Dina Asher-Smith could be set for a big year on the track
2021 didn’t quite go the way Dina Asher-Smith will have wanted. Unfortunately, for the British sprinter, her Olympics bid in the 100 and 200 metres was hampered by a hamstring injury.
Asher-Smith was fancied to win a medal at the very least in Tokyo, but she left with just a relay bronze and no individual medals. The disappointment of what happened last summer will only give her extra motivation in 2022, as she looks to bounce back to the sport.
The gold medallist from the 2019 World Championship is just 26 years old so her best years on the track are likely to still be ahead of her. With so many major events to look forward to this season, there is a lot up for grabs for the talented sprinter.
Her success in 2019 helped Asher-Smith become the poster girl of British athletics. She is now 25/1 in the online betting odds for the 2022 BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Mo Farah was the last athletics star to win that award in 2017, but the sprinter could be the latest to join the list if she returns back to her best this year.
World Athletics Championship
The biggest event on the calendar this year is the World Athletics Championship in Eugene, Oregon. Asher-Smith will be looking to defend the 200m title she won in Doha. She also claimed silver in the 100m event and the 4x100m relay. The woman from Orpington goes into all three events with medal hopes once again.
Asher-Smith will have the opportunity to improve her fitness and sharpness in a number of events before the World Athletics Championship, including the Diamond League. They will ensure she travels to the USA in her peak shape.
Winning gold at more than one World Athletics Championship has not been done often before by a British athlete, so it would be a huge achievement if she could manage it.
Commonwealth Games
Asher-Smith will participate in front of her home crowd in Birmingham at the Commonwealth Games. Having the majority of the crowd behind her in that competition is going to be a huge boost for the British sprinter. The last time she featured in an event as big as this in the UK was at the 2017 World Athletics Championship.
The British national record holder could only finish third in the 200m at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, but she did come away from the event with a gold medal, as she was part of the successful 4x100m England team.
Asher-Smith is a much faster sprinter than the one who appeared in the Gold Coast four years ago. It could be a great competition for her in Birmingham.
European Championship
As a four-time European champion, Asher-Smith will be expected to dominate the European Championships once again in 2022. The competition is the third major event of the summer, and it will take place in Munich, Germany.
If she succeeds in either of the two big competitions prior to the European Championships, Asher-Smith will be full of confidence and is likely to take some stopping in both the 100-metres and 200-metres events.
The chance to rectify what happened at the Olympics in 2021 will not come until 2024 in Paris, however, a flurry of medals this year will certainly go a long way towards boosting the morale of the fastest woman in British history.
