Dina Asher-Smith says she loves running in front of a home crowd and could not pass up the opportunity to compete in this year’s Commonwealth Games as she gets set to run in Birmingham
- The British sprinter will make defending her world 200m crown her main goal
- She heads to America to defend that crown next month before Birmingham
- Dina Asher-Smith says she loves running in front of a home crowd
- The runner believes that ‘life is short’ and she should compete as much as possible
Dina Asher-Smith said she could not pass up the opportunity of competing in a home Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer.
The British sprinter, 26, will make defending her world 200m crown in the United States next month her main goal this season. But she will compete in Birmingham, where the athletics begins on August 2.
The European Championships start in Munich on August 15, but Asher-Smith revealed the Commonwealth Games are in the diary ‘because they are at home’. She added: ‘I love running in front of a home crowd. I love being able to perform in front of my family, friends and the fans that have been behind me since I was 16 or 17 years old.’
Dina Asher-Smith is warming into her season and will run at the Commonwealth Games
Although, as Asher-Smith also said, the busy schedule can take its toll, she explained: ‘Life is so short, every race we have you should grab and go for it.’
Asher-Smith finished third in the 200m at the Rome Diamond League as Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson won ahead of Elaine Thompson-Herah on Thursday.
Jackson won in a season’s-best 21.91 seconds, with Olympic champion Thompson-Herah finishing in 22.25.
Asher-Smith was close behind in 22.27 — her best time this season. ‘It was a really good field, I finished very highly in that,’ she said. ‘You always want to go out and win but sometimes it’s about the journey and you have to have your eye on the championships.’
Dina Asher-Smith beat a strong field in the 100m in Birmingham in the Diamond League
