“I am still very frustrated, I am still very upset”- Dina Asher-Smith proud of Brussels win, feels upset about world championship defeat in Budapest
British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith has expressed a mix of emotions after competing at the 2023 Brussels Diamond League. On Friday, the 27-year-old won third place in the 100m event at the second last leg of the Diamond League series.
However, she has not gotten over her performance at the World Athletics Championships last month.
In August, Asher-Smith secured an eighth-place finish in Budapest. It was American athlete Sha’Carri Richardson who stormed the track with 10.65s to take the victory. Jamaican athletes Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce achieved the second and third place finishes with finishes of 10.72s and 10.77s respectively.
At the Belgian capital, Dina Asher-Smith faced stiff competition in the 100m race from a strong athletic lineup. It included Elaine Thompson-Herah, Tamari Davis, and Shashalee Forbes to name a few.
The 2019 200m world champion won third place at Brussels, clocking 10.97s. On the other hand, her competitors Elaine Thompson-Herah and Morrison Natasha got first and second place as they clocked 10.84s and 10.95s respectively.
After her performance, Dina Ashser-Smith interacted with Athletics Weekly. She explained that she was happy with her timing of 10.97s:
“Yeah, I am really happy with that run today”
She remembered her performance at the recent world championship in Budapest and stated her disappointment at not winning it.
“I am still very frustrated. I am still very upset. Most of it in the moment I could not realize much, I just knew that I needed some time that I had,” she said.
However, she gave herself time to come back strong and was happy with her performance in Brussels. Asher-Smith is also happy to be competing at the Diamond League Finale from September 16 to 17.
“So we are building through. I know I am gonna be for pre. So I was here today, obviously enjoying the process but also getting points to make sure I made that right. And I am happy to have done that.”
Dina Asher-Smith’s athletic journey
The fastest British woman on record, Dina Asher-Smith announced herself on the world stage by winning the gold in the 200m event and silver in both the 100m and 4x100m relay events at the 2019 World Athletics Championships.
She competed at the 2012 World Athletics Championships to finish seventh in the 200m final in a then-personal best time of 23.50 seconds. The following year, she competed at the European Junior Championships and achieved two gold medals in the 200m and 4x100m relay races. In the same championship in 2014, she won the 100 meters clocking 11.23 seconds.
Asher-Smith began her professional career in 2013, when she was selected as the youngest athlete in the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Squad for the Moscow World Championships.