Desirèe Henry (born 26 August 1995) is a British sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. She won an Olympic silver medal in the women's 4 x 100 metres relay at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the bronze medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay at the 2016 Rio Games, and a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London.
 Henry at the 2013 European Junior Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 26 August 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 100 metres, 200 meters and 400 meters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Mike MacFarlane | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Childhood
editHenry was born on 26 August 1995 in Edmonton, London. She attended Highfield Primary School and St Anne's Catholic High School. She is of Antiguan and Guyanese descent.[1]
Career
editHenry is the 2011 World Youth Champion in the 200 meters. Her personal bests are 11.06 for the 100 meters, 22.46 for the 200 meters and 52.27 in the 400 meters all set in 2016.[2]
Henry was one of seven young people who lit the Olympic cauldron at the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony. All were nominated by famous British Olympians, with Henry being nominated by decathlete Daley Thompson.[3]
She ran the anchor leg as Great Britain won the 4x100 metres relay at the 2014 European Championships in Zurich.[4]
Henry improved her personal bests in 2016 to 11.06 in the 100 meters and 22.46 in the 200 meters and earned selection for the Rio Olympics. She began sprinting over 400 meters in 2015 but soon returned to shorter distances. In Rio, she reached the semifinals of the 100 metres, running 11.09, having run 11.08 in her heat. She went on to win a bronze medal in the sprint relay, setting a new British record of 41.77, along with her teammates Asha Philip, Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita.[5]
She won a silver medal as part of the 4x100 metres relay team at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London [6] and gold in the same event at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome.[7]
On 5 July 2024, Henry was named in the British 4x100 metres relay squad for the Paris Olympics.[8] She won a silver medal in the event, having run on the last leg in the heats.[9]
International competitions
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing Great Britain
| |||||
| 2011 | World Youth Championships | Lille, France | 1st | 200 m | 23.25 |
| 2012 | World Junior Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 4th | 200 m | 23.34 |
| 2013 | European Junior Championships | Rieti, Italy | 2nd | 200 m | 23.56 |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m | 43.81 | |||
| 2014 | World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 2nd | 4 × 200 m | 1:29.61 |
| World Junior Championships | Eugene, Oregon, United States | 4th | 100m | 11.56 (wind: -1.0 m/s) | |
| — | 4 × 100 m | DNF | |||
| European Championships | Zürich, Switzerland | 7th | 100 m | 11.43 (11.21) | |
| 1st | 4 × 100 m | 42.24 | |||
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 4th | 4 × 100 m | 42.10 |
| 2016 | European Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 2nd (sf) | 100 m | 11.091 |
| Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 12th (sf) | 100 m | 11.09 | |
| 3rd | 4 × 100 m | 41.77 | |||
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 18th (sf) | 100 m | 11.24 |
| 2nd | 4 × 100 m | 42.12 | |||
| 2019 | World Relays | Yokohama, Japan | – | 4 × 100 m | DNF |
| 2024 | European Championships | Rome, Italy | 1st | 4 × 100 m | 41.91 |
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 2nd (h) | 4 × 100 m relay | 42.03 | |
Note: Results in brackets indicate superior time achieved in qualifying rounds.
1Did not finish in the final
References
edit- ^ "Latest Caribbean and Latin America News". 15 August 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
- ^ "Desiree Henry". Power of 10. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
- ^ Bloom, Ben. "Desiree Henry: from lighting London's Olympic flame to competing in Rio". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Islington teenager Desirèe Henry wins European gold in 4X100m". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ "Rio Olympics 2016: Great Britain win Olympic women's 4x100m relay bronze". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ^ "Women's 4x100m relay final IAAF World Championships London 2017". World Athletics. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ "DOUBLE GOLD DELIGHT ON FINAL NIGHT AT EUROPEAN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS". British Athletics. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ "TEAM GB ATHLETICS SQUAD CONFIRMED FOR PARIS 2024". GB Athletics. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
- ^ Rowbottom, Mike (8 August 2024). "US teams enjoy 4x100m heats success as Johnson-Thompson takes early heptathlon lead in Paris". World Athletics. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
