Watching a trampoline routine it is obvious to see the similarities to sprinting - the raw speed in the run up, the explosive power in the take-off or the core strength needed to perform gravity defying stunts.
For Asha Philip, she was more concerned about practicing her tucks, pikes and somersaults rather than athletics growing up. A talented trampolinist from the age of four it was in this discipline she would first taste elite level sporting competition.
It was this love for trampolining that would prove to be both the springboard into elite level athletics and the catalyst for the most frustrating period of her life.
Now aged 25, a determined Philip heads to compete at the Müller Anniversary Games in London as she prepares to compete in her first ever Olympic Games after an arduous eight year journey battling injury: “It’s been a very long road, and not many people come back from those sorts of setbacks. Some people take up a new sport or move on entirely in life but honestly I don’t know how I did it.”
That journey started in 2007, when aged 17, Philip was breaking new ground in both sports as she became a double international athlete. Competing at the World Youth Athletics Championships in Ostrava she showed her undoubted promise becoming the first ever British woman to win a global 100m title. Her progress was staggering, and with her career still in its infancy she was being tipped for the Beijing Olympics.
Later that very same year, her hopes and dreams were shattered, and her sporting career hanging in the balance, as she tore cruciate ligaments and fractured a bone performing her routine at the Quebec Trampoline Championships.
The news couldn’t have been worse – an estimated two years rehabilitation, missing out on the Beijing Olympics and a promising sporting career stunted.
Five years came and went for the Londoner, and so the opportunity to perform at an Olympic Games in her back garden frustratingly passed by, as she continued her battles with injuries and contemplated opportunities without athletics.
Now eight years down the line, 25 year old Philip is back to full health, and has successfully spent the last two years resurrecting herself as one of Britain’s leading female sprinters, culminating in her winning the 2016 British Championships to secure her ticket to Rio: “It’s such a relief knowing that I am going to be standing there with the GB flag on my chest and performing for my country at an Olympic Games.”
For Philip, the honour to represent her country on the international stage in Rio after so many setbacks will be filled with emotion: “I’m performing for all the people that have supported me, all the people that have put the effort in for me over the years. It will mean so much.”
Now she returns next week to compete at the Müller Anniversary Games after a successful European Championships where she played her part as the women’s 4x100m relay team won gold: “It’s more of a recovery week because we had the Europeans last week so I’m just taking it easy. I’m looking forward to the Müller Anniversary games next week which should set me up going in to Rio.”
A Londoner at heart, Philip made the decision to move to Loughborough and base herself at the High Performance Centre under the tutelage of coach Steve Fudge to kick start her career. It was a decision that would separate her from her family who have been so supportive throughout her career.
The prospect of getting a rare opportunity to compete in front of a London crowd was too good an opportunity to miss for Philip: “I’m really excited, I keep asking my coach if I can get extra days in London because I love going back home. It’ll be great to see my family and race in front of a home crowd. That Stadium (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is unreal and the UK fans are always right behind you.”
Performing in front of a partisan crowd at the Müller Anniversary Games is such a unique feeling for Philip, and drives her on to perform her best: “I am really looking forward to the home crowd. You want to perform well because of the support they give you. I wish I could pack that support it in a suitcase and take it with me to Rio!”
Listening to Philip, it is clear that she is relishing her second chance in the world of elite sport and takes nothing for granted. She is determined to make up for lost opportunities whilst she still can: “I have missed out on so much. I know what I’m capable of; I’m just waiting for my time to shine. I’m so happy to finally say I am going to Rio, I’ve got my spot, and now I can only perform to the best of my ability.”
