By Ziad Chaudry

Blackheath & Bromley Harriers star sprinters Adam Gemili and Dina Asher-Smith both helped their Team GB Rio Olympic relay squad to wins at the London Anniversary Games IAAF Diamond League.

Gemili helped the Great Britain A Team produce the fastest time of the year in 37.78sec in the men’s 4x100m sprint relay at the Olympic Stadium.

And the former Dartford Grammar School pupil, who ran the second leg, believes last Saturday’s superb performance has sent out a strong message to rivals USA, Jamaica and France.

“We’re the world lead,” said Gemili. “We’ve almost had the British record and what better place to run in our home stadium in front of our home crowd.

“We’re all going to run a lot faster in Rio and we’re looking to challenge with the world’s best.”

Gemili is also confident going into his individual 200m in Rio. He finished third in a season’s best 20.07 while the event’s star attraction Usain Bolt was an easy 19.89 winner.

“I’m happy but I wanted to do better,” he continued. “There’s a lot more I can improve on, especially on the bend. You want to be running your fastest times in Rio so hopefully I’ll be doing that.”

Dina Asher-Smith ensured her fellow British 4x100m sprint colleagues recorded a world leading 41.81, which also broke the national record by one hundredth of a second.

The 20-year-old from Orpington knew from the moment she handed the baton over to anchor leg Lewisham-based Daryll Neita that the British record that stood for exactly a year would be broken.

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“The third leg was a massive change for me,” Asher-Smith said. “It was such good fun.

“I was watching Daryll [Neita] down the last 100m. I could see the time counting down and just thought, ‘oh my god, we are going to do it’. To run the British record is sensational.”

Asher-Smith finished fourth in the individual 100m event (11.09) which was won by Rio 2016 contender from Ivory Coast Marie Josée Ta Lou (10.96).

She added: “I'm really happy to run another 11.09, although I would have liked to have run a PB.

“I feel in that sort of shape right now.”