Olympic and world medallist Dina Asher-Smith has become the latest star name on the list of athletes who will be appearing at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Glasgow, which takes place at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena next month.
Already confirmed are Scotland’s most decorated track and field athlete ever Eilidh Doyle as well as world sprint relay champions Adam Gemili, CJ Ujah and Nathaneel Mitchel-Blake and as one of Britain’s most popular and highly-rated track stars, Asher-Smith will add further star power.
The 22 year-old Englishwoman has experienced a meteoric rise through the ranks over the past couple of years with a particular highlight being part of the GB sprint relay team that won bronze at the Rio Olympics.
However, in 2017, she faced her first major obstacle. Last February, a training accident saw Asher-Smith break a bone in her foot, with the likelihood being that she would struggle to take much from the season. She defied the doubters though, making the GB team for the World Championships which were held in London and finishing fourth in the 200m before being an integral member of the 4 x 100m relay team that won silver.
It was, she admits, something of a surprise even to her that she performed quite so well and she admits that exceeding expectations in the manner she did provided a huge boost going forward. “I was really happy with how 2017 ended up,” she said. “That gave me a big confidence boost going onto the rest of my career and I hope to take that momentum and push on in 2018.
“How I did in London did surprise me though. It was bittersweet because for a moment, I forgot everything I’d been through and I was disappointed about being so close to getting a medal but at the same time, when I reflected on it, that result was something I didn’t think I’d be able to pull off . But I’m fully recovered now and I’m really excited about what is hopefully going to be a fun 2018.”
The Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix will be Asher-Smith’s final indoor race of the year and she could not be up against stronger competition. In the 60m, she will be up against Dafne Schippers who is double 200m world champion and with the pair already having notched up a number of head-to-heads in their careers, Asher-Smith can’t wait to have another crack at the Dutchwoman. “I really enjoy racing Dafne - she’s an amazing athlete and she always pushes me to run to my best so I’m really excited to race her again,” she said.
Asher-Smith will be using the Glasgow Grand Prix as one of her final sharpening-up exercises ahead of the Commonwealth Games, which kick-off just six weeks after the Glasgow meet. Performing well at Gold Coast 2018 is one of Asher-Smith’s major targets for the coming year and with it being her maiden appearance at the Commonwealth Games, she is keen to really make her presence felt.
However, having spent much of her athletics in a GB vest. Asher-Smith will have a new experience in that she will be competing against the Scottish athletes rather than alongside them. She admits that she is looking forward to the prospect of battling the Scots in Gold Coast, but she is under no illusions as to how tough a challenge it will be given the current strength of the Scottish team.
“We’re going to have a good fight at the Commonwealth Games,” the Englishwoman said. “Scotland has so many incredible athletes and I love being on teams with them because they bring up the spirit and bring up the medal count as well so it’ll be interesting to be on the other side when we get to Australia. It’ll be nice though to see them perform in Glasgow before that though.”
The Müller Indoor Grand Prix Glasgow takes place at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena on 25 February 2018. Tickets are available at britishathletics.org.uk/events-and-tickets/
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