Dina Asher-Smith sends out message at British Championships
European champ wins 100m in meet record 10.96s as Ojie Edoburun springs surprise in men's 100m
Athletics
Dina Asher-Smith showed why she is a genuine medal contender at the IAAF World Championships in Doha with victory in the 100m at the British Championships.
The European champion was just five-hundredths of a second outside her season's best as she clocked 10.96s - her fourth sub-11 run in four finals in 2019 - to win from Asha Philip and Daryll Neita.
The time was all the more impressive given that she was running into a headwind of 0.9 m/s inside Birmingham's Alexander Stadium with the event doubling up as trials for the World Championships.
It was a dominant display from the 23-year-old who beat double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson over 200m in Stockholm in May.
"It's all about the progression to the World Championships. I'm just happy I've booked my seat for at least one of the events." - Dina Asher-Smith speaking to the BBC
Earlier in the day, Asher-Smith ran 11.03s into a 2.0 m/s headwind in her semi-final which may have been a stronger performance.
In better conditions for sprinting, which she will surely find in Doha, the Londoner could go very close to her British record of 10.85s and perhaps secure a place on the podium.
Asher-Smith will run both sprints in Doha but chose to only take part in the 100m this weekend.
Edoburun takes shock win
Ojie Edoburun upstaged the big names to take victory in the men's 100m.
The race had been billed as a duel between Usain Bolt's former training colleague Zharnel Hughes and Adam Gemili, a member of Britain's triumphant 4x100m relay team at the 2017 World Championships.
It turned out to be a thriller with Edoburun, Hughes and Gemili all crossing the line in 10.18s.
But the photo finish showed that 2017 European Under-23 champion Edoburun was the winner by one-thousandth of a second from Gemili.
Hughes was third with Rio 2016 Olympian CJ Ujah in fourth.
A delighted Edoburun told BBC afterwards, "I'm not going to cry on TV. It's taken me so long to figure out what works for me, while seeing my peers excel.
"I was so scared, having flashbacks of all the bad trials I've had over the years."
Edoburun has a season's best of 10.08s, so he would have to improve considerably to be in medal contention.
Gemili's second place means he will definitely be in the British squad while Hughes - who has broken 10 seconds four times this season - has almost certainly done enough to be selected for the third spot.