Athletics news - Dina Asher-Smith: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce's 10.63s 100m is 'amazing' for the sport

Updated 09/06/2021 at 20:31 GMT

Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce may be a rival for Britain's Dina Asher-Smith this summer when the two of them compete for 100m medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games, rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but that not stopped Asher-Smith from praising her future opponent for an 'amazing' achievement.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (middle)

Image credit: Getty Images

Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce put in a 10.63 second 100m sprint on Saturday, an achievement that British fellow sprinter Dina Asher-Smith called ‘amazing.’

The time was set in Kingston to record Fraser-Pryce as the second-fastest women’s sprinter in history.

"I'm a competitor, but you can't ignore the fact Shelly-Ann is an amazing athlete," said Asher-Smith in recognition of the time.

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"It's amazing not only for her but also our sport.

"My coach sent me a video showing her leg speed and he said, 'this is what I'm talking about, you need to move your legs like that!'"

34-year-old Fraser-Pryce’s previous personal best was 10.7s, set in 2012.

As for Asher-Smith, she is knuckling down to prepare herself for this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo.

"As always, racing like anything else is a skill which you're never, ever going to forget how to do," she said.

"But for me I need a few to warm up and I'm going to continue to navigate my way through the season and get to the Olympics in the best possible shape and the best shape to perform well out there.

"Not racing for a year you definitely have some rust to get rid of, 100%!"