Dina Asher-Smith opened her season in fine style at the 50th anniversary edition of the Jablonec Indoor 2023 on Saturday (21), the first World Athletics Indoor Tour Bronze meeting in Europe in 2023.
After easing through the heats in 7.18, Asher-Smith blitzed to victory in the 60m final in 7.09 - the joint second fastest time of her career and only 0.03 shy of the British record held by Asha Philip.
Asher-Smith returns to the track next Friday in Karlsruhe where a tantalising clash with Ewa Swoboda and world indoor champion Mujinga Kambundji, who also inched Asher-Smith for 200m gold at the European Athletics Championships last August, awaits.
On the road to the Istanbul 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships from 2-5 March, Turkish sprinter Kayhan Ozer has emerged as a prospective medal candidate for the host nation in the short sprint.
Ozer won the men’s 60m final in a European lead and lifetime best of 6.58 to come within 0.03 of the Turkish record. Ozer’s time in Jablonec would have won silver behind Marcell Jacobs at the last edition of the European Indoor Championships in Torun 2021 and gold in Glasgow 2019.
Elsewhere, Czech veteran Petr Svoboda, 38, clocked 7.59 to win the 60m hurdles and reigning European indoor champion Tomas Stanek won the shot put with 21.43m.
Full results here.