2022 Outdoor Programme for Dina Asher-Smith

[Chafford1]

Given we have WC, CG and EC' in close succession this year, which events should DAS prioritise?

The WC 100m relay final is on Sunday 24 July evening.
The CG 100m first round is on Tuesday 2 August morning.
The CG 100m relay final is on Sunday 7 August morning.
The EC 100m first round is on Monday 15 August morning.

Assuming DAS wishes to do 100, 200m and relay at the WC, I think she should resist the temptation to participate at the CG and instead focus on defending her European titles in the same events which should give her enough time to recover from the Worlds.

Views?

[Christy93]

Frankly I will be stunned if she doesn't compete in Birmingham. It may not have the prestige, but British public engagement for Commonwealths will dwarf Worlds & Europeans, and that matters in these times. I think we'll see athletes juggling events, perhaps doing limited programmes spread across the three major meets, but the British stars will all turn up to Commonwealths imo.

[RunUnlimited]

Yeah, a home Commonwealth Games, the first to take place in England in 20 years, will be a very strong draw for the top athletes from the UK. Plus Dina will almost certainly be one of the faces of these games too, and I'm sure the athletics powers that be will be reminding the stars of how important getting public engagement for the sport in this country will be down to their participation.

So frankly, I see the likes of Dina, Keely Hodgkinson, Laura Muir, Jemma Reekie, et all, all showing up for duty in Birmingham, unless injury prevented their involvement.

(BTW, I didn't mention KJT -who is obviously one of our biggest athletics stars- in this list is that her main international competition will be coming from non-Commonwealth countries. Her main targets will be Eugene and Munich, where she'll be locking horns with Thiam, Sulek, Vidts, Williams, Vicente and a couple of others. If she wanted to compete in Birmingham, I'd see KJT either in the long jump or high jump, not in the multi events. Also, she would frankly stroll a Commonwealth gold and wouldn't get challenged by anybody but her own compatriots... plus she's already got a hep gold from the Gold Coast in 2018, so likely wouldn't see the point with all the congestion in the calendar.)

[RunUnlimited]

Given we have WC, CG and EC' in close succession this year, which events should DAS prioritise?

The WC 100m relay final is on Sunday 24 July evening.
The CG 100m first round is on Tuesday 2 August morning.
The CG 100m relay final is on Sunday 7 August morning.
The EC 100m first round is on Monday 15 August morning.

Assuming DAS wishes to do 100, 200m and relay at the WC, I think she should resist the temptation to participate at the CG and instead focus on defending her European titles in the same events which should give her enough time to recover from the Worlds.

Views?

Hmm.... A tough one this.

If the CWG were happening in, say, Canada or New Zealand, then I could see Dina giving them a miss, or at most competing in the relay. But since they are going to be on these shores, I'm sure she'll find it difficult to resist going all in on a WC/CWG double header and pushing the EC to the side lines instead.

She'll probably do the 100m/200m and relay in Eugene, either the 100m or 200m plus relay at the CWG, then either miss the European Champs completely, or do the relay.... *maybe* stretch it out to try and defend the 100m title in Munich.

ETH and SAFP will almost certainly do the World and CWG double and as much as of Europe's sprinting talent has improved since Dina dominated both sprints in Berlin 2018, the biggest challenges will come surely from the Jamaicans (and Americans) during the World's and Commonwealth's.... And after having her Olympic Games wreaked by the injury she picked up at the British Championship 100m final, I think Dina Asher Smith has a point to prove to the world's top sprinters and show why she is the reigning world 200m champion.


Just my two pennies worth of course.

[MysteryBrick]

I suspect Dina will go for the Worlds double, a single event in the CWG and then have been selected for the Europeans with the option to drop out/only do the relay if she is tired.

[Laps]

Very much a matter for the athletes imo. I would hate to see any of them pressured into doing the Commonwealth's so soon after the World's finish.
No doubt whatever transpires at the World's will affect their plans.
I have always thought of the Commonwealth's as much the lesser of the Championships. We went to Glasgow 2014 and have tickets for the Saturday and Sunday at Birmingham but there's no assumption that any of the 'stars' will turn up, all things considered.

[marra]

For what it is worth (probably not much) in 2014 the WJC were held in Hayward Field around the same dates as the WC will be this year, and then that led into the Glasgow CG and Zurich EC with roughly the same gaps between them all as there are this summer.

DAS and Desiree Henry both took part in the WJC, missed the Commonwealths and competed at the Euros. Dasher did the 100m at WJC and 200m at EC. Desiree did 100m/4x100m double at both.

Obviously as junior athletes you would tend to expect them to have reduced workloads anyway so it doesn't likely tell us much. But that's the closest comparision I can find for British athletes having the potential for 3 international champs back to back over the period of just over a month.

[RunUnlimited]

And as we all know, DAS did her hamstring during the 200m final at the European Championships, when she was well on her way to smashing her own British U20 record.

Will that experience be playing in her mind when she contemplates the decision to run in the CWG or not?

[marra]

Yeah, that was something I was reminded of when looking at the events earlier. I can't imagine she wouldn't be thinking about it even slightly, especially with her injury problems this last year as well.

Personally, I tend to subscribe more to the idea that if she drops one entirely, it would be EC, in favour of the home CGs. And even if she does, I would be amazed if she did more than 1 individual event and then the final of the 4x100m. With the option of a last minute place at the EC if she wants it and is feeling good.

of course, there's lots that could impact it before then. An early season injury might not heal for the Worlds but the extra couple of weeks might make a difference and change plans.

[Occasional Hope]

Another factor: in events where we have multiple athletes with qualification standards, is it selfish for the top athletes to do all three champs when someone else might perhaps have their only ever chance of representing their country? Especially if they end up dropping one at the last minute.

[Chafford1]

Another factor: in events where we have multiple athletes with qualification standards, is it selfish for the top athletes to do all three champs when someone else might perhaps have their only ever chance of representing their country? Especially if they end up dropping one at the last minute.

Good point. Give someone like Neita a chance to step up and win her first outdoor gold in the CG, assuming the likes of SAFP and ETH don't turn up in Birmingham - I suspect they won't.

I also suspect DAS will wish to defend as many of her European titles as possible- she won't want to see Mujinga Kambundji win these by default in DAS' absence. DAS must also be wondering what chance she has of winning an individual gold in Eugene - let's face it her 200m in Doha was won against a relatively weak field - so EC may be more attractive to her than the CG.

In terms of qualification for the WC and EC, doesn't DAS have 'wild card' entries for those events in which she is the defending champion, so doesn't need to go through the normal qualification process?

[marra]

Selfish, sure. But athletics is mostly an individual sport and if you think you can win multiple medals, why wouldn't you try?

Also, you would presume that late withdrawals could be factored into the team decisions for the ECs - teams can name up to 5 people in the initial team selection, with 3 taking part in the event itself (or 4 when you have the reigning EC competing as a wildcard).

One other thing that is unclear at the moment is whether they are using the bye system in the sprints that they used in 2016 and 2018. 2 rounds instead of 3 might persuade some athletes to take a chance on doing it.

[philipo]

With Asher Smith's record of injuries I would have thought a possible 3 majors is ill advised for sure. If she is in tip top condition for Eugene, it would seem sensible for her to defend her 200m plus a 2 races in the short relay.
She will obv iously wish to do one sprint at Birmingham plus a relay.
That's plenty
Personally speaking,with the Jamaicans the Americans on home turf and Mboma learning how to run the whole rac, DAS has rather tough job on her hands.

[Ladyloz]

Very much a matter for the athletes imo. I would hate to see any of them pressured into doing the Commonwealth's so soon after the World's finish.
No doubt whatever transpires at the World's will affect their plans.
I have always thought of the Commonwealth's as much the lesser of the Championships. We went to Glasgow 2014 and have tickets for the Saturday and Sunday at Birmingham but there's no assumption that any of the 'stars' will turn up, all things considered.

Don't think it's a case of pressure but more that most athletes are relishing the opportunity of competing in front of a home crowd. For younger athletes they may not have had the opportunity of competing at London 2012 or 2017 or Glasgow 2014. And for those who have then it's another opportunity to do so.

[Ladyloz]

Well lots of you have your thoughts but these are the more important thoughts from the woman herself. And she intents to compete at all 3.

Dina Asher-Smith: I'm so much stronger physically and mentally - BBC Sport


Unlikely she will double at all 3 - perhaps doubling at Eugene and then 1 event in Birmingham and Munich.

[Chafford1]

Well lots of you have your thoughts but these are the more important thoughts from the woman herself. And she intents to compete at all 3.

Dina Asher-Smith: I'm so much stronger physically and mentally - BBC Sport


Unlikely she will double at all 3 - perhaps doubling at Eugene and then 1 event in Birmingham and Munich.

Ah right. I hadn't seen this interview from a few days ago..

[Laps]

It will be interesting to see whether what is said in March has any similarity to reality in July.

[Chafford1]

The key question for DAS in 2022 is whether she can get close to ETH's 21.53 time for the 200m.

[RunUnlimited]

Despite the injury she picked up that ruined her Olympic campaign, Dina still managed to run 10.87 for 100m, just 0.04 off her British record time, at the Zurich Diamond League meeting. I'm of the opinion that she was set to run sub 10.8, maybe even threaten Christine Arron's European record 10.73, and somewhere in the 21.7 - 21.75 region for 200m, if she had come to Tokyo fully fit.

However, getting down into the ETH territory seems like possibly a step too far for Dina, though I hope I'm wrong about that.

[drobbie]

id hope for pbs in both the 100 and 200 which should be good enough to medal at the worlds