Dina Asher-Smith


Dina Asher-Smith is a British sprinter. She is the fastest British woman in recorded history and has been listed in the Powerlist as one of the UK's most influential people from African/African Caribbean descent. She is the 2019 World Champion at 200 metres, the 2016 and 2018 European champion at 200 metres and the 2018 European champion at 100 metres. She also won 2016 Olympic bronze and gold medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 European Championships in the 4 × 100 metres relay. She holds the British records in the 100 and 200 metres, with 10.83 secs and 21.88 secs.
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. 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 Rio Olympics and fourth in the 200 metres final at the 2017 World Championships. Having won relay medals at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships, Asher-Smith broke her own British records when winning silver in the 100 metres and gold in the 200 metres at the 2019 World Championships, and added another silver medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay.

Early life and education

Asher-Smith was born in Orpington, Greater London. Her parents are Julie and Winston. She attended Perry Hall Primary School. From 2008 to 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. She graduated with a BA in 2017.
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. She has won the English Schools Championships 200m title as an Under 15, U17 and U20. She won the 2013 event in a time of 23.63 seconds into a strong headwind. At the 2012 World Junior Championships she finished 7th in the 200m 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."

Junior competitions

In 2013, Asher-Smith won two gold medals at the European Junior Championships in Rieti, winning the 200m in 23.29, before joining Yasmin Miller, Steffi Wilson and Desiree Henry to win the 4 × 100m relay and break the UK junior record. 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. In 2014, Asher-Smith won the 100 metres at the World Junior Championships in Eugene, running 11.23 secs.

Professional athletics career

Asher-Smith was part of the winning Great Britain team for the 4 × 100 m relay at the London Grand Prix and was the youngest athlete selected for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Squad for the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. Along with teammates Annabelle Lewis, Ashleigh Nelson and Hayley Jones, she won the bronze medal in the 4 × 100 m relay.
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. 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 25 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 Summer Olympic in Rio, Asher-Smith finished fifth in the 200 metres, in 22.31 seconds, then won a bronze medal with her teammates Asha Philip, Desiree Henry and Daryll Neita in the 4 x 100 metres relay in a British record of 41.77 seconds.
On 17 February 2017, Asher-Smith broke her foot in a training accident, but still managed to secure fourth place in the women's 200m 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 qualified for the 4x100 m relay final, where they won gold in a time of 42.46 seconds, beating one of the favorites, Jamaica.
At the 2018 European Championships in Berlin, Asher-Smith won both the 100m and 200m 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. She won a third gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay. Asher-Smith was named women's European Athlete of the Year for her success in October. Asher-Smith was later hailed by IAAF president Sebastian Coe as the next sprint sensation in athletics.
Asher-Smith won the silver medal in the 100 m at the 2019 World Championships in a new British record of 10.83 seconds, finishing second behind Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. She is the first female British sprinter to win an individual medal in the world championships since Kathy Cook in 1983.
On 2 October 2019 Asher-Smith became the World Champion in the 200m, setting a personal best and new British record of 21.88 seconds.

Major competitive record

International competition

Circuit wins