It was supposed to be a shootout for the ages, with the two fastest female British sprinters in history going toe-to-toe with pride, bragging rights, and a European 100m gold medal on the line. But on a wild and intoxicating night in Munich, Dina Asher-Smith pulled up with cramp and then her compatriot Daryll Neita blamed the same problem for robbing her of glory. It was staggering, discombobulating, and – frankly – very, very weird.
Asher-Smith admitted afterwards she had never had cramp in her life. Meanwhile Neita insisted that she had been so worried about an injury that she said a silent prayer. But as they shook their heads and licked their wounds, the huge 45,000 crowd in the Olympic Stadium got the miracle they craved as home favourite Gina Lückenkemper got up on the line to take a shock gold in 10.99sec.
