British sprint sensation Dina Asher-Smith has made a headline-grabbing move just weeks before the World Championships in Tokyo, parting ways with coach Edrick Floreal and returning to her roots in London.
Fresh off a stunning win at the UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham, where she clinched the 200m title with a championship record of 22.14 seconds, Asher-Smith’s beaming smile masked a deeper shift in her athletic journey.
The victory, secured by the narrowest of margins over Amy Hunt, signaled not just a return to form, but a deliberate course correction, one that meant leaving Texas behind.
“I’m really happy. I’m based in London and I’m just having fun,” she told Athletics Weekly.
Yet beneath her guarded phrasing, her confidence was unmistakable.
“I feel very confident and capable today. I love it. I’m such a London girl. I tried. I promise I tried my hardest. But yeah… of course.”
The split from Floreal, a high-profile coach who began working with Asher-Smith late last year, follows a period of underwhelming performances, including a disappointing outing at the Eugene Diamond League. Her departure also marks the end of training alongside elite athletes like Julien Alfred, further emphasizing the magnitude of her decision.
Describing life in Texas as being “like a fish out of water,” Asher-Smith candidly revealed that, despite the high-performance environment in Austin, something vital was missing.
“It’s really, really hot,” she said of her former training base.
“I wake up every day and the first thing in my head is to make sure I’m hydrating.”
Her return isn’t just a geographic relocation; it represents a recalibration of her mindset and methodology.
“I’ve been working on some stuff to do with my race phasing, race prep, and I think as you can see it’s paid dividends,” she noted after her Birmingham victory.
The performance would have earned her a bronze at the last Olympic Games, a powerful statement ahead of Tokyo.
Asher-Smith’s decision to walk away from a high-profile coaching setup so close to the World Championships may raise eyebrows, but her recent performances suggest it’s a gamble worth taking. Now training on her own terms in a city she calls home, the 28-year-old looks sharper, more grounded, and ready to contend on the global stage.
With less than a month to go before Tokyo, Dina Asher-Smith is proving that trusting your instincts, even when it means stepping away from elite circles, might just be the winning formula.
