Dina Asher-Smith confirmed her place at the Paris 2024 Olympics by defeating Daryll Neita to win the British 200m title at the UK Athletics Championships.
Asher-Smith, 28, set a championship record with a time of 22.18 seconds, finishing ahead of Neita, who had already secured her spot in Team GB by winning the 100m gold on Saturday.
On a thrilling final day of competition in Manchester, several promising young athletes excelled under dark clouds, ensuring their representation for Team GB in Paris.
Seventeen-year-old Phoebe Gill claimed a stunning victory in the 800m, finishing ahead of Jemma Reekie with a time of 1:58.66. Both athletes will join Olympic and world silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson at the Games.
Amber Anning, 23, impressively won the women’s 400m, with Laviai Nielsen, who joins her twin sister Lina on the Olympic team, finishing second. Rising star Charlie Dobson dominated the men’s 400m event.
The men’s 800m final saw drama as 22-year-old world bronze medallist Ben Pattison won, while world 1500m champion Josh Kerr fell attempting to pass Elliot Giles but was unharmed. Pattison, who won his first global medal in Budapest, was followed by Max Burgin, also 22, who is now set for his Olympic debut.
Matthew Hudson-Smith stormed to the men’s 200m title with a personal best of 20.34 seconds, sharpening his speed before targeting glory in Paris.
Georgia Bell, 30, will make her Olympic debut after stunning favorite Laura Muir in the women’s 1500m. Neil Gourley and European 5,000m silver medallist George Mills will also make their Olympic debuts after securing the top two spots in the men’s final.
‘Big Changes’ Pay Off for Asher-Smith in Medal Bid
Asher-Smith had qualified fastest for the final in 22.69secs, with Neita also winning her heat in 23.05secs – and the former world 200m champion raised her level again to take victory in a season’s best time.
It meant the 28-year-old will join fellow sprint medal hope Neita in Paris as she targets her first global medal since winning world 200m gold five years ago.
Asher-Smith won her fifth European gold over 100m earlier in June to earn a first major international title since that stunning triumph in Doha, and her 10.96secs in the semi-finals in Rome remains the fastest time by a European athlete this year.
Following a disappointing World Championships in Budapest last summer, where she finished eighth in the 100m final and seventh in the 200m, Asher-Smith ended a 19-year partnership with long-time coach John Blackie and moved to train with Edrick Floreal – and that decision appears to be paying off as the Games approach.
“There has been a lot of big changes for me this year,” said Asher-Smith. “Something new was definitely needed and I have an amazing coach and set-up over there.
“This is not my first rodeo and I am really happy with this performance. I didn’t expect to run a season’s best either, especially it’s not the day for it with conditions.”
It was also a successful weekend for Neita, who stormed to the British 100m title on Saturday night, taking a dominant victory in 11.24secs in miserable conditions.
The two-time relay Olympic medallist has prioritised individual honours this year and was “distraught” after missing out on European 200m gold by one hundredth of a second less than three weeks ago, but responded to that setback to take two medals in Manchester.
World heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson finished ninth in the javelin on Saturday and lined up for the 200m a day later, running 23.20secs to qualify for the final which she then opted not to run.
Teenager Gill leads impressive emerging talent
Teenage sensation Phoebe Gill could hardly believe her achievement after leading from the front and impressively holding off Jemma Reekie in the last 200m to secure her Olympic debut.
Gill entered the race as a serious contender, having broken the 45-year-old European Under-18 800m record with a time of 1:57.86 just two weeks after her 17th birthday in May.
Knowing that a top-two finish would secure her spot on Team GB, she approached the race with a maturity beyond her years. The significance of her achievement hit her emotionally shortly after crossing the finish line.
“I am really emotional, I am trying not to cry,” said Gill. “I am so happy, I never thought this would actually happen. This is crazy to me, it’s like I’m dreaming. I can’t describe it to be honest.
“The fact I am going [to Paris] and competing against those who I have been watching on TV for ages is crazy. Paris wasn’t on my radar at all, the fact I am going now means I can go without having any expectations.”
World indoor silver medallist Reekie secured her place in the Olympic 800m, joining Gill and Hodgkinson. Hodgkinson, an Olympic and world silver medallist, will once again strive for her first global title in Paris. This time, she won’t be facing one of her main competitors, as defending Olympic champion Athing Mu missed out on qualification after a fall at the US trials.
Despite battling illness, Hodgkinson won European gold in Rome and competed in the 400m in Manchester to fine-tune her performance for Paris, finishing seventh with a time of 52.22 seconds.
Another rising star, Anning, 23, has had an impressive year, setting a British indoor 200m record in January with a time of 22.60 seconds and running the third-fastest 400m by a British woman in May with a time of 49.51 seconds. Anning heads to Paris with confidence after winning decisively against Laviai Nielsen, who, along with her sister Lina, secured a spot on Team GB.
Lina Nielsen, who earned a bronze medal with her sister as part of Britain’s 4x400m team at the world indoors in March, finished ahead of Jessie Knight in the women’s 400m hurdles final with a time of 54.81 seconds, qualifying both athletes for Paris.
In the men’s 400m, Dobson dominated the field to secure his place for Paris. The 24-year-old, who has previously won world bronze and European gold as part of Great Britain’s 4x400m relay team, achieved his first major individual medal with European silver this month and will join Hudson-Smith in the pursuit of an Olympic medal.
Following his impressive win, Hudson-Smith, who missed out on world gold by 0.08secs last year, said: “I am in good shape, the shape to win and I just want to get that gold.
“I am not worried about the time, just the medal. I know I am among the best and I just want to show the world I can do it.”