Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Clock denies Asher-Smith new British record

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Dina Asher-Smith booked her 100m spot at the Tokyo Olympics but was denied a new British record when her run, initially timed at 10.71 seconds, was revised to 10.97.

The British Championships crowd in Manchester, who thought they had seen a historic performance, groaned as Asher-Smith’s time was corrected.

Asha Philip followed her home in 11.16 to also book her place at the Olympics.

Holly Bradshaw broke the British pole vault record, clearing 4.90m.

The performance trumps Bradshaw’s 4.87m vault from January 2012 and takes her to third in the global 2021 standings.

CJ Ujah won the men’s 100m in commanding style, cantering to victory in 10.05 seconds to confirm his place on the Olympic team after Zharnel Hughes, quickest in the semi-finals, was disqualified for a false start.

Hughes ran 10.06 seconds in the semi-final, checking over both his shoulders as he eased in just one hundredth of a second outside the Olympic qualifying standard he lacks.

There is a chance that performance may yet be good enough to take him to Tokyo, but he is at the whim of the selectors and performances elsewhere in the world.

Reece Prescod, the fourth-fastest Briton of all time, is still finding his way back to form after tearing his hamstring in 2019, and finished fifth in 10.33 seconds.

“There are a few things I did wrong so when I crossed the line I was a bit like, ‘wow, OK’,” said Asher-Smith. “Maybe I can go so much faster because that wasn’t the perfect race, so I’m not entirely surprised to see the clock was not 10.71 but a win is a win at the Olympic trials.”

Victory secured Asher-Smith’s fourth national 100m title, but the domestic competition has long since ceased to be the 25-year-old’s real rivals.

After powering home in 10.91 in her semi-final without really pressing, she pushed to the line in the final, well clear of the field.

The initial clocking of 10.71 seconds – which would have smashed her national record of 10.83 seconds and put her sixth on the world all-time list – seemed entirely plausible.

But it wasn’t to last and the change of more than a quarter of a second was met with confusion and disappointment by fans.

“I’m in great shape, I know we all run in different continents and different conditions but when you all meet that’s what really matters,” said Asher-Smith of her international competition. “I have faster in me. I’m in good shape. I’m a championship performer.” (BBC)

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