Asha Philip Wins World 100m Gold

Connaught School for Girls student and Newham and Essex Beagles athlete, Asha Philip became the first British woman to win a global 100 metres title on Thursday 12th July 2007, when she claimed gold at the IAAF World Youth Championships in the Czech Republic city of Ostrava.

The race did not get underway until after two false starts which resulted in the disqualification of America’s Erica Alexander. Running in lane five, Asha blasted out of the blocks and seemed to have secured the win when Brazil’s Rosangela Santos strongly closed the gap in the last five metres leaving a photo-finish.

Initially it appeared that two gold medals would be awarded after the stadium scoreboard displayed both athletes in first place with 11.46sec. But using the most up-to-date computerised methods, the judges awarded Asha the victory by a single pixel from the high-definition photo-finish image.

Asha, who is also an international gymnast, explained: "I wasn't aware of the Brazilian girl until about five metres out and I thought 'Oh no!' I think it's the first time I have actually dipped properly." Asha added: "It's one of those stepping stones I've jumped and hopefully there will be many more."

Asha has won Great Britain’s first ever global gold medal in the women’s 100m and it comes eight years after her compatriot Mark Lewis Francis won the Boys race in the opening edition of the World Youth Championships in Bydgoszcz.

Asha is pictured here with her gold medal and bronze medallist team mate Ashlee Nelson from the City of Stoke Athletics Club. When Asha reflected on her historic feat after the race, she agreed it was her greatest accomplishment to date: “Yes, so far” and “It won’t be the last."

Asha added another gold medal to her impressive athletics career as part of the Women's 4x100m relay team on the final day of the European Junior Championships in Hengelo, Netherlands, on Sunday 22 July 2007. The youthful Women’s 4x100m squad won Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s third Gold medal of the championships, crossing the line clear in 44.52 seconds from Ukraine (44.77) and Poland (45.32). Asha is hopeful of helping the team beat the UK Junior record of 44.31 seconds set by a team including Katherine Merry – who is advising many athletes in this team – in 1993. “I’ve got two more years to get it,” smiled Asha.

Everyone at Connaught is very proud of Asha who is also a world class gymnast and we will all be following her success in the future. Watch out for Asha in the 2007 Trampoline World Championships to be held in Quebec City, Canada between October 29 and November 10, 2007.