Dina Asher-Smith has withdrawn from the 200-metre race at Tokyo 2020 after struggling in the 100m semi-finals having torn her hamstring shortly before the Games.
A tearful Asher-Smith revealed the decision to pull out of an event where she is the reigning world champion as she reflected on a tough 100m outing.
The Briton, who took silver in the 100m at Doha 2019 and gold in the 200m, missed out on the final over the shorter distance with a semi time of 11.05 seconds, good enough for only third in her heat.
"Obviously I'm so disappointed to not make the final – it's Tokyo 2020, everything I've trained for for the last two years – but the last few weeks of my athletic life have been absolutely insane," Asher-Smith told BBC Sport.
She explained she had suffered a hamstring injury in the British Olympic trials final last month, prompting her withdrawal from events in Stockholm and Gateshead.
Asher-Smith expected she would not be able to travel to Tokyo.
"I was actually initially told it was a rupture and I'd need surgery and three to four months to get back," she said. "It's been a lot to deal with.
"Quite frankly, with that diagnosis, I couldn't have come to Tokyo. We had a statement ready to go.
"Thankfully, I went and got a second opinion and it was a misdiagnosis; it wasn't a rupture, it was a tear, but it was still attached, so we turned over every single stone to make sure I could stand on the line."
The 25-year-old still was not herself in the 100m, though, and was subsequently forced to make a call on Tuesday's 200m.
Asher-Smith had been the foremost British hope for a first athletics gold medal in an individual event since Jessica Ennis-Hill's 2012 heptathlon triumph.
"I am going to pull out of the 200m," she continued as the tears began. "As reigning world champion, I was in such good shape – you know that the Olympic champion is not much of a further step.
"Because of having three weeks off running, a week running slowly, I'm really proud to have been able to execute today and proud of doing everything I've done to this point.
"But when you're talking about the standard I know I'm capable of, there's plenty more championships for me to come and kill. We're in the middle of a four-to-five-year cycle.
"Yes, I've got a hamstring tear at the most inconvenient time but it doesn't change the calibre of athlete that I actually am.
"I know if I want to come and showcase that I need a few more weeks of power training to fill that gap that we had when I was trying to walk again, stretch my knee and trying to load my hamstring.
"John [Blackie, her coach] told me it's a no [for the 200m]. I would do it, because that's the kind of athlete that I am, but he's wiser than me. It's the Olympics, but there's another one."
Of her failure to make the 100m final, Asher-Smith said: "The most frustrating thing for me is that I was in really good shape. I was in the shape of my life.
"If you asked me six weeks ago, I was very confident I was going to win this because, being completely frank, every part of my race – my start, my transition and my finish – was better than some of the fastest women in the world.
"But when you have a hurdle like that, it's really hard to have a rejig."
Asher-Smith was part of a British team that took the bronze medal in the 4x100m at Rio 2016, also finishing fifth in the 200m.
Ta Lou, Coleman, Blake and Watson confirmed for Jamaica Athletic Invitational on May 11
The excitement for the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational on May 11 continues to build as standout Ivory Coast sprinter Marie-José Ta Lou has been confirmed to join the star-studded lineup for this prestigious event in Kingston.
Alongside Ta Lou, other renowned athletes such as Christian Coleman, Antonio Watson, and Akeem Blake will grace the track, promising a thrilling mix of elite track and field competition and entertainment. Marvin Anderson, the Athletes Liaison, is curating an impressive list of participants that he believes will meet the high expectations for this exciting sporting event.
The Jamaica Athletics Invitational will feature a lineup of 10 track events and four field events, showcasing the talents of top athletes from around the globe. Fans can anticipate high-stakes competition and exceptional performances as athletes vie for victory on the track and in the field.
Tickets for this highly anticipated event will go on sale online starting April 22. Attendees will have the option to choose from two categories of grandstand tickets priced at $3,000 and $2,500, while entry to the bleachers will be free of charge.
The stage is set for an electrifying evening of athletics at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational, and fans are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to witness world-class athletes in action at the National Stadium in Kingston.
Roshawn Clarke poised to shock himself at Velocity Fest Meeting in Kingston on Saturday
Roshawn Clarke, the World U20 400m hurdles record holder, is brimming with confidence as he gears up for the Velocity Fest meeting at the National Stadium in Kingston this Saturday. Clarke, who shattered Winthrop Graham’s 30-year-old national record of 47.60 with a remarkable time of 47.34 at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, is eyeing a podium finish at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
The 19-year-old sprinter is excited to demonstrate his current form and fitness, hinting at potentially running either the 400m or the 200m at the Velocity Fest meeting. Clarke's recent performances have been promising, with a strong 400m season opener of 46.05 on February 10 and an identical time two weeks later. He has also run a nippy 20.69 over 200m in mid-March.
"I’m running fast. I ran my first race with a personal best as a season-opener. I repeated that exact time again so I am pretty confident, I am being consistent," Clarke shared during launch of the Racers Grand Prix on Tuesday. "I am running the 400m or the 200m this Saturday so I am just going there to enjoy myself and better my season’s best."
Clarke, who will turn 20 on July 1, is determined to lower his national record and challenge the world's top athletes like world-record holder and three-time world champion Karsten Warholm of Norway, the USA’s Rai Benjamin and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, the 2022 champion. These formidable competitors have all clocked times under 47 seconds in the 400m hurdles.
"In Paris, the big three won’t go any slower than 46 so I am stronger now," Clarke explained. "My speed is very much improved right now, probably if I contest the 200m this weekend I will probably shock myself, again and my coach with how fast I am in training."
With high expectations for himself and a focus on execution, Clarke is poised to make waves and as he fine-tunes his skills at the Velocity Fest meeting, fans and competitors alike eagerly anticipate his performance and potential for achieving new personal milestones.
Kenenisa Bekele says London Marathon field will be ‘remembering’ Kelvin Kiptum
Kelvin Kiptum will always hold a special place in the hearts of all marathon runners, according to veteran three-time Olympic track champion Kenenisa Bekele.
Kenyan long-distance runner Kiptum won last year’s London Marathon for the third time, but was killed in a car accident in February at the age of 24.
The death of Kiptum, who had gone on to become the first man to run the marathon under two hours and one minute in Chicago, sent shockwaves through the sport.
In winning last year, Kiptum set a new London Marathon record time of two hours, one minute and 25 seconds. He is to be remembered before Sunday’s race with 30 seconds of applause.
Ethiopian Bekele – who won Olympic gold in both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres at the 2008 Games in Beijing – has run the London Marathon five times, and was runner-up in 2017.
The 41-year-old, who also has five World Championship titles on the track, has seen plenty of talent come through during his long career, but is in no doubt of the lasting impact made by Kiptum.
“Kelvin of course, all of us miss him,” Bekele said. “Even within his short time, he has been setting an amazing history.
“The course record is also under his name and we are all remembering him.
“We put him in a special place in our heart because in a really within a short time he has done a lot for our sport.”
Bekele feels a lot of factors will come into play if Kiptum’s course record is to be challenged.
“Most of the time in London, maybe the first half is a very fast start because of pacing, but with me it can depend,” he said.
“I can read my body, listening to my feelings and of course the circumstances – like with the weather.”
Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola comes into London as the reigning New York Marathon champion, which followed on from his victory at the 2022 World Championship in Eugene.
Tola, who claimed 10,000m bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, feels in good shape heading into Sunday’s showpiece race.
“I have been working hard to prepare my body for the marathon in London,” he said.
“My training is OK and my body is okay, so we will see (what happens) on Sunday.”
Olympics selection could also be secured this weekend, but Tola will not let that distract his focus.
He said: “If I am selected for the Olympics, I will be happy, but it will depend on our race – and after Sunday we will know.”
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