Dina Asher-Smith pulls out of Olympics 200m with injury after failing to make 100m final
31 July 2021, 12:46 | Updated: 31 July 2021, 13:07
Dina Asher-Smith has said she is pulling out of the 200m final with an injury after failing to make the 100m final.
After her disappointment in the 100 metres, Asher-Smith said she did not plan to compete in the 200 metres after conversations with her coach.
"I think I am likely to pull out of the 200," she said. "I am going to pull out. John (Blackie) has told me it's a no."
She admitted that her hamstring injury had been worse than she previously let on, and at one point had threatened to rule her out of travelling to Japan.
"Obviously I am so disappointed not to make the final," she said.
"It's everything I have trained for for the last two years.
"I went and got a second opinion - and it was a slight misdiagnosis. It wasn't a rupture. My hamstring was still attached.
"I went from, 'Oh I can't go' to 'maybe I can'."
She added: "Obviously I was not my normal self (today).
"I was in really good shape (before the trials), the shape of my life. I felt I was going to win this. But I had the low of being told it's impossible for you to be there and then there's a chance.
"It has been a journey. I am so proud to come out here and run 11.0 off a few weeks training."
Fighting back tears she said: "I'm really proud of everything that I've done to this point, but when you're talking about the standard that I want to be at and that I know I'm capable of.
"There are plenty more championships for me to come and kill. We're in the middle of a four to five-year cycle, and yes I got a hamstring tear at the most inconvenient time, but it doesn't really change the fact of the calibre of athlete I actually am.
"John has told me it's a no, and that broke my heart. I mean you've seen me when I was younger go and pop my hamstring. On the 200 I would do it because that's the kind of athlete that I am.
"I was the reigning world champion and I was in such good shape, you just know that (becoming) Olympic champion is not too much more of a further step."
