Dina Asher-Smith insists she is not feeling the pressure as she prepares to take her golden shot in Doha.
No British sprinter has won the world championships since Linford Christie took the 100 metres in 1993.
Kathy Smallwood-Cook’s 200m bronze in Helsinki 36 years ago stands alone as the only sprint medal ever won by a British woman.
Yet Asher-Smith arrives as an odds-on favourite to capture the 200m ahead of Jamaican duo Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and she is almost having to pinch herself.
“To be among the top one percent in the world in track and field is a big thing, let alone the top one percent as a sprinter,” she said.
“Being there among the top women in the world has blown all of our minds. But I still want to push on, I want to come away and be the best.
“There definitely is a little bit of expectation but it is something that is nice and refreshing as a British female sprinter - we expect you to do X, Y and Z.”
Guided by her long-time coach John Blackie, Asher-Smith has spent two years since the last worlds in London building up physically to meet the challenge of doubling in Qatar.
It requires her to race on six days out of seven, with finals this Sunday (100m), next Wednesday (200m) and Saturday (relay).
“John has tested me and it has been painful, which is why the decision to double up isn’t one that I have taken lightly,” she said.
“But two years is the time period you need to build up the strength to be able to put together six elite standard sprint races in a championships and then recover and go and be mentally and physically ready for the relay.”
The 23-year-old’s hard work has already paid dividends, with her winning the Diamond League 100m title a year after sweeping the board with a hat-trick of sprint gold medals at the European Championships in Berlin.
Blackie admits his emotions got the better of him on the day she completed her sprint double with victory in the 200m, hardly surprising given that she broke her British record (21.89 secs) - just as she had in winning the 100 (10.85s).
“I don’t break down in tears too often, I can assure you,” he said. “I’m usually pretty circumspect, I take things in my stride. But watching Dina that day I did get quite emotional because her run was pretty close to perfection.”
ASHER-SMITH'S PACKED DOHA DIARY
Saturday: Women's 100m heats
Sunday: Women's 100m semis and final
Monday: Women's 200m heats
Tuesday: Women's 200m semis
Wednesday: Women's 200m final
Friday: Women's 4 x 100m relay heats
Saturday: Women's 4 x 100m final
