Darryl Neita is flying! – runblogrun

Darryl Neita

I know it’s only mid-May – and as my old friend Kriss Akabusi used to say, they don’t give out any medals in May – but you cannot deny that Darryl Neita is flying. Two Diamond Leagues, separate distances, and two wins. You cannot ask for more.

In Sukhou/Shanghai, in the 200 meters, she was the 7th fastest on paper in the race. Three of the field were sub-22 runners. While Darryl was running her first 200 of the year, all the others had at least one under their belt this season. Neita won in 22.66 from Anavia Battle, with Sha’Carri Richardson third. She commented afterward: “I feel amazing. It was such a strong field; running that time at this stage of the season is amazing. To hear the crowd, who were so loud and received so much support from the Chinese people, was something else. My main focus for the rest of the season is to stay healthy and in one piece. I hope to really win a medal at the Olympics.”

In Doha, it was 100 meters with the win in 10.98, beating Tamari Davis for the second week running.  She summed up her performance: “I am thrilled with the race today. I have not run a 100 meters since the semifinal in the Budapest World Championships, so it feels good to win in the Diamond League and especially to do so in Doha. It is a great place. The crowd was amazing. I had not expected such a loud crowd, but it was wonderful, and the atmosphere was so good. I will take it race by race when it comes, and during the process, I hope to stay humble and healthy. I am aiming for medals”.

I have been privileged to follow Darryl’s career throughout. I have always appreciated her honesty in interviews. In the Rio Olympics, she missed the semi-final by one-hundredth of a second. I sympathized, but she would not have it, telling me, “I ran tragically badly.”

In 2021, she ran 10.96 in the Olympic prelim, repeating the time in Lausanne. In Zurich, when she ran 10.93, I congratulated her on another sub-11. She replied, “Thank you, but I cannot allow sub-11 to be special. It has to be normal.”

Darryl called 2022 ‘the year off the hundredth’, explaining, “I didn’t qualify for the worlds in the 200m by 1/100^th. I ran 10.90 as a PB, but 10.89 would have been lovely! I was 1/100th away from the 100m final in Oregon. And in Munich [European Championships], I was 1/100th away from the gold.” In the Commonwealth Games, she ran 10.90 in the semi but just…