“I promise I tried my hardest”- Dina Asher-Smith opens up after return from US stint with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's ex-coach Edrick Floreal

British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith has shared her thoughts on her return to London back from her USA stint with Edrick Floreal. Floreal, who coached 100m Olympic champion Julien Alfred and briefly worked with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone during her freshman year at Kentucky, had been Asher-Smith’s coach since late 2023.

Asher-Smith participated at the UK Championships where she collected a top finish in the 200m with a time of 22.14s (0.149 reaction time) just ahead of Amy Hunt (0.168 reaction time). Additionally, the 29-year-old also set a championship record on her way to the gold medal.

Following her remarkable win, Dina Asher-Smith was questioned about how she felt after being back to London from USA. To which, she reacted saying that she made a strong effort to adapt but felt it wasn’t the right fit (2:03 onwards):

“Oh, I love it. I'm such a London girl. Such a London girl. I tried. Tried. I tried but I'm back. I tried. I promise I tried my hardest. But yeah, I mean of course I'm Tokyo literally creeping up. We do 6 weeks. So, we still got so I mean it's not long but it's long. Yeah, I'm excited.”

Previously, in the heats of the UK Championships, she recorded a time of 22.90s to top Heat 3. So far, in the 2025 season, some of her top performances include a runner-up finish in the 200m at the London Diamond League and top-three outings at the Stockholm (10.93s) and Oslo Diamond Leagues (11.08s) in the 100m event.

Before joining Edrick Floreal’s training group, she had been coached by John Blackie for 19 years since the beginning of her track and field career.

Dina Asher-Smith expresses gratitude after winning 200m at UK Championships 2025

Dina Asher-Smith at UK Athletics Championships 2024 (Photo by Gary Oakley/Getty Images)

Dina Asher-Smith shared appreciation for the support team and people who have helped her reach this stage following her performance at the 2025 UK Championships. In an Instagram post, she reflected on this, writing:

“British 200m Champ in a new Championship Record of 22.14 💖Very excited to keep refining and so grateful to all of the kind, hardworking and dedicated people that have worked so hard to get me here, and will continue to work to get us where we want to be."

She also joked about her bad hair day at the event, which is why she chose to post a photo from the London Diamond League as she shared her thoughts. Notably, Keely Hodgkinson, Jemma Reekie, and Sarah Lavin were among the popular names who joined the comments to gush over her look.

About the author

Abhiruchi is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda, specializing in Athletics, Swimming, Gymnastics, and Wrestling among other sports. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has over 2 years of prior experience in the sports journalism sector.

Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy are Abhiruchi’s favorite Olympians. She began following them in 2018, and seeing their transformation from initially not wanting to play together to becoming the world's top-ranked men's doubles pair inspires her.

Track & Field excites Abhiruchi the most because of the diverse range of events involved in it. Neeraj Chopra's historic performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics stands as her favorite Olympic moment as it was India’s first gold in track and field events. She feels that focus should be placed on up-and-coming athletes to increase the coverage of Olympic sports during the off-season.

Abhiruchi applies journalistic principles learnt while pursuing her Bachelor’s degree by prioritizing first-hand information, cross-checking via multiple reliable sources, and fact-checking for accuracy. She follows reputed sources and numerous established athletes on social media platforms to remain updated.

When not reporting, Abhiruchi enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and friends.

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Edited by Abhiruchi Rout