On Saturday, August 3, Dina Asher-Smith was “shocked and disappointed” when her fifth-place finish in the semi-final ended her chance at winning her first individual Olympic medal.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a Jamaican sprinting icon competing in her final Olympics, reported an injury during her warm-up, but she was unable to even make it to the start line for her semi-final.
The 28-year-old Asher-Smith stated,
“I feel like I am in a great place, great shape, I am very, very disappointed,” said the 28-year-old. “It’s frustrating, full stop. Whether it’s a mind blowing [winning] time or it’s not. I fully know that I am capable and fully know that I should have been able to produce. I am shocked and disappointed”
She proceeded:
“I have been running great, I have been running great races, I have been running great in training. I was fully prepared to make that final so I am very disappointed.”
“Nothing is a blessing,” she added. “The Olympics is once every four years so I am very disappointed.
“I love the 200m but I love both of them. Mentally I was very much in this one. I can’t say I was thinking about that [the 200m] because I was fully fixed on doing well in the 100m and then moving on to the 200m.”
The three-time Olympic gold medalist Fraser-Pryce was absent. The Jamaican appeared to be having trouble getting past security to enter the Stade de France, according to an earlier video footage. The rumors were fueled by the fact that Fraser-Pryce’s absence from the game was not immediately explained.
Shortly before she was scheduled to proceed to the track, where she had been placed in the same semi-final as Sha’Carri Richardson, the 37-year-old was seen having a conversation with Olympic officials in the warm-up area.
Ludlow Watts, Jamaica’s team manager, later spoke with Jamaica’s media about Fraser-Pryce’s situation.
Watts stated,
“When we got the news she was warming up, and so it came as a surprise to me,” said Watts. “We only got the information that she is injured, but doctor Warren Blake is addressing the matter and we will speak further on the matter.
“This was a surprise and disappointment because the whole world would love to see Shelly in the Olympics. Apart from being a Jamaican, I am sure that people who love track and field would be very disappointed globally.”
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