Dina Asher-Smith has revealed she gave up SWEETS for weeks to ensure she was in the best shape for the IAAF World Athletics Championships.
The Londoner raced into the record books on Sunday night in Doha as she won 100m silver for Britain in a national record time of 10.83 seconds.
British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith set a national record time in the 100m on Sunday night
She is the first woman from Britain to win a global 100m medal since Dorothy Hyman at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
The 23-year-old admits she had to make several sacrifices heading into the event in Qatar, notably depriving herself of any treats.
Asher-Smith said: “I didn’t have sweets for three weeks! It has been a lot of hard work.
“I’m honestly really proud of myself at this moment.
“I’m a competitor. So every race I go into I want to win. I want to run fast.
“Wherever I’ve got one leg hanging off or not.
“My parents are so proud. They are happy. My mum gave me this flag. My dad was beaming. My coach John and his wife were happy. It’s all good.”
Asher-Smith, 23, finished behind Jamaican star Shelly-Ann Fraser-PryceCredit: Reuters
After the race, which was watched by only a few thousand people, Asher-Smith said the support from British fans would propel her in the women’s 200m competition.
Asher-Smith is the European champion and is favourite for the title in the absence of Bahamas world leader Shaunae Miller-Uibo.
She tweeted: “World 100m silver medallist – in a new British Record of 10.83 to become the first woman to win a medal in the short sprints for GB in 36 years.
“My first individual global medal. Thank you so much for the incredible support – I’m going to carry that into the 200m today.”
For these world championships, the IAAF have put cameras on the blocks, which looks right up the noses of the athletes before they start their sprints.
Yet Asher-Smith has been the subject of some mickey-taking by her friends on text message who have watched the cameras on TV.
She said: “My friends tell me the video of the block camera angles aren’t very flattering.
“And like my best friends in the group chat and I didn’t they didn’t send me pictures so I knew when they said that they were talking about me.
“I was like: ‘For goodness sake, let me just make sure my makeup is fresh.’
“So I can make this work somehow. I had a mishap because this one’s very glittery and it got all over my cheeks. I spent 20 minutes trying to get it right.”
Dina Asher-Smith wins silver in women’s 100m final as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce takes gold
Source: Athletics - thesun.co.uk
