Dina Asher-Smith isn’t just any 20-year-old history student at King’s College. She’s the 20-year-old history student who’s also the fastest woman in British history. The one who’s heading to Rio next month to represent the United Kingdom in the Games. (Anyone else feeling like a bit of an underachiever right now?)

Having grown up in Bromley, South East London, with parents of Jamaican descent, Dina’s running career started modestly, at her local athletics club aged 13. Medals and gongs steadily rolled in, and in August last year, she set the new British record for the women’s 200m with a startling 22.07 seconds. Now, after months of anticipation, gruelling training, and unparalleled pressure, Dina is off to Rio to join the rest of the world’s best athletes on the track – all on her summer holidays from uni.

Refinery29 were lucky enough to score five minutes with the queen of speed just before she packed her bags for Brazil...

So you’re the fastest woman in British history. That’s some title! Seriously though, how did you get so fast?

I think I got so fast just from training and working hard. Whilst I enjoy competing and I like winning, what I enjoy most is the idea of getting better. In training, if I run a really strong 180m, next time I want to do a great 190m; if I lift 80kg in the gym, next time I want to do 85kg. It’s all about continuous improvement.

Have you always been a runner?

No. I’ve always been sporty but when I was younger I was into hockey, swimming, board diving, and cycling — there was a bit of athletics but not a lot. It wasn’t until I was in secondary school when I had an accident playing hockey and I fractured my foot that I realised it was actually athletics I missed the most when I wasn’t able to do any sport. So, when I came back I put the others on hold and focused on running, deciding that was the one for me.

So who inspires you? On both personal and sporting levels.

Christine Ohuruogu can cover both bases. She is a genuinely lovely lady and an incredibly hard worker. She has achieved everything that an athlete could — all the medals, British records — but she remains completely grounded and down to earth.