British sprinter Asha Philip has been ruled out of the 100m heats at the European Athletics Championships in Munich after testing positive for COVID-19. The 31-year-old athlete was a semi-finalist in the same event at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham earlier in the season.
Ashleigh Nelson will take Asha Philip’s place in the 100m. the heats are later today. Asha Philip may also be part of Great Britain’s 4x100m relay at the end of the week.
Asha Philip is an English sprinter and former junior gymnast specializing in double mini-trampoline. She was the first British woman to achieve a global 100m title in any age group, winning gold at the 2007 World Youth Championships aged 16. Following a serious knee injury in gymnastics, and a rehabilitation period of several years, she returned to athletics full-time in 2014, winning gold at the European Athletics Championships in the 4x100m relay for Great Britain, and bronze in the same event at the Commonwealth Games for England. She won her first senior individual title in 2017, claiming gold at the 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships 60m for women, and at the 4x100m relay which won an Olympic bronze medal in the 4x100m relay at the 2016 Rio Games. She also won silver medals in the same event at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships.