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Anyika Onuora, a British athlete, shocked many with her autobiography: My Hidden Race. Onoura revealed that she was se*ually and racistly abused. We will present some parts of the book in the following lines. "From a young age, I was taught that life wasn’t fair.
For years my parents had dealt with racism. Their sacrifices eventually provided me with the platform and opportunities to run on the greatest athletics tracks in the world. But I have experienced things as a British athlete that haunt me during the day and the night.
No matter how hard I try, I will never be able to outrun the demons in my mind."- she wrote, as quoted by mirror.
She had problems with racist insults on a daily basis. "I have been brutally se*ually assaulted, experienced frequent racial abuse and attempted suicide twice.
All while competing for my country. My parents are from Nigeria and from our first day on the street in the suburb of Dingle, Liverpool, I could feel vicious hatred from a local gang of kids: the Onuora family were not welcome at all.
We were used to being the only black faces in a world of white ones but we had never experienced such naked hatred to our faces. We left the house for only two reasons; to go to school or to church. The racist insults of those years have never left me."
"The word “n*****” was spat at me countless times.
The front of the house became a no-go zone, due to the front window being shattered most nights by bricks. Every Sunday, just as the minister in leafy Mossley Hill was giving his sermon, our house would either be attacked or burgled by the gang.
It became a horrifying routine."
She wants to help others
In one part of the book she also spoke about se*ual abuse, and once even by her physiotherapist..With this story, she wants to help everyone who is in similar problems.
"I never told anyone in British Athletics about the assaults or racism I endured. I have spent many nights wondering why not. The answer is that I never felt there was someone who would understand what I had gone through. The vast majority of the support staff were white and none had experienced racial discrimination.
I tell this story now in the hope that it gives other female athletes who have been degraded and damaged the courage to reach out and speak up."