By Helen Reid and Vincent Daheron
PARIS (Reuters) – Britain’s fastest woman Dina Asher-Smith has taken up pottery classes to unwind as she trains in Texas for the Paris Olympics, where the 28-year-old is eyeing her first Olympic gold medal.
Asher-Smith holds the British record for the 100 and 200 metres, has a world championship gold in the 200 and silver in the 100 and won bronze in the 4×100 relay at the Rio and Tokyo Games but has not won an Olympic medal in an individual event.
“I’d love an Olympic gold… If not now, when?” she told Reuters in an interview.
Asher-Smith, who did not make the 100m final in Tokyo and had to pull out of the 200m due to a hamstring injury, said that Tokyo was “not fun” but she was excited for Paris.
“I’m a fashion girl so I love the idea of a French Olympics, a Parisian Olympics – very chic, going to have loads of fun – but also, as a Brit, it’s so close to home,” she said.
Asher-Smith said she was enjoying the sunshine in Austin, Texas, where she moved to train with new coach, Edrick Floreal, in October after parting ways with John Blackie, who coached the sprinter from the start of her 19-year career.
Asher-Smith has also found a new pastime to help her relax.
“I’ve just been making a really concerted effort to push my creativity, find something really fun, find a new hobby, and that was pottery,” she said.
“I can’t always do it with my long nails,” she joked, “but I’ve just been having a lot of fun and I’ve just been able to be.”
(Reporting by Helen Reid and Vincent Daheron; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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