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'I can be very much on top of the podium' - Dina Asher-Smith confident of gold medal chances at Paris 2024
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Published 26/08/2023 at 10:26 GMT+1
A seventh placed finish in the 200m at the Budapest Athletics World Championships on Friday evening did little to dampen Dina Asher-Smith's confidence ahead of Paris 2024. Speaking after the race, the British medal hope admitted that she had been battling a mystery health issue that had hampered her performance but that she remained confident of her chances of Olympic glory next year.
‘I am happy’ - Asher-Smith pleased to secure place in final of 200m
Video credit: TNT Sports
Dina Asher-Smith is not letting a disappointing sixth place finish at the Athletics World Championships hurt her confidence of achieving Olympic glory at the Paris games next year.
Asher-Smith had been battling an undisclosed physical issue throughout the event in Budapest and, while she did qualify for the final, she was below her best.
The two-time Olympic bronze medallist has been a constant threat to the podium in the 200m since bursting onto the scene as a teenager and wants to rise to the top in time for Paris.
Asher-Smith took gold at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, setting a new British record in so doing, before finishing third at last year's event in Eugene.
In Budapest, Asher-Smith had qualified seventh fastest for the final and finished nearly a second behind Jamaican gold medallist Shericka Jackson while American duo Gabrielle Thomas and Sha'Carri Richardson filled out the podium.
Speaking after the race, Asher-Smith explained that she had first felt her physical issue during the 100m final.
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Watch as Jackson storms to 200m title as Asher-Smith fades
Video credit: TNT Sports
She said: "I was going great and then I just couldn't feel anything below my waist. That's why I was able to go and run the (100m) final because I wasn't in pain but neurally I didn't have any control. I was still dealing with that. It was about still coming back and just making everything work. I'm grateful to have got through it all in one piece after just not being able to feel from here (waist) downwards during that 100m."
While obviously disappointed, Asher-Smith was seeing the positives.
She explained: "It was such a shame because I really was on the way to something quite good. But I think it gave me quite a bit of self-confidence, how I was running going into it and how I felt and despite the fact that I got halfway through the 100m (and then could not feel her legs)."
Ultimately, this event is about preparing for the 2024 Olympic Games and Asher-Smith had that very much front of mind.
She said: "I'm taking a lot from that and pushing into Paris that I can be very much on top of the podium."
Fellow Brit Daryll Neita had pipped Asher-Smith at the line with a personal best to finish fifth.
Neita, another rising star of British athletics, was also seeing plenty of positives in her performance.
She said: "I performed well. My last final was Tokyo (Olympics, 100m) when I came last. I came fifth in a very fast final, I know I can perform. I've got time to get better. I ran a PB and yesterday so I am raising my game."
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