that illustrate why she belongs in the company of the cream of the women’s world sprinting elite.
"I'm not daunted, I just love racing,” Asher-Smith told Sky Sports.
"I just go out there and do what I've always been doing which is to run as fast as I can. It really doesn't matter who else is in the race.
“I know how amazing these Olympic and World champions are that I'm coming up against. I have so much respect for them but at the same time when I get on that start line next to them I know it is my opportunity, and I know I'm there for a reason.
“They don't just give those lanes away to anybody and you have to remember you're there because you can do something.
“If I get beaten I draw a line under it and move on to the next race. I mean they are Olympic and World champions - they are meant to beat you, they are absolutely amazing.
“But as long as I go out there and try my best I'm happy. I'm just really grateful for the opportunity.”
Asher-Smith is a two-time European Junior gold medallist and equalled the 60m British record when she became the first British woman in 30 years to medal in the event at this year’s European Indoor Championships.
But the Blackheath and Bromley Harrier is remaining grounded and says she is determined to reproduce that kind of form on an even bigger stage in the future.
“It's really handy running fast times but if you can't reproduce them when it really matters then it's pointless. There's no point running 11.02 if you can't do it when it really matters."
Dina Asher-Smith
“It's really important for me to keep taking things in my stride,” Asher-Smith said.
“I really can’t get caught up in anything because at the end of the day you are remembered for what you do at senior international level at World Championships and Olympic Games.
“In the grand scheme of things I am absolutely nowhere, I've still got an incredibly long way to go and that's why I really can't afford to get caught up in it.
“It's really handy running fast times but if you can't reproduce them when it really matters then it's pointless.
“There's no point running 11.02 if you can't do it when it really matters, so I've still got a lot to concentrate on and a lot of work to do until the end of the season.”
