Desirèe Henry (born 26 August 1995) is an English sprinter of Antiguan and Guyanese descent who competes in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

. She won an Olympic 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 World Athletics Championships in London on 12 August 2017.

Childhood

Henry was born on 26 August 1995 in

Edmonton, London Edmonton is a town in north London, England within the London Borough of Enfield, a local government district of Greater London. The northern part of the town is known as Lower Edmonton or Edmonton Green, and the southern part as Upper Edmonto ...

. She attended Highfield Primary School and

St Anne's Catholic High School St Anne's Catholic High School for Girls is an all-girls Catholic secondary school located in London, England, which was founded to provide education for Catholic girls aged 11–18. It is situated in Palmers Green and is the highest performin ...

Career

Henry is the 2011 World Youth Champion in the

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

. Her personal bests are 11.06 for the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

, 22.46 for the

and sprinted 52.27 in the

400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...

all set in 2016. Henry was one of seven young people who lit the

Olympic cauldron The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...

at the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony. All were nominated by famous British Olympians, with Henry being nominated by decathlete

Daley Thompson Francis Morgan Ayodélé Thompson, (born 30 July 1958), better known as Daley Thompson, is a British former decathlete. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four tim ...

. Henry improved her personal bests in 2016 to 11.06 in the

and 22.46 in the

and earned selection for the Rio Olympics. She began sprinting over

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 Asha Solette Philip (born 25 October 1990) is an English Sprint (running), sprinter and former junior gymnast specialising in double mini-trampoline. She was the first British woman to achieve a global 100 metres title at any age-group, winning g ...

Dina Asher-Smith Geraldina "Dina" Rachel Asher-Smith, (; born 4 December 1995) is a British sprinter. She is the fastest British woman on record. She won a gold medal in the 200 metres, silver in the 100 metres and another silver in the 4×100 m relay a ...

and

Daryll Neita Daryll Neita (born 29 August 1996) is a British sprinter. In 2022, she won her first individual international medals, with bronze in the 100 metres at both the European Championships and Commonwealth Games. Neita claimed bronze for the 60 metr ...

International competitions

Note: Results in brackets indicate superior time achieved in qualifying rounds. ¹Did not finish in the final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Desiree Living people 1995 births Sportspeople from Blackpool English female sprinters European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain Olympic cauldron lighters English sportspeople of Antigua and Barbuda descent English people of Guyanese descent Sportspeople of Guyanese descent Black British sportswomen Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships medalists Olympic female sprinters