Brit Olympic stars pose in amazing body paint ahead of World Championships in London
Asha Philip, Desiree Henry, Dina Asher-Smith, Daryll Neita are aiming for gold in the women's 4x100m in London this summer
DARYLL NEITA often sneaks a peek at her Olympic bronze — because she still cannot believe she got on the podium in Rio.
Rising sprint star Neita was just 19 when she anchored 4x100 metres team-mates Asha Philip, Desiree Henry and Dina Asher-Smith to bronze last summer.
It was the first time in 32 years the British women had won an Olympic medal in the event.
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Now her focus is on winning selection for the GB team in the individual 100m at August’s World Championships in London — with the trials in Birmingham next weekend.
And also helping the 4x100m women improve on fourth place in Beijing two years ago.
Neita, 20, has already gained the qualifying time for London having set a PB of 11.20sec last weekend.
She said: “It’s still strange having an Olympic bronze.
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“Sometimes I go and find my medal to remind myself. I check it’s still there as I can’t believe it!
“My focus was the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, so to get a medal one Games early was unbelievable.
“If I can do that at 19 — there are no limits.
“To be part of the team to win a women’s sprint medal for the first time in 32 years . . . it gave us so much confidence on the world stage.”
She had already won a gold in the Olympic Stadium as a 15-year-old at the Sainsbury’s School Games — a London 2012 test event. So she is even more determined to make her World Championships debut there.
She said: “It was cool to win a gold in the stadium before Usain Bolt! At the time I didn’t realise how big London 2012 would be.
“So to run in the same stadium in my city at the Worlds will be amazing.”
And after coming runner-up in the 100m at last year’s Olympic trials, Neita agonisingly missed out on the semis in Rio by two thousandths of a second.
But she said: “What happened in Rio has made me more determined. The trials won’t be a pushover but I’ve matured and I’m faster now.”
Britain’s best athletes will compete for a place at the IAAF World Championships in London, at the Team Trials in Birmingham on July 1-2. For tickets visit britishathletics.org.uk