The tests keep coming for Dina Asher-Smith but so far Britain’s brightest young athlete keeps passing them. Last month the 19-year-old became the fastest-ever British woman over 100m only days after taking her first-year university exams. And even the prospect of facing the four-times Olympic champion Allyson Felix over 200m at the Birmingham Grand Prix on Sunday holds no fears.
“I don’t really feel any pressure,” she said. “Any female sprinter wants to be like Allyson – she is an absolutely amazing athlete. At the same time, I know I’ve still got a lot of work to do. I’m only 19. I can’t be comparing myself to seasoned Diamond League runners but the higher standard definitely drags you to better times because you don’t want to make a fool out of yourself. The pressure gives you a little push and gets the adrenaline pumping.”
Asher-Smith, who broke the British 100m record in a time of 11.02 sec in Hengelo, says she is looking to run over the longer distance even though it often feels like “imminent death”.
“I’m so excited because I haven’t actually done a 200m when I have been fully fit or trying to conserve energy in a heat for nearly a year,” she said. “The 100m is nice and short, you don’t really get that feeling of imminent death that you do with the 200m. But at the same time I find the 200m more relaxing and I think I’m more confident over the longer distance.”
Felix, who has also won eight world championship titles, is likely to be a step too far this time. But Asher-Smith certainly looks to be in the form to challenge her 200m personal best of 22.65 sec.
Meanwhile, there was a blow for the organisers when the Olympic heptathlon champion, Jessica Ennis-Hill, withdrew from Sunday’s meeting to allow herself more time to recover after competing in the Hypo meeting in Götzis last week.
“I am delighted with how well I did in Götzis, but I feel competing seven days later is going to be too soon,” said Ennis-Hill, who was due to compete in the 100m hurdles and shot put.
“I have missed a volume of training over the past few months, since having my baby, due to problems with my achilles and there is still a lot of work to do. So we have made the decision for me to take the usual week off post a heptathlon to recover and then to get back into solid training.”
The event has been hit by a number of other late withdrawals, with the world 800m record holder David Rudisha, the London 2012 gold medallist, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and the world 400m champion, Christine Ohuruogu, also being forced to pull out.
