Gary Neville Pulled His Hamstring In Race Against World Champion Sprinter

Gary Neville's attempt to race 200m world champion Dina Asher-Smith failed miserable when the former Manchester United captain's hamstring went.

Neville interviewed Great Britain's Asher-Smith for his podcast 'The Overlap' ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics which gets underway next week.

But much like with previous guests Harry Kane and Harry Maguire, Neville wasn't just there for a chat and he ended up getting his kit on and facing Asher-Smith on the track.

It wasn't a full 200m race, instead it was a 40m sprint drill that Neville took part in against one of the favourites to land a Gold medal for Team GB this summer.

He managed to negotiate a 10m head start given he was going up against the best in the world, but it didn't matter all that much in the end.

The 46-year-old was fairly quick out of the traps but unfortunately his hamstring gave way very early on. You can watch the hamstring hilarity ensue from about 25 minutes onwards:

"Oh no! I knew it would go. It was always going to go," Neville said.

Asher-Smith then asked if he was okay and told him, "Seriously, be careful! Because we definitely do this, like, how many days a week?".

The former England right-back had already been put through his paces in an intense warm-up before he had the dart, though it didn't stop him from blaming John Blackie, Asher-Smith's long-time coach and mentor, for not gearing him up.

Neville joked: "Coach, you didn't warm me up properly.

"Coach of the Year? He's pulled my hamstring!"

Neville surprised Asher-Smith at the very end by showing her a special video message for her and her mum from David Beckham.

Unfortunately for Neville it's the second time he's lost a big race with the Sky Sports cameras rolling. In 2018, he had a dash across the pitch against punditry pal Jamie Carragher and came up short.

"I was happy with that," Neville said as he got his breath back.

"When you think this guy trains with those scouse boxers four times a week. He's 40 and I'm 43. He won by about that much. I thought my nose just got there in front.

Topics: olympics, Manchester United, Tokyo Olympics, Gary Neville

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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