At the Suzhou Diamond League, Daryll Neita won the 200 meters in 22.62 seconds, with American Sha’Carri Richardson, who has also won a global medal in the same distance, was among the competitors who fell behind.
She admitted after her victory: “It’s nice when you shock yourself.”
Neita on staying grounded and focused on her goal
Despite her ambitious goals, Neita is managing to maintain being grounded as she exceptionally progresses this season. She declared: “My coach has been working me so hard, so I went into the race expecting to win and wanting to win, but time-wise I had no idea what was going to happen. To cross the line feeling so good is probably why I showed that emotion.”
“It was a good run against a strong line-up and it gives me a lot of confidence going into the summer. I’m in a great place,” she added.
After her intense training with coach Marco Airale in Italy, Neita is determined to keep up her good form, which she hopes will land her a spot on the Olympic podium. As a constant member of the British women’s 4x100m team, she has won five global medals, including bronze in the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she will look to build on her success in the 100 and 200 meters event.
“My goals are through the roof. I don’t put limits on myself at all… 100% I am aiming for individual medals this summer. I don’t see why anyone shouldn’t believe they can; everyone should aim to be the best…It would mean the world to me. I have put in so much work to be in this position. It would be all of that hard work and dedication paying off…I just believe it’s possible. It would be the best feeling ever,” Neita stated.
Though it has just been three years since her eighth place performance in her first global final at the Tokyo Olympics, she has indeed shown great growth last summer at the World Championships, finishing within 0.24 seconds of the podium despite an outstanding 200m group.
“I’m just really proud of my journey and I’m enjoying it, that’s probably the main thing,” Neita proudly said.
Source: BBC