Lina Nielsen

British sprinter (born 1996)

  • 200 m: 23.11
    (Gainesville, FL 2022)
  • 400 m: 51.54 (Gainesville, FL 2022)
  • 400 m hs: 54.43 (Rome, 2024)
Medal record

Lina Nielsen (born 13 March 1996) is a British sprinter,[1] hurdler and yoga instructor.

Career

Nielsen won the 400 m hurdles at the 2021 European Athletics Team Championships with 55.59. Nielsen has a twin sister, Laviai Nielsen, who is also an international athlete over 400m.[2][3]

At the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Nielsen won a bronze medal as part of the 4x400 metres relay team which also included her sister Laviai Nielsen.[4]

After winning the 400 metres hurdles gold medal at the 2024 British Athletics Championships, Nielsen was subsequently named in the Great Britain team for the 2024 Summer Olympics[5] where she went out in the semi-finals after hitting a hurdle and falling to the track.[6]

Personal life

Nielsen grew up in Leytonstone, East London.[7] Her mother is Egyptian-Sudanese and her father is Danish.[8] In 2017, she graduated from Queen Mary University of London with a degree in chemistry.

Lina is also a yoga teacher, having undertaken her teaching training in Rishikesh in the summer of 2019. She is now one of the yoga instructors on the fitness app Fiit.[9]

In August 2022, Nielsen revealed she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis,[10] at the age of 17. She chose to keep her diagnosis private for nine years, but following a relapse two days prior to her World Athletics Championships heats in Oregon she decided to go public with her story.[11]

Achievements

International competitions

Representing  Great Britain &  England
Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2015 European Junior Championships Eskilstuna, Sweden 8th 400 m 54.72
1st 4 x 400 m relay 3:34.36
2017 European Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia — 400 m sh DNS
European U23 Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 4th 4 x 400 m relay 3:30.74
2021 European Team Championships, Super League Chorzów, Poland 1st 400 m hurdles 3:29.27
2nd 4 x 400 m relay 3:27.16
2022 World Championships Eugene, United States 33rd (h) 400 m hurdles 57.42
Commonwealth Games Birmingham, United Kingdom 11th (h) 400 m hurdles 58.95
European Championships Munich, Germany 21st (sf) 400 m hurdles 57.19
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 3rd 4 x 400 m relay 3:26.36
European Championships Rome, Italy 7th 400 m hurdles 55.65

References

  1. ^ "Lina Nielsen". IAAF. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Meet the GB twins going for gold in Belgrade". BBC Sport. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  3. ^ Debbie Black (12 August 2015). "What It's Actually Like To Train With Professional Athletes". Elle. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  4. ^ "REEKIE SILVER & RELAY BRONZE AS GB&NI END WITH FOUR WORLD MEDALS IN GLASGOW". British Athletics. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Kerr & Johnson-Thompson head GB Olympics athletics squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Olympics rocked by awful scene as hush falls over crowd during athletics: 'Hard to watch'". Yahoo Sport. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  7. ^ Ben Bloom (25 February 2017). "Laviai and Lina Nielsen driven by twin dream of a medal on British debuts". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Meet Team GB: 5 of our brightest stars set to compete this summer". The Standard. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  9. ^ "THERE'S ELITE. AND THEN THERE'S LINA NIELSEN". fiit.tv. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Lina Nielsen: British 400m hurdler reveals multiple sclerosis diagnosis before Commonwealths debut". BBC Sport. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Lina Nielsen British Athlete Reveals Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis". Sky Sports News. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
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