Anita Neil

Doris "Anita" Neil OLY[1] (born 5 April 1950) is a retired British international sprinter. In 1968, she became the first black British woman Olympian.[2] From an impoverished family Neil was forced to rely on charity to travel to meets and obtain equipment. Eventually the lack of a coach, insufficient training facilities, and having to support her family financially saw Neil forced into early retirement at just 23 years old.

Anita Neil
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (1950-04-05) 5 April 1950
Wellingborough
Sport
SportSprinting
Event(s)100 metres
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 1970 Edinburgh 4 x 100 metres relay
Representing  Great Britain
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place1969 Athens100 metres
Bronze medal – third place1969 Athens4 × 100 metres relay

Early life

Anita Neil was born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire,[3] to an African-American father and a white English mother. Neil’s father was a staff sergeant with the United States Army stationed in Wellingborough during World War II, where he met her mother, Florence, a local woman.[4] Neil’s father, who travelled back and forth between the US and England, left when she was six. In his absence Neil’s mother raised their five children single-handed with the support of Neil’s grandparents.[5]

Career

Neil worked as a machinist in a clothing factory and trained in her spare time. Known primarily as a sprinter, Neil's first competition for Great Britain was in the long jump in 1966.[6] She competed for GB in the 1967 European Cup. Neil was British champion in 100 metres in 1970 and 1971.

At a national competition in Portsmouth, she won the 100 yards and broke the national record (10.6 seconds). At the same meet she was part of the 4 x 110m relay team who set a World Record. Neil was invited to Buckingham Palace which she remembered because she met George Best.[5]

She was encourage by her hero Mary Rand and she became a member of the women's athletics club London Olympiades. She is considered 'a pioneer in the first generation of Black British female Olympic Athletes'.[3][7]:319

Olympics

She competed in the 100 metres and the 4 x 100-metres relay at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico. She progressed to the second round in the 100 metres and to the final in the relay.[3]

She also competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.[8] Again she progressed to the second round in the 100 metres and to the final in the relay.

European Championships

In 1969, she competed at the European Athletics Championships in Athens,[3] where she won bronze medals in the 100 metres as well as in 4 x 100-metres relay.[7]:205

Commonwealth Games

Neil represented England at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh and won a silver medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay.[3][9]

Later life

When she was 23 she had to retire to lack of money and facilities and she hid her trophies. When the Olympic torch passed through her home town of Wellingborough she was the only Olympic athlete and she wasn't asked to carry it. Only later was she recognised for her contribution.[5]

Neil continues to live in and has participated in local events.[10] In 2012, she was a guest of honour at the opening of the Wellingborough Museum's exhibition on the Olympic Games. A portrait of her hangs in the museum.[11] She also served as guest of honour at the official opening of the Knights Court in Wellingborough in 2014.[12]

References
  1. Bagley, Alison (6 May 2021). "It's official! Wellingborough sprint hero Anita confirmed as an Olympics history maker". Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  2. Bagchi, Rob (22 October 2020). "The story of black British sportswomen - from early pioneers through to current day". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  3. Williams, Jean, 1964- (26 July 2020). Britain's Olympic women : a history. Abingdon, Oxon. ISBN 978-1-000-16320-9. OCLC 1176318130.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. "The Second World War". www.northamptonshireheritage.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  5. "Anita Neil: Britain's first Black female Olympian – who was forced to quit in her prime". the Guardian. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  6. "Friday photos (9): Anita Neil - Britain's first black woman Olympian?". go-feet.blogspot.com. November 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  7. Moon, Gregory Paul (1997). A New Dawn Rising: An Empirical And Social Study Concerning the Emergence and Development of English Women's Athletics Until 1980 (PDF). Surrey: University of Surrey, Doctoral Thesis.
  8. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Anita Neil Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  9. "1970 Athletes". Team England.
    - "Edinburgh, 1970 Team". Team England.
    - "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  10. Abel, Carolyn (10 June 2005). "The Times Educational Supplement". TES.
  11. "Miss Anita Neil (b.1950)". Artuk. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  12. "Pounds 9m Housing Complex Officially Open in Wellingborough." Telegraph, 15 July 2014. ProQuest 1545011796.
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