Dina Asher-Smith smashes British record to win world championships

3 October 2019, 10:31

Dina Asher-Smith celebrates as she wins gold in the women's 200m final at Doha
Dina Asher-Smith celebrates as she wins gold in the women's 200m final at Doha. Picture: PA Images
Ewan Quayle

By Ewan Quayle

Dina Asher-Smith has won gold in the 200m sprint at the World Athletics Championships, making her the fastest British woman in recorded history.

The 23-year-old, who took silver in the 100m last Sunday, beat her competitors in Doha with a record 21.88 seconds race time.

She is also the first British athlete to win a world or Olympic sprint race since Linford Christie at Stuttgart in 1993.

The other medallists were Brittany Brown from the US, who took silver, and Swiss Mujinga Kambundji who took bronze,

Dina Asher-Smith beat her competitors at Doha in the 200m women's final
Dina Asher-Smith beat her competitors at Doha in the 200m women's final. Picture: PA Images

After winning the race, the gold medallist told the cameras she was "lost for words" and had "dreamed of this moment".

She continued: "I woke up today thinking, 'This is it. This is the moment you did all your work for'. The tiredness disappeared.

"[My coach] John and I knew I could do it, it means so much."

Similar to the celebration lap after the 100m women's final, there were plenty of empty seats in the Khalifa Stadium but Asher-Smith enjoyed her victory with a large British crowd, including her mother Julie.