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Dina Asher-Smith could defy taking the knee ban at Olympics
British sprinter calls for athletes to keep pushing - using our voices, dismantling barriers, destroying stereotypes in anti-racism cry
25 May 2021 • 12:29pm
Dina Asher-Smith says black people are being gaslit to believe institutional racism does not exist in Britain
Credit: REUTERS
Dina Asher-Smith has become the latest sportsperson to hint she could defy the International Olympics Committee’s ban on protests at the upcoming Tokyo Games, while suggesting black people are being “gaslit” to believe institutional racism does not exist in Britain.
Although she was non-committal when asked last weekend whether she would take a knee at the Olympics, she has now urged people to “keep pushing - using our voices, dismantling barriers, destroying stereotypes”.
Dina Asher-Smith crosses the line to claim victory in a cold, wet north east England
Credit: PA
Make no mistake, this was a Dina Asher-Smith victory with serious ramifications: irrefutable proof that she can beat Sha’Carri Richardson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce over 100 metres. Britain’s golden girl took on the very best sprinters in the world and won. Bring on the Olympics.
There may yet prove one minor issue. Gateshead on Sunday night could scarcely have borne less resemblance to the conditions these women will encounter in Tokyo in two months’ time. Indeed, if a sprinter were ever to describe the worst possible environment to race in this was it.