Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith during the Women's 100m heats at the Stade de France on the seventh day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France.© Martin Rickett - PA Images,Getty

Dina Asher-Smith's ultra-private life from childhood to split from boyfriend

The Team GB athlete is going for gold in Paris 2024

Senior Features Writer
Updated: August 2, 2024

Dina Asher-Smith is going for gold in Paris 2024 and we're backing her all the way.

The athlete, 28, is the fastest British woman on record and has had a phenomenal career so far, she's been putting her all into securing gold for Team GB this year.

Away from her glittering track career, however, how much do you know about her personal life? We took a deep dive into Dina's life away from the spotlight and here's what we know…

© Matthias Hangst

Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain celebrates after winning gold in the Women's 200 metres final during day six of 17th IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019

Dina Asher-Smith's bio and life away from her career

Born in Orpington in December 1995 to parents Julie and Winston Asher-Smith, a lot of Dina's childhood was spent being active and she joined the Blackheath and Bromley Harriers Athletic Club at the age of eight.

It was there that Dina met the coach, John Blackie, who went on to train her for 19 years up until last year when she relocated to Austin, Texas, and began training with renowned US track and field coach Edrick Floréal.

After the successes that Dina had achieved in her career working under John, the change was huge for her.

She told Grazia magazine: "It was a very big shift for me. I met coach [Floréal], toured the facilities, then went back to London to pack up things. Ten days later I was living here." 

Unsurprisingly, Dina trains every day, in particular, while preparing for a major competition, but the star has been able to enjoy life away from the track, even more so after relocating to the States.

"I have become so into pottery and mosaics," she told the magazine, adding: "I go for a few hours a week." She also told the Guardian how she's been partaking in some golf in order to "switch off." 

© ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT

Britain's Dina Asher-Smith reacts after competing in the women's 100m heat of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 2, 2024

She said: "I've just been going for walks, playing mini golf and Top Golf, and just doing stuff that I wouldn't necessarily feel super comfortable doing in the UK because I know that my job would be a topic of conversation.

"Being able to switch off has been one of the best things."

Dina Asher-Smith's love life

Little is known about Dina Asher-Smith's love life, so it is not known if the star is in a relationship or involved with anyone.

She was previously dating fellow athlete and Team GB sprinter Zharnel Hughes, however, the couple split in 2018.

© Sam Mellish

Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain following the men's 4*100m relay final during day eight of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 at National Athletics Centre on August 26, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary

According to The Sun, Dina said the break-up was amicable: "We are fine, we are still friends. I won't go into the details because that is personal life but we are cool, absolutely fine. 

"I am not a celebrity so I didn't think it was that much of a big deal to be in the papers."

What has Dina Asher-Smith said about Paris 2024?

Dina made history in 2019 when she became the first British woman to win a world title in a sprint event. What's more, she's officially the fastest British woman on record.

At the Rio 2016 Olympics, Dina won a bronze medal in the 4 x 100m relay, and at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, she won bronze in the same event.

Dina has won multiple gold medals at various world championships in the past, but Olympic gold is on the brain.

She told Grazia: "I'm really pushing myself in every single way – physically, mentally, emotionally – to make sure that when that time comes, I'll be in the best possible position I can be to make that dream come true."

But, Dina is making sure that despite her determination, she's in the right frame of mind.

She told the Guardian: "I'm not somebody who carries any kind of baggage. I don’t think that's a useful way to run. You have to go into everything with a clean slate.

"Some people are very motivated by previous frustrations. But I'm somebody who just needs to feel free and light and joyful to run fast. That's my mentality.

"Especially in a year that I've changed so much, every single day I have been thinking about the Olympics, more so than anything else. I'm just really excited to get out there and race." 

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