‘An inspiration’ - Daryll Neita hails GB teammate Bianca Williams on World Championship medal after giving birth
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Updated 27/08/2023 at 08:59 GMT
Three years after giving birth, Bianca Williams teamed up with Daryll Neita, Asha Philip and Imani-Lara Lansiquot to help Great Britain win bronze medal in the women’s 4x100m relay - Williams’ first at the World Championships - and was hailed as an “inspiration” by team-mate Neita. “She is such an inspiration for the whole of Britain, and the whole of female sprinting,” Neita told Eurosport.
‘It is amazing’ - GB women delighted with bronze medal in 4x100m relay at World Championships
Great Britain clinched third spot in the women’s 4x100m relay final at the World Championships to earn bronze medal, helped by the “inspirational” Bianca Williams.
Williams, who gave birth to her son Zuri in 2020, returned to the world stage in Budapest, Hungary, for the first time and put in a scintillating performance alongside Daryll Neita, Asha Philip and Imani-Lara Lansiquot.
Her bronze medal is the first at the World Championships, where she also competed in the 200m this year, but didn’t make it out of the heats.
But it was her performance in the relay that really had an impact on team-mate Neita.
“She’s so inspiring,” she told Eurosport. “What Bianca has done has been the most inspiring thing for all of us, but to have her baby, come back and [now] to be running faster than ever, performing on the world stage and grabbing medals for her son.
“To see it home, she’s just amazing. She’s inspired all of us so that when we reach this stage, we can come back better than ever.
“Coming back and being better than you ever were before. That’s just the most inspiring thing. It makes us all think, ‘maybe we’ll have babies sooner than we thought!’
“Because it’s possible. Once upon a time, we didn’t know how possible it was, but she is such an inspiration for the whole of Britain, the whole of female sprinting.”
An emotional Williams added: "I'm so proud of myself to come up here and do it for the mums".
USA came out on top in the relay to win gold in a time of 41.03, which was 0.18 seconds quicker than silver medalists Jamaica.
Williams and her team finished in 41.97 to win bronze - a season-best result - edging Italy who just missed out on a podium spot in fourth.
Great Britain were without superstar Dina Asher-Smith, who dropped out following her seventh-place 200m finish, as it was revealed she had been dealing with a neural problem following the 100m semi-final last week.
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