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Moving on from the frustrations of not winning an individual medal at the Paris Olympic Games, British speed queen Dina Asher-Smith has just one goal in mind ahead of next season - be on the podium at the Tokyo World Championships.
The Paris Olympics may not have worked out as planned for British sprint queen Dina Asher-Smith, still, she has learned to look beyond the disappointment and focus on having a memorable 2025 season with Tokyo World Championships in sight.
Asher-Smith had a traumatic 100m semi-final elimination in Paris, a fair depiction of her season. Shrugging off the unexpected exit, she returned to finish an agonising fourth in the 200m final and was vital in the British silver-medal winning 4x100m relay squad.
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However, her lukewarm outing at the Olympics isn't a total reflection of her season, which began by winning the European Championships 100m title and ended the season with fast times and impressive performances in the Diamond League circuit.
Looking back on her season and the changes undergone, highlighted by parting ways with her grassroots coach John Blackie and moving to the United States last winter to train with renowned Edrick ‘Flo’ Floreal at the University of Texas with a world-class group that includes the new Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred, Asher-Smith is now more confident and stable to regain her prominence in women's sprint from next year.
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“I’m really excited by running in track and field right now, which I think I do owe to a shake-up in environment,” said the British 100m and 200m record holder in an interview with indepedent.co.uk.
“There was absolutely nothing wrong with where I was in London – I absolutely love my previous coach, John, he’s like a second dad. It’s just sometimes change is mentally good and stimulating. It’s brought a new perspective and it’s made everything really exciting again," she continued.
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04:03 - 04.04.2024
Dina Asher-Smith: British track queen finally details split with her long-term coach and motivation behind moving to the US
Alpha female of British athletics Dina Asher-Smith finally opened up on the motivation behind her split with long-term coach John Blackie.
“It’s having new reference points, and people with a new eye looking at you and going, ‘Oh, you can do that, crazy’, and I’ve just taken it for granted and been like, that’s normal for me.”
Moving to Austin, Texas was the first time in Asher-Smith's life she has lived anywhere else outside of London for a sustained period and she admits, at first she felt misplaced in the new environment but now enjoying it.
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“It’s really, really hot. I wake up every day and the first thing in my head is to make sure I’m hydrating. I know if I haven’t set up my day drinking water, drinking my electrolytes from the moment I’m up, training is not going to go well…
“Just being able to experience a different way of life is really stimulating. They love their barbecues, love their tacos. The biggest change is the thing that they do for relaxing, which is chilling by the pool with their friends,” she laughs, “which is nice for me as well.”
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01:50 - 03.10.2024
Gathering of Stars: Noah Lyles and Junelle Bromfield link up with Asher-Smith and other athletes at Olympians wedding
A host of athletics stars were present at the wedding ceremony of British 400m record holder Matthew Hudson-Smith in Birmingham, including Noah Lyles and his girlfriend Junelle Bromfield.
Despite her heartbreaking 100m outing in Paris, the 28-year-old has made an effort to move past and learn from it - an event with which she has a tortured relationship. Twice it has ended at the semi-final stage in tears: in Tokyo due to a niggling injury, and in Paris after what she calls a mistake in her mental approach.
“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. 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 said.
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18:40 - 25.09.2024
Top 10 world's fastest women: Sha'Carri Richardson topples Julien Alfred in elite 2024 list
Meet the world's fastest women for the 2024 season toppled by Sha'Carri Richardson and Julien Alfred.
Ahead of the World Athletics Championships next year, Asher-Smith is basking with renewed energy and hope that she can challenge for an individual medal, six years after she became the 200m world champion in Doha. And in 2025, her new surroundings might feel a little more comfortable.
“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 concluded.
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