Tokyo 2020 Olympic games - Heartbreak for Dina Asher-Smith as fitness issues end 100m, 200m dreams

ByEurosport

Updated 31/07/2021 at 14:24 GMT

The sprinter had been expected to be a real threat to win multiple medals but her injuries have taken their toll. After failing to reach the final of the 100m she has now confirmed she will not compete in the 200m which is her stronger event of the two, but she could still appear in the 4x100m relay. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+.

Team GB star Dina Asher-Smith has said she will not be competing in the 200m at the Olympic Games after heartbreak in the 100m.

Asher-Smith was seen as one of Great Britain’s primary medal hopes, but she revealed that she has been struggling with a hamstring tear that she suffered at the end of June at the British Athletics Championships.

And after failing to make it through to the final of the 100m, she confirmed that her fitness levels mean she is unable to compete in the 200m under the advice of her team.

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• Disaster for Asher-Smith as she misses out on Olympic 100m final

But speaking to track side to Eurosport's Greg Rutherford, she said she hopes her Games are not over with the 4x100m relay to come: "Individual [events are over]. I want to do the relay. The decision the doctors left it with was that ultimately, whether I came here and competed or not was my coach’s decision.

'Absolutely gutting' - Rutherford crushed by Asher-Smith not making 100m final

"I’m a competitor so even if my leg was hanging off, I would be like 'yeah let’s get it, I don’t care', you can put yourself in that mindset.

"But it does take somebody a bit wiser, a bit more grounded to turn round and go 'no Dina, I know you’re an animal, I know you’re a competitor, but fundamentally we’re missing a little bit of this power, a little bit of that transition in training which you had in spades a few weeks ago, but just because of the nature of what you have, we haven’t had the time to put it back in'.

"Had this been a month later, had this been six weeks later, it’s a completely different story, but it’s not. Life can be annoying sometimes."

'Absolute sheds of tears' - Dina opens up on injury heartache

Speaking to Eurosport, Asher-Smith also revealed the extent of her battle against the injury that she sustained in June - before a second opinion allowed her to at least travel to Tokyo to compete.

"I tore my hamstring. Initially that day I was told it was a complete rupture and that I would need surgery and a 3-4 month recovery and so over that 72 hours obviously that was rock bottom and I just opened my eyes and cried, talked to my friends, cried.

"I told my golden circle of trust that I wasn't going to the Olympics. Absolute sheds of tears."

The heats of the 4x100m relay start on Thursday, with the final taking place on Friday.

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