Dina Asher-Smith reflected on her disappointing Paris Olympics performance, attributing it to mistakes, and learning from the experience, but rebounded with strong results in the Diamond League and now focuses on the 2025 World Championships.
Great Britain’s sprinting ace Dina Asher-Smith has opened up about her Paris Olympics flop and how she managed to bounce back and make an impact in the Diamond League Meetings.
At the Paris Olympic Games, Dina Asher-Smith failed to make an impact in the women’s 100m after she missed a slot in the final with her fifth-place finish in the semis. In the 200m, she narrowly missed a podium place with her fourth-place finish in the final.
Dina Asher-Smith was also vital for Team Great Britain as they claimed a silver medal in the women’s 4x100m relay on the Olympic stage. Speaking to the Independent, she blamed certain things for her performance on the Olympic stage, noting that she made certain mistakes and defended herself with the claim that no one is perfect.
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She added that changing coaches from John Blackie to Edrick 'Flo' Floreal also played a part in her flop but noted that she had learnt from her mistakes and will be back better next season.
“I made a mistake, and then I corrected it, and went and did really well in the last three Diamond Leagues. Sometimes it’s just about the attitude and energy you bring to the start line. Different emotional moods work for different people,” Dina Asher-Smith said.
“When you’re in a new coaching set-up this is stuff that you figure out along the way. Nobody in this life, including athletes, are perfect. But all you can do when that happens is just to learn from it and not make the same mistake and keep it moving,” she added.
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She now shifts her focus to the 2025 World Championships with the hope of displaying better performances from the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. In Budapest, Dina Asher-Smith finished seventh in the women’s 200m final and proceeded to an eighth-place finish in the women’s 100m final.
At the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, she claimed a bronze in the women’s 200m and finished fourth in the women’s 100m final.
“I’m really excited to attack the Worlds, to get back into a training cycle again on a programme that I know works for me, and works for my body, which is the biggest thing you’re scared of when you make a change. I’m looking forward to attacking that in the second year, when I just understand it and what’s coming, and when everything’s not new,” she added.