The British honours system has often been much-maligned and has come under severe criticism because there are those who consider it an anachronism in this day and age.

But there's not a single soul who could possibly object when Lorna goes to Buckingham Palace to collect her medal later this year.

I'm sure everyone in athletics who knows her and her achievements are delighted that her devoted services to sports coaching and administration have been royally recognised.

Standing just 5ft 4ins tall and weighing only eight stone soaking wet, Lorna was a tough and gritty track competitor. A British 100 metres hurdles record holder, she won the gold medal at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton in Alberta, and four years later in Brisbane came home with the silver. She also competed for Britain at the Montreal and Moscow Olympics in 1976 and 1980. 

But her greatest successes have been away from the track where she has been a visionary and a game changer.

Lorna was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and came to this country as a child. She was 11 when she joined her first athletic club - she was one of only two black athletes. And it was there as a teenager she experienced the worst kind of racism. Never afraid to give her opinion she was arguing with one of the club's coaches about the relay running order.

Angry that she had the temerity to express her views and disagree with him he snarled: "You black bitch - why don't you go back where you came from?" 

That appalling incident would have been enough to put many young girls off the sport for life. Lorna simply walked out and joined another club.

Despite her highly successful track career representing England and Britain on numerous occasions, it is as an administrator that Lorna has earned worldwide respect.

When Lorna hung up her spikes back in the 1980s, British athletics was a bastion of white male supremacy. She bravely and with grim determination fought the racism and sexism of the times and emerged triumphantly as the most senior black woman in British athletic management. Little Lorna became a giant.

Her list of accomplishments are long and impressive. She was British team manager for nine years and she was in charge of our track and field squad at the 2000 Sydney Olympics - the first woman to be given that responsibility.

She was England's speed events coach at the 2014 Glasgow and 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Lorna is currently a member of  the European Coaches Council. Among her other senior positions she has served with distinction are the English Sports Council and the Commission for Racial Equality. She was also part of the team that set up the IAAF Academy and World Classes Coaching Club.

Connie Henry, the founder and director of Track Academy who was the Commonwealth Games triple jump bronze medallist at Kuala Lumpur 1998, never competed under Lorna's management.

But she told me: "I have had many discussions with Lorna and she always makes herself available to help with her immense expertise. I'm thrilled her outstanding work has been recognised with an MBE."

We often talk about sportsmen and women being role models to youngsters. Lorna Boothe is a classic example of what is possible if you work hard enough and have the integrity and determination to succeed despite what may seem insurmountable odds.

This article was first published on the website of Track Academy, which was founded by Connie Henry and is registered charity using sport for social change among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. To find out more about them click here.