Britain's first black female Olympian Anita Neil thanks MailSport after being awarded an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours list

Britain's first black female Olympian Anita Neil has thanked the Daily Mail after being awarded an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list.

The 74-year-old, who in 2021 gave the Daily Mail her first interview in four decades, revealed the hurt of ‘being ignored all my life’.

She retired aged just 23 due to a lack of facilities and financial support. The 100m sprinter, from Northamptonshire, last represented Great Britain in 1972. 

The British Olympic Association issued an apology and showcased her achievements ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. 

She told Mail Sport: ‘I’m ecstatic, it’s absolutely fantastic. It’s thanks to the Mail who put me out there. Some of the people I raced against or were in the relay team were honoured many years ago, so I thought, “Oh well”.

‘It’s through you that this has happened. I’m so pleased the Mail chose to find out who was the first black female Olympian to represent Britain at the Olympics’.