Dina Asher-Smith

Dina Asher-Smith

Asher-Smith (centre) at the 2013 European Junior Championships.
Personal information
Full name	Geraldina Rachel Asher-Smith
Nationality	British
Born	4 December 1995 Orpington, London, England
Sport
Sport	Track and Field
Event(s)	100 m, 200 m
Club	Blackheath and Bromley Harriers Athletic Club
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	60 m: 7.08 (NR) (Prague, 2015) 100 m: 10.99 (NR) (London, 2015) 200 m: 22.07 (NR) (Beijing, 2015)
Medal record Women's athletics Competitor for  Great Britain World Championships 2013 Moscow 4x100 m relay European Indoor Championships 2015 Prague 60 metres World Junior Championships 2014 Oregon 100 metres European Junior Championships 2013 Rieti 200 metres 2013 Rieti 4 x 100 m relay Commonwealth Youth Games 2011 Douglas 200 metres 2011 Douglas 4 x 100 m relay

Dina Asher-Smith (born 4 December 1995) is a British sprinter and the fastest British woman in history. She is the 2014 World Junior Champion at 100 m, the 2013 European Junior Champion at 200 m and won a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow as a member of the British 4 x 100m relay team. In 2014, she broke the UK junior 100 metres record, running 11.14 secs and the 200 metres record, running 22.61 secs.

On 24 May 2015 she broke Montell Douglas's British 100m record with a time of 11.02 seconds at the World Challenge Meeting in Hengelo, Netherlands.

On 25 July 2015 she became the first ever British woman to run the 100m in under 11 seconds. Asher-Smith ran 10.99 seconds at the London Anniversary Games.^[1]

On 28 August 2015 she set a new British record of 22.07 seconds in the 200m, finishing fifth at the World Athletics Championship in Beijing.

Personal life

Asher-Smith was born in Orpington, London, England and from 2008–2014, she attended Newstead Wood School in Orpington. Asher-Smith's parents are Julie and Winston.

In August 2014, Asher-Smith's A-Level exam results were apparently deemed good enough to get into King's College London to study history; upon receiving the results, she called it "the best morning" of her life.^[2][3] She is currently balancing her studies at King's College London and athletics.^[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 remarked 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 x 100m 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 team mates Annabelle Lewis, Ashleigh Nelson and Hayley Jones, won the bronze medal in the 4 x 100m 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 unfortunately pulled up with a hamstring injury on the bend and DNF.

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, Asher-Smith equalled Jeanette Kwakye's British record of 7.08 s and, being 19 years old, became the fastest ever teenager at 60 m.^[8]

Asher-Smith finished 5th in the 2015 IAAF World Athletic Championships in Beijing with a time of 22.07, a new British Record.

Major competitive record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Great Britain
2013	European Junior Championships	Rieti, Italy	1st	200 m	23.29
			1st	4x100 m relay	43.81 NJR
2014	World Junior Championships	Eugene, United States	1st	100 m	11.23
	European Championships	Zürich, Switzerland	3rd (sf)	200 m	22.61^1
2015	European Indoor Championships	Prague, Czech Republic	2nd	60 m	7.08 =NR
	World Championships	Beijing, China	5th	200 m	22.07 NR
2016	World Indoor Championships	Portland, United States	6th (sf)	60 m	7.11^2

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

References

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/athletics/32982184
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. "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.

External links

• Dina Asher-Smith profile at IAAF
• Dina Asher-Smith profile at Power of 10