After two seasons under Italian coach Marco Airale, Jeremiah Azu and Daryll Neita have both left Italy for different destinations, aiming to bounce back after seasons marked by major disappointments.
Jeremiah Azu: Returning to His Roots to Regain Confidence
Jeremiah Azu, the current Welsh 100m record holder and the ninth-fastest Briton in history with a time of 9.97 seconds, has decided to leave Italian coach Marco Airale to reunite with his childhood coach, Helen James, in Cardiff, where he grew up. After two years in Padua under Airale’s guidance—marked by ups and downs, including his individual disqualification at the Paris Olympics—Azu still played a crucial role in securing Great Britain’s 4x100m relay bronze medal just days later.
At 23, he has returned to James, the person who first inspired him to pursue athletics. His decision stems from a desire to regain the confidence and mental resilience he feels he has lost in recent years:
“She has a way of saying things that make me believe in my ability to achieve them. Every time I came back, she always restored my confidence, which I think I’ve been missing in recent years. So yes, I’m simply going back to the basics.”
Azu and James, who previously worked together from 2017 to 2022, made history by winning the British 100m title in 2022—the first Welshman to do so in over 50 years—while also securing a European bronze medal.
Daryll Neita: Training Alongside Track and Field Legends
Six-time Olympic and World Championship relay medalist Daryll Neita is entering a new phase in her career by joining Lance Brauman’s training group in Clermont, Florida. Her two years in Veneto saw her achieve a remarkable fourth-place finish in the women’s 100m final at the Paris Olympics—the best British result in 64 years. Despite being a strong performance, it was also a frustrating outcome for a top-level sprinter.
Neita has now joined the prestigious Pure Athletics group, known for producing champions such as Tyson Gay, Noah Lyles, Veronica Campbell-Brown, and Shaunae Miller-Uibo, all of whom have won multiple world and Olympic titles.
Following her fourth-place finish in Paris, Neita is determined to finally secure an individual medal on the global stage. Under the guidance of Brauman—renowned for bringing out the best in his athletes—Neita appears to have found the perfect environment to refine her technique, strengthen her mentality, and take the final step in her career at 28. Surrounded by elite training partners who share the same pursuit of excellence, all the ingredients are in place for Neita to establish herself as a genuine contender for world and Olympic titles in the upcoming cycle, which is already underway.
About the Author
