2013-2015: Early career Asher-Smith was part of the winning Great Britain team for the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2013
London Grand Prix meet and was the youngest athlete selected for the
Great Britain and Northern Ireland Squad for the
2013 World Championships in
Moscow. Along with teammates
Annabelle Lewis,
Ashleigh Nelson and
Hayley Jones, she won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 m relay. At the
2014 European Athletics Championships in Zurich, she qualified for the 200 m final but pulled out with a hamstring injury on the bend. She took the silver medal for the 60 m at the
2015 European Indoor Championships. It was the first time in 30 years that a British female won a medal in the event. In doing so, Asher-Smith equalled
Jeanette Kwakye's British record of 7.08 s and, being 19 years old, became the fastest ever teenager at 60 m. She first broke the British 100 metres record with 11.02 s on 24 May in Hengelo, before becoming the first British woman to run a legal time under 11 seconds, with 10.99 s on 25 July at the
London Anniversary Games. She then finished fifth in the 200 m at the
2015 IAAF World Championships in
Beijing with a time of 22.07 s, a new British record.
2016-2018: Olympic debut and triple European gold in London. Asher-Smith won her first
Diamond League at the 2016
BAUHAUS-galan in the 200 m. She won gold over the 200 m at the
2016 European Championships, clocking a time of 22.37 s in the final. She went on to win a silver in the 4 × 100 m relay. At the
2016 Summer Olympics in
Rio de Janeiro, Asher-Smith finished fifth in the 200 metres, in a season's best of 22.31 seconds, then won a bronze medal with her teammates
Asha Philip,
Desiree Henry and
Daryll Neita in the 4 × 100 m relay in a British record of 41.77 seconds. On 17 February 2017, Asher-Smith broke her foot in a training accident, but still managed to secure fourth place in the women's 200 m and a silver medal as part of the Great Britain 4 × 100 m relay later that year at the
World Championships in London. In 2018, she went to
Australia early to train and get used to the conditions prior to the
Commonwealth Games scheduled to take place in
Gold Coast, Queensland in that country. She qualified for the 200 m final, and came away with a bronze medal in a time off 22.29 seconds. England ladies, including Asher-Smith, qualified for the 4 × 100 m relay final, where they won gold in a time of 42.46 seconds, beating one of the favorites, Jamaica. She improved her British record in the 100 m to 10.92 s in placing second at the 2018
Oslo Diamond League. Three days later, she continued her good form by winning the
Stockholm Diamond League in 10.93 s. At the
2018 European Championships in
Berlin, Asher-Smith won both the 100 m and 200 m titles, improving her British records to 10.85 and 21.89 seconds respectively, becoming the first British woman in history to run below 22 seconds for 200 metres, and moving to 22nd on the 200 metres
world all-time list (35th at 100 m). She won a third gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay. Asher-Smith was named women's
European Athlete of the Year for her success in October. She was later hailed by IAAF president
Sebastian Coe as the next sprint sensation in athletics.
2019-2021: World 200 m champion and Tokyo Olympics at the
2019 World Championships in
Doha. Asher-Smith went into the
2019 IAAF World Championships in fine form, winning over 200 m at the
Doha and
Stockholm Diamond Leagues, and over 100 m at the Diamond League final in
Brussels in a time of 10.88 s. She also placed second over 100 m at the
Rome,
Lausanne and
London Diamond Leagues in times of 10.94 s, 10.91 s and 10.92 s respectively. At the
World Championships, she won the silver medal in the 100 m at the
World Championships in a new British record of 10.83 seconds, finishing second behind only
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. She was the first female British sprinter to win, over 100 m or 200 m, an individual medal in the world championships since Kathy Cook in 1983. Going into the 2021 season, Asher-Smith was a strong medal favourite for the short sprints at the
2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Her season was off to a promising start in May when she won the women's 100 m final at the Gateshead
Diamond League against a world class field, besting athletes such as
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce,
Blessing Okagbare,
Marie-Josée Ta Lou and
Sha'Carri Richardson. She followed this up in late June when she won the 100 m final at the
British Championships in a time of 10.97 seconds. The clock had originally reported 10.71 seconds, which would have been a substantial national record, however this was corrected a few minutes later. She came into the Olympics having gained selection in the 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay, however failed to qualify for the 100 m final after placing third in her semi-final in a time of 11.05 seconds, which was not enough to gain a fastest non-automatic qualifying spot. Subsequently, she revealed in an emotional interview that she had actually sustained a hamstring injury during the finals of the British Championships, and that she would be pulling out of the 200 m. Nevertheless, she managed to return to contribute to the
4 × 100 m relay, aiding Great Britain in setting a new national record of 41.55 seconds in their heat, followed by a bronze medal in the final behind Jamaica and the United States. She later bounced back to end her 2021 campaign with a seasons best of 22.04 seconds in the 200 m at the
Brussels Diamond League, also setting a seasons best of 10.87 seconds in placing second in the 100 m at the
Diamond League Final in
Zürich.
2022-2024: World bronze medallist and European 100 m champion . In 2022, Asher-Smith ran her first Diamond League of the season in
Doha, placing third over 200 m behind
Gabby Thomas and
Shericka Jackson in a time of 22.37 s. She won the 100 m at the
Birmingham Diamond League in a time of 11.11 s, narrowly beating out
Shericka Jackson and
Daryll Neita. At the
2022 British Athletics Championships, she was beaten by Neita in the 100 m. She recovered to win at the
Stockholm Diamond League over 200 m, in a time of 22.37 s. At the
World Athletics Championships in
Eugene, Asher-Smith placed fourth in the 100 m, equalling her British record of 10.83 s. She went on to win a bronze medal in the 200 m, having run her first sub-22 second 200 m since 2019 in the semi-finals. However, in the 4 × 100 m relay, Asher-Smith pulled up with an injury around the bend, whilst she finished her leg, Britain lost ground and finished sixth. In August, she competed at the
European Championships, in the 100 m, Asher-Smith struggled with cramp as she pulled up after 60 m and finished eighth in the final. She bounced back to win silver in the 200 m, finishing behind
Mujinga Kambundji. On 27 January 2023, Asher-Smith broke the British record for the 60 m, running 7.04 s in
Karlsruhe. She broke the record again on 25 February, running 7.03 s in the heats of the
World Indoor Tour Final in
Birmingham, she went on to win the final in 7.05 s. She won the 100 m at the
2023 British Championships in a time of 11.06 s. On 23 July, Asher-Smith ran 10.85 s in finishing second at the
London Athletics Meet, this time was just 0.02 s off of her national record. At the
World Championships in
Budapest, after a season impacted by minor injuries, Asher-Smith finished eighth in the 100 m final and seventh in the 200 m. She later explained that a nerve problem had impacted her performance. In October 2023, she announced that her coaching partnership of 19 years with John Blackie would end. She moved her base to
Austin, Texas where she would be guided by
Edrick Floreal. . In 2024, Asher-Smith was selected for the British team at the
European Championships, where she overcame a slow start to win the gold medal in the 100 m with a time of 10.99 s. She went on to win another gold medal as part of the 4 × 100 m relay team. After winning the gold medal in the 200 metres at the
British Championships, Asher-Smith was subsequently named in the
Great Britain team for the
Paris Olympics. She was eliminated in the semi-final of the 100 m having run 11.10 seconds, and she finished fourth in the 200 m final in 22.22 seconds, narrowly denied the bronze medal by 2019 World Championship silver medallist
Brittany Brown. Following the women's 200 m final, she told BBC Sport: "I feel good. It's been a long week and I'm proud of that performance. It was a really strong field. All the girls, across them, had so many strengths [...], and I was really proud to have held my own." Despite not winning a medal in an individual event, she won a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay, with teammates
Imani Lansiquot,
Amy Hunt and
Daryll Neita. The team finished in 41.85 seconds. Following the Paris Olympics, Asher-Smith competed in the 100 m at the
Lausanne Diamond League, winning in a season's best time of 10.88 seconds—a time that would have won her the bronze medal in Paris. She continued her good form up by placing third over the same distance at the
Zurich Diamond League. Asher-Smith ended her season at the
Diamond League Final in
Brussels, placing second behind training-partner
Julien Alfred in 10.92 s.
2025-present: Further success Asher-Smith opened her outdoor season in the long sprints group at the
Kingston Grand Slam Track, running a 400 m personal best of 52.15 s. She further improved her personal best to 52.13 s at the Texas Invitational on 25 April. She improved her season's best over 100 m to 10.93 s in finishing second at the
Stockholm Diamond League on 15 June. She also finished second over 200 m at the
London Diamond League on 19 July, running 22.25 s. At the
British Championships, she won gold in a new championship record of 22.14 s, narrowly beating a fast-finishing
Amy Hunt by 0.001 s. After the final, she revealed she had left Edrick Floreal's Texas training group and was now being coached in London. She finished second over 200 m and fourth over 100 m at the
Diamond League Final in
Zurich, with times of 22.18 and 10.94 s, respectively. At the
World Championships in
Tokyo, she finished eighth in the 100 m in 11.08 s, before finishing fifth over 200 m in 22.43 s. In the 4×100 m relay, she was part of the British team that finished fourth in the final. On 1 February 2026, Asher-Smith won the 60 m at the Millrose Games in
New York, finishing with a time of 7.10s. She won the British title over 60 m at the
British Indoor Championships on 14 February, running 7.05 s in the final. ==Other activities==