World 200m Champion Dina Asher-Smith says she was ‘relieved’ when it was announced that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were postponed.

The decision came in March as the coronavirus pandemic started to really bite.

And the 24 year-old said: “When it was postponed I remember weirdly feeling personally relieved.

“That sounds strange for an athlete to say but I remember that day it was postponed, all gyms were shut, tracks were shut, I had no access to physios, no access for biomechanics and I had no idea of how I would train to an Olympic standard from inside my flat. In the weirdest sense I was relieved,” she told BBC Sounds' No Passion No Point podcast.

She believes that the ‘reshuffle’ of the athletics calendar is a ‘big opportunity’ for the sport. 

After the Olympics, the World Championships will follow in 2022 and 2023, followed again by the Olympics in 2024. 

She added: "I think athletics, especially in the UK, has an opportunity in this period. In terms of the long-term future of athletics, weirdly I think as a sport it has one of the biggest opportunities because of the reshuffle."