ASHER-SMITH Dina

General
CANCELLATION RELIEF
She said she was relieved when the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo were being postponed. "I remember weirdly feeling personally relieved. That sounds strange for an athlete to say but all gyms were shut, tracks were shut, I had no access to physios and I had no idea how I would train to an Olympic standard from inside my flat. I want to win the Olympics, obviously, but if it's not safe, then it's not worth it." (athleticsweekly.com, 06 Aug 2020; bbc.co.uk, 29 Jan 2021; eurosport.com, 14 Oct 2020; graziadaily.co.uk; 29 Jul 2020)

LONG-TERM COACH
Her coach John Blackie has trained her since she was age eight. "John is like family to me. I trust John because he would never let me do something that I was not ready to do. He would never put me in a situation that would compromise my happiness, or would not be good for me. I'm going to be indebted to him for the rest of my life. I also, hand on heart, know that he cares about me, Dina the person, before Dina the athlete." (telegraph.co.uk, 20 Sep 2019; athleticsweekly.com, 04 Feb 2021)

LONDON 2012 VOLUNTEER
She was a volunteer kit carrier at the 2012 Olympic Games in London on the day Great Britain won six gold medals, which was dubbed 'Super Saturday' by British media. She says the experience solidified her desire to become an Olympic athlete. "I remember that evening very, very well. It was just indescribable, one of the moments I got to experience the power of sport. I think that's when it stuck out for me. I was like, 'Yep, I definitely want to keep doing this.'" (standard.co.uk, 03 Jul 2015; gq-magazine.co.uk, 06 May 2020)

FASHION INTEREST
She has a strong interest in fashion and has modelled on the catwalk at a number of events including Paris Fashion Week in France, featured on the cover of magazines including Elle and GQ, and in 2021 signed with a modelling agency. "People are surprised that I like dresses, that I know a bit about fashion and that I've got other passions, because there's still this archaic view of sportswomen as sometimes being little men." In 2020 toy company Mattel made a Barbie doll in her likeness as part of their Shero Dolls campaign. "This may seem quite small, but positively showcasing accurate images of sportswomen is so important. It has the potential to shape young people's perceptions of us, sport, and as a result, themselves and their own futures." (bbc.co.uk, 17 Oct 2018; theguardian.com, 05 Oct 2019; skysports.com, 16 Dec 2020; runnersworld.com, 12 Mar 2020; womensrunning.co.uk, 03 Mar 2020; lancome.co.uk, 23 Sep 2020; telegraph.co.uk, 28 Jan 2021)

FAMILY HERITAGE
Her parents are from Jamaica and moved to England before she was born. She also has Trinidadian heritage. (hitc.com, 06 Oct 2020; telegraph.co.uk, 28 Jan 2021)

She became the first British athlete to win 200m gold at the world championships, and the first British athlete to win three medals at a single world championships at the 2019 edition in Qatar. (SportsDeskOnline, 10 Mar 2021; theguardian.com, 05 Oct 2019; bbc.co.uk, 02 Oct 2019)

At the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, People's Republic of China she finished fifth in the 200m final with a time of 22.07 seconds, which made her the fastest teenager at the time in the history of the 200m event, beating US athlete Allyson Felix's time of 22.11 for a teenager. Her time in the 200m in Beijing also broke Kathy Cook's 31-year old national British record for the distance. It was also the fastest 200m final in history, with three women finishing under 22 seconds. (sportinglife.com, 26 Jul 2015; bbc.co.uk, 08 Mar 2016; independent.co.uk, 28 Aug 2015)

In 2015 she became the first British woman to run the 100m in under 11 seconds, after clocking 10.99 in her heat at the 2015 Anniversary Games in London, England. (independent.co.uk, 28 Aug 2015; dailymail.co.uk, 26 Jul 2015; bt.com, 15 Jul 2020)