Dina Asher-Smith has withdrawn from the Commonwealth Games after suffering a hamstring injury at the World Athletics Championships last week.
Asher-Smith pulled up during the women’s 4x100m relay with Great Britain well-placed for a medal. She managed to complete her third leg but the damage was done and the British quartet missed out on the podium.
After the race she told reporters: “I hope it’s nothing serious because I have got a lot more races to do this year. I will have to go and have a check with my physio. But I just feel a bit confused because I felt fine coming in, went around the bend and my legs just stopped corresponding with me.”
On Wednesday she confirmed her withdrawal from the Commonwealths, writing on Instagram: “Thankfully I’ve only got a light hamstring strain after pulling up in the 4x1 a few days ago. No major issue and nothing to worry about. But due to the short turnaround between the end of the Worlds and the start of the Commonwealth Games in a few days’ time I’m going to have to withdraw.”
The news is a blow to the Commonwealth Games, which begin in Birmingham on Thursday. The Games are already missing the major home draws of Tom Daley, who is taking time out from diving, and the injured Max Whitlock, and Asher-Smith would have been a popular attraction when the athletics gets under way next week at the Alexander Stadium.
The 26-year-old sprinter now faces a rush to be ready for the European Championships in Munich next month, where she hopes to defend her 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles.
Injuries were an inevitable consequence of a concertinaed schedule after the World Athletics Championships were pushed back 12 months due to the pandemic, which left home athletes trying to squeeze in the Worlds, Commonwealths and Europeans all in one summer.
Asher-Smith’s Tokyo Olympics were also scuppered by a hamstring injury. She failed to make the 100m final before withdrawing from the 200m, and returned only for the 4x100m relay, where Britain won bronze.
