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Tokyo 2020: Will Dina Asher-Smith end GB's medal drought in the women's 100 or 200 metres?

Tokyo 2020: Will Dina Asher-Smith end GB's medal drought in the women's 100 or 200 metres?
© Reuters
The 25-year-old is Team GB's athletics team captain in Tokyo.

Dina Asher-Smith begins her Olympic campaign on Friday looking to become Great Britain's first ever champion and first medallist for over 60 years in the women's 100 or 200 metres.

Here, the PA news agency looks at Britain's past sprint performances as well as Asher-Smith's medal record as she goes into these Games as Team GB's athletics team captain.

Sixty-year wait

Dorothy Hyman with her 1960 Olympic 100m silver medal
Dorothy Hyman with her 1960 Olympic 100m silver medal (PA)

Since Dorothy Hyman won 100m silver and 200m bronze in 1960, no British woman has finished on the podium in either of those two events.

Dorothy Manley and Audrey Williamson, with silver in the 100m and 200m respectively in 1948, are the country's only other individual female medallists while the women's 4x100m relay has brought Britain two silver and six bronze medals in Olympic history.

Indeed, since Kathy Cook finished fourth in the 200m and Heather Oakes seventh in the 100m in 1984, even British finalists have been a rarity.

Asher-Smith finished fifth in the 200m in 2016, joining only Abi Oyepitan as a British finalist in that event since Cook's run, while Jeanette Kwakye – sixth in 2008 – is Britain's lone 100m finalist in the 37 years since Oakes.

Christine Ohuruogu won 400m gold in 2008 and silver in 2012, with Katharine Merry in 2000 matching Cook's 1984 bronze in that event. Ann Packer and Lilian Board won silver in 1964 and 1968 respectively.

Asher-Smith's medal haul

Dina Asher-Smith on the podium after receiving her 200m gold medal at the 2019 World Championships in Doha
Dina Asher-Smith on the podium after receiving her 200m gold medal at the 2019 World Championships in Doha (Martin Rickett/PA)

Asher-Smith contributed to one of those Olympic relay medal performances, joining Asha Philip, Desiree Henry and Daryll Neita to finish third on her Olympic debut in Rio – four years after serving as a volunteer kit carrier at London 2012.

She had already won relay bronze at the 2013 World Championships and 60m silver at the 2015 European Indoor Championships, but 2016 marked her true emergence as a force on the international stage.

That year's European Championships brought her first major gold medal, in the 200m, as well as relay silver – the latter feat matched at the 2017 World Championships.

Having won 200m bronze and relay gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, she dominated that year's European Championships with triple gold in the 100m, 200m and relay.

Asher-Smith's run of success continued at the 2019 World Championships in Doha with British records of 21.88 seconds to win the 200m and 10.83sec in the 100m for one of her two silver medals, the other coming in the relay.

She was crowned Diamond League 100m champion the same year, winning the season final in Brussels in 10.88sec. She has gone within three hundredths of that as one of three sub-11 second runs this year and arrived in Tokyo with a 200m season's best of 22.06sec.

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Great Britain's Kelly Holmes celebrates after winning gold in the women's 800 metre final during the Olympic Games in Athens on August 24, 2004
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Olympic medal table header
CountryGold medalSilver MedalBronze MedalT
ChinaChina32211669
United StatesUnited States25292276
JapanJapan2071239
AustraliaAustralia1541736
Great BritainGreat Britain14181547
Today's Olympic highlights header

Wednesday's key events


SKATEBOARDING
· Team GB starlet Sky Brown - aged just 13 - takes part in the women's park event and has a realistic chance of picking up a medal too. Bombette Martin is Britain's other representative, while hosts Japan are among the favourites for gold (1am)

HOCKEY
· Great Britain's women have more history in their sights heading into their semi-final against Netherlands - the team they beat in the 2016 gold medal match (2.30am)

ATHLETICS
· The men's 400m hurdles final on Tuesday will go down as one of the greatest Olympic races of all time, and the women will attempt to emulate that, with new world record holder Sydney McLaughlin of USA and Netherlands' Femke Bol the favourites for gold (3.30am)
· Nick Miller is Britain's representative in the men's hammer throw final (12.15pm)
· The men's 800m final could be a wide-open affair (1.05pm)
· A thrilling men's 200m final is in store as the likes of Andre de Grasse, Noah Lyles and 17-year-old sensation Erriyon Knighton bid to succeed Usain Bolt as Olympic champion (1.55pm)

SAILING
· After a medal-laden day on the water on Tuesday, Great Britain will be looking for more success, starting with Luke Patience and Chris Grube in the men's 470-class medal race (6.33am)
· Team GB also have medal hopes in the women's event, with defending champion Hannah Mills looking to retain her crown alongside new teammate Eilidh McIntyre (7.33am)

BOXING
· Already guaranteed at least a bronze, Great Britain's Frazer Clarke faces Uzbekistan's Bakhodir Jalolov in the men's super heavyweight with a place in the gold medal bout up for grabs (7.03am)
· Ben Whittaker is also guaranteed a medal, but will look to ensure that is either gold or silver as he takes on Cuba's Arlen Lopez in the light heavyweight final (7.35am)

CYCLING
· World records have been tumbling in the velodrome, and another could go in the men's team pursuit final as Italy - new world record holders themselves - face Denmark (10.06am)

EQUESTRIAN
· Three Brits have made into into the final of the men's jumping individual final, including fastest qualifier Ben Maher, who will bid to inherit compatriot Nick Skelton's Olympic crown (11am)

> Today's schedule in full
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