‘I was profoundly sad’ – Heartbroken Dina Asher-Smith dedicates 200m bronze to grandma after death ‘knocked her for six’
DINA ASHER-SMITH won a brilliant 200m bronze in Eugene after surrendering her world crown but then said: That was for you, granny.
Britain’s fastest woman finished in third place on Thursday night at the Oregon World Athletics Championships behind two Jamaican track queens.
Asher-Smith held off Niger runner Aminatou Seyni with a time of 22.02 seconds from lane three at Hayward Field.
As expected, race favourite Shericka Jackson won the title – in a championship-record time of 21.45 seconds – while Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the 100m world champion, was second in 21.81 seconds.
Asher-Smith won the title in the desert of Doha in 2019 even though several top names were missing.
But for a number of reasons, this sprint medal at Hayward Field was particularly hard-fought and incredibly impressive.
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First there is the astonishing strength-in-depth within women’s sprinting in this current generation.
Secondly, she has managed to banish the crushing frustration of missing the 2021 Tokyo Olympics finals due to a hamstring injury.
And then post-race, the 26-year-old said the death of her beloved grandmother last month, a few weeks before the GB trials, had “knocked her for six” and meant she was in a strange mental state this summer.
Asher-Smith said: “This year has been especially difficult. My grandma died just before the first race of the season.
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“She had been ill for quite a long time. She is really such a bedrock of my close family.
“For a long time, athletics was way at the back of my mind. The funeral was the week before the trials.
“If I’m being honest my brain has been everywhere. It has been a new sensation for me.
“I knew I was in shape, I have trained so hard. I haven’t missed any training whatsoever.
“Then something life-wise just came and knocked me for six. Our birthdays are two days apart.
“I used to spend every day at her house when I was younger. Truly it has been a really tough mental challenge to get through the season.
“That’s probably why some of my results were a bit interesting at the beginning.
“My body is there, I am in shape, but my brain was not there.
“I was going from a place where I was so profoundly sad and had to pick myself up to run. But when you are at this level, you need to be where I am now.
“I’m really happy with this. My grandma would have been proud even if I had come last.
“I’m proud to have done her and my own family proud today.
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“The level of competition was insane. I was reigning champion and everyone wants to retain their title but sometimes you have to take a step back and appreciate where the needle is.”
Noah Lyles defended his men’s 200m crown as he led 1-2-3 for the United States with compatriots Kenny Bednarek and Erriyon Knighton taking silver and bronze respectively.