Dina Asher-Smith is absolutely smashing it at the moment.

In 2019, she became the first British woman to win a sprint gold medal at the World Athletics Championships, earning herself the title of “Britain’s fastest woman” with her 200m performance.

Now, in the build-up to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, Asher-Smith is training as hard as she can to get herself ready. It’s pretty hard not to fall in love with her extraordinary work ethic and relentless determination.

So, it’s no big surprise that, as it turns out, we’re not the only ones who are obsessed with the young athlete. Speaking to Clara Amfo on Tuesday’s episode of her podcast This City, Asher-Smith revealed that she can count a member of the royal family among her fans.

“I feel like, I don’t want to show off but…I got a letter from Kate Middleton after Doha,” Asher-Smith explains. “That was a big surprise, obviously, because she’s a princess.

“I was like, do I social media this? But then I was like, no. Yeah, that was a surprise. She was like: ‘We love it. Like congratulations and stuff’.”

Continuing along the lines of celebrity admirers, Asher-Smith also revealed that ex-footballer Ian Wright is a big fan of hers – a fact she is “really enjoying right now”.

“He is such a big fan of track and field,” she says. “I’m loving it because obviously I grew up watching him and my Mum is the biggest fan. And even all my track friends – whenever he comments on a pic, I’ll get a DM from one of the boys like ‘I’m so jealous that he knows you are’.”

Throughout the podcast, which sees Amfo interview well-known Londoners about what the city means to them, Asher-Smith also touched on what it feels like to be a world champion. Her answer in short? Unbelievable.

“In terms of the idea that I’m a world champ and nobody can ever take that away – it hasn’t sunk in, no. I keep forgetting, you know?” she explains. “In all honesty, somebody said it to me the other day and they made a joke about world champion, and I was just saying ‘who are you talking about? Oh, yeah. Forgot. That’s me. Sorry.’ It’s definitely a nice feeling.”

She continues: “It’s not a bad job. I literally can’t complain. I get paid to run in a straight line, sometimes with a little bit of a bend in it. I actually can’t complain at all.

“Everybody is like, is it so hard? I mean well, it’s hard work, but if we’re being real in the grand scheme of jobs, it’s not actually a bad one.”

You keep doing you, Dina. 

Images: 4th Floor Creative