Team England’s women’s 4x100m relay team from Birmingham 2022 spoke of their pride as they were presented with their rightful Commonwealth gold medals in a ceremony at the London Athletics Meet.
In July 2023, the Nigerian team, who crossed the line first at the Alexander Stadium, were disqualified due to an Anti-Doping Rule Violation against Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha.
That means the England squad, consisting of Daryll Neita, Asha Philip, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Bianca Williams and Ashleigh Nelson, have been upgraded to Commonwealth champions.
A year after the initial verdict, the four members of the quintet were present to receive their upgraded medals during the London Athletics Meet at a sold-out London Stadium. The London Athletics Meet, a Diamond League event, is the largest one-day athletics meeting in the world.
The re-awarding ceremony was conducted by Dame Denise Lewis, Olympic heptathlon gold medallist and President of Commonwealth Games England.
The presentation took place less than a week before the Opening Ceremony and 12 days before the start of the athletics programme at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, at which Neita, Lansiquot and Williams will represent Team GB.
Philip and Williams were part of the women’s 4x100m squad at Gold Coast 2018, meaning Team England have secured back-to-back gold medals in the relay discipline.
"I think it's really important to take stock of moments like this," said Lansiquot. "It's not often that you get a gold medal at home, in a home crowd, in a home stadium so I'm really happy.
"As athletes, we have so much integrity and we put so much hard work into everything that we do. And so it is really special that we get rewarded for that properly.
"Obviously we would have loved to have had that in 2022, but it's okay. We've got that moment now."
Francesca Carter-Kelly, Team England’s Director of Sport and Performance, said: “We are delighted that Ashleigh, Asha, Imani-Lara, Bianca and Daryll have been able to collect their rightful Commonwealth gold medals.
“The London Athletics Meet was the perfect stage for the ceremony and we thank all partners who helped deliver the presentation, which was an unforgettable moment for our athletes.
“Protecting clean sport has never been more important and we are pleased to see the medals presented, one year after the initial WADA decision. We hope this can give our inspirational athletes a timely boost ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.”