Daryll Neita

Daryll Neita in a file photo (Image Credits -Instagram/ @daryllneita)

Daryll Neita is the second fastest British woman in the history. In 2022, she won the British 100m and 200m titles, and bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships. Darryl also clinched the bronze medals in Olympics in 2016 and 2021 and World Championship silver medals in both 2017 and 2019. She won the bronze medal with a personal best of 10.90 secs at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the 100 meters.

Junior Athletic Career

She developed an early interest in sports after seeing Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce win the 100-meter gold medal at Beijing in 2008. She then joined the Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers at the age of 11, where she showed remarkable potential by winning the U17 English Schools 100-meter race. Asher-Smith and she raced together in the Kent league as they advanced through the rankings. She also competed in the 2015 European Junior Championships, finishing fourth in the 100-meter race despite suffering from a hamstring injury.

Senior Professional Career

She qualified for the Rio Olympics by placing second in the 100 meters at the British Championships in 2016 with a time of 11.24 seconds.  She won a silver medal in the 4 x 100-meter relay a week later at the 2016 European Championships. With a performance of 41.81 seconds on July 22, 2016, Neita and her teammates Asha Philip, Desiree Henry, and Dina Asher-Smith broke the British record for the 4 x 100-meter relay. Neita nearly missed qualifying for the semi-finals at the 2016 Rio Olympics after finishing the 100-meter heats in 11.41. However, together with teammates Asha Philip, Desiree Henry, and Dina Asher-Smith, she took home a bronze medal in the sprint relay, shattering the previous British record, with a timing of 41.77 secs.

Neita ran a personal best of 11.20 seconds for the 100 meters on June 17 in the England U23 Championships in 2017. On July 1, she finished second in the British Championships in 11.25 seconds, earning a spot on the World Championship squad. She continued to improve on her 100-meter record the following week at the Anniversary Games in London, clocking an 11.14 to move up to eighth on the UK all-time list. She ran 11.15 in her 100-meter heat at the 2017 World Championships in London to advance to the semi-finals, where she finished last after clocking 11.16. In the sprint relay, she and her 2016 Olympic colleagues Philip, Henry, and Asher-Smith went on to earn a silver medal.

Neita won the 100-meter race in September 2019 while competing for Europe in The Match, a two-day team competition against the Americans in Minsk, Belarus. She ran 11.18 seconds in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Championships in Doha after improving her 100-meter best to 11.12 seconds. In the subsequent 4 x 100m relay, she won a silver medal. Neita competed for England at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, where she established a new personal record of 10.90 in the semifinals. She finished third in the competition and took home a bronze medal with a timing of 11.07.

Medals at Major Competitions

Event Total Gold Silver Bronze
Olympic Games 2 0 0 2
World Championships 2 0 2 0
European Championships 3 1 1 1
Commonwealth Games 2 0 1 1

Greatest Rivalry

Her greatest rival is her compatriot Dina Asher-Smith. Dina is the fastest British woman in the record books. Dina has defeated Daryll on multiple occasions. However, at the Müller UK Athletics Championships, she surprised her by winning the 100-meter race with a timing of 10.80 (wind-assisted)

Records at Major Events

Competition Best Result Event Timing Position
Olympic Games Rio 2016 4 × 100 m 41.77 Bronze
Tokyo 2020 100 m 11.12 Eighth
World Championships Doha 2019 4 × 100 m 41.85 Silver
Oregon 2022 100 m 10.97 9th (sf)
Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022 100 m 11.07 Bronze
European Championships Munich 2022 100 m 11 Bronze

 

Coach

His present is not known. However, she was coached by Rana Reider. He is one of the most renowned coaches, having trained Olympic 200m champion Andre de Grasse and triple jump champion Christian Taylor. He was removed as a member from the UK athletics’ after allegations of sexual misconduct were done against him.

Personal Life

Daryll was born on 29 August, 1996, in London, England. She took up athletics as she was very inspired by Jamaican ace sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce’s triumph at the Summer Olympics 2008 in Beijing. There is not enough information available about her family.

Gallery

Daryll Neita celebrating post her race (Neita in a file photo; Image Credits - Instagram/ @daryllneita)

Daryll Neita celebrating post her race (Neita in a file photo; Image Credits - Instagram/ @daryllneita)

Daryll in a file photo (Image Credits - Instagram/ @daryllneita)

Daryll in a file photo (Image Credits - Instagram/ @daryllneita)

Daryll Neita in the 4x100m relay race at the World Championships 2022 (Image Credits - Instagram/ @daryllneita)

Daryll Neita in the 4x100m relay race at the World Championships 2022 (Image Credits - Instagram/ @daryllneita)

Daryll Neita in action (Image Credits -World Athletics)