Dina Asher-Smith collects MBE from ‘funny and really charming’ King
The 29-year-old made a special trip from her training base in Texas for the ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Sprint queen Dina Asher-Smith made a special trip from her training base in the US to collect her MBE and said it will help inspire other people.
Asher-Smith, Britain’s fastest female sprinter, is looking to compete in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the World Athletics Championships in September but the “hard work” towards that competition is still being done now.
The 29-year-old made a special trip from her training base in Texas to collect the MBE from the King at a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Tuesday.
Looking at her medal, she said: “For me, it is a very powerful emblem of what you do on the track being inspiring to other people and also having repercussions and positive influence far beyond the world of sport.
“When I started running, I just wanted to run faster.
“I did not imagine it would take me here.
“I didn’t imagine it would take me to the Olympic Games or get me records or anything like that.
“I think it is just testament to the power of sport, the power of working hard, staying focused and dedicated.
“As with all of the recipients here today, it is about the power of hard work and it is nice to be celebrated for your great work.”
Asher-Smith, who is originally from Orpington, Kent, said: “It means a lot to be recognised by your country in this way.
“It is a great setting, a stunning castle and the King is really funny and really charming, so it has been a great day.
“He (the King) was very much amazed that I flew over from Texas to get this but I said ‘Of course, you invited me so I wasn’t going to miss this and this is such an honour’.”
Asher-Smith said she is “really excited” to be opening her outdoor season with a 4x400m relay race on Sunday in Austin, Texas.
She added: “We have quite a lot of time to build into our season. I am in Jamaica next week to run there.
“I am definitely in a great place (for the World Championships). I’m really excited for the season. I am excited to kickstart my outdoor season this weekend.”
In 2023, Asher-Smith split with John Blackie, her coach of 19 years, nine months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
She also made the bold decision to move to the US to work alongside a raft of top sprinters, including the new Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred.
Asher-Smith was left cursing herself after failing to reach the 100m final at the Olympics in Paris but followed it with strong late-season form at the Diamond League where she took the fight to new sprint queens including Alfred and Sha’Carri Richardson of the US.
It included clocking a season’s best 10.88 seconds to triumph in Switzerland, just shy of her 10.83-second British record.
Asher-Smith was also looking forward to seeing Mr Blackie later on Tuesday, adding “I’m really excited to celebrate my MBE with” him.
She said: “My previous coach could not do the travel any more.
“He is in a wheelchair right now so when it came to the Paris (2024 Olympic) year, the travel was quite challenging and that was something we both had a serious conversation about.
“As a person, I absolutely love him. He was my coach for 19 years.”
Asher-Smith started breaking records at a young age, running a world-best 39.16 seconds in the 300m aged just 13.
From working as a kit-bag carrier at the London 2012 Olympics, she enjoyed a successful appearance at the Rio 2016 Olympics, where she finished fifth in the 200m and won bronze as part of the 4x100m relay.
Asher-Smith won 4x100m silver in the London Stadium at the 2017 World Championships, despite breaking her foot five months earlier.
Victory in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin made her the first British woman to achieve this sprint treble at a major championships.
She won the 200m at the 2019 World Championships, along with a silver in the 100m.
