How does a young white Northern Irish writer get chosen as the right man to tell the heartbreaking

story of institutionalised racism, abuse and near-death experiences of one of Britain's fastest

athletes of all time? The answer, as you will hear, is friendship, crack and Donald McCray.

Despite their different backgrounds,

Anika Onuro and Jonathan Drennan have worked together to create one of the most compelling books you will ever read in my opinion.

More than just a biography,

Anika's book, My Hidden Race, is an unflinchingly honest account of growing up and finding athletic success

in a country that is at times willfully blind to the racial violence and microaggressions

black women are expected to endure. And Nika meddled at the Olympics, the worlds, the Euros and the

Commonwealth Games, I feed very few people will ever accomplish, and few as a result could give a better insight

into the world of professional athletics

and its darkness better than Anika.

Trigger warning here though, before we get going,

we are going to talk about issues relating to the mental, physical

and sexual abuse she suffered during those years.

Stick around at the end of part one. I have a little bit of news about my status as an Irish man

abroad.

Anika and John, it is an absolute pleasure to have you both on the show.

Maybe the best place to start this conversation, given it's the first time in a long time,

I've had two people on the show at the same time,

is to discuss how the two of you met and how this book came about.

Yes, so we met through the really amazing journalist, sports journalist, Donald McCray.

...