Laviai Nielsen

Laviai Nielsen (born 13 March 1996[1]) is a British sprinter specialising in the 400 metres. She won several medals as a member of the Great Britain 4x400 metres relay teams, including silver at the 2017 World Championships in the women's 4 x 400 metres, and at the 2023 World Championships in the mixed 4 x 400 metres, and bronze in the women's 4 x 400 metres at the 2022 World Championships.

Laviai Nielsen
Nielsen in 2017
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (1996-03-13) 13 March 1996
Home townLondon, England
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
Sport
SportTrack and field
Event(s)400 metres
ClubEnfield and Haringey AC
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2017 London4×400 m relay
Silver medal – second place2023 Budapest4×400 m mixed
Bronze medal – third place2022 Eugene4×400 m relay
Bronze medal – third place2023 Budapest4×400 m relay
World Relays
Bronze medal – third place2021 Chorzów4×400 m relay
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place2022 Munich4×400 m relay
European Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place2017 Belgrade4×400 m relay
Silver medal – second place2019 Glasgow4×400 m relay
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place2014 Eugene4×400 m relay
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2015 Eskilstuna400 m
Gold medal – first place2015 Eskilstuna4×400 m relay

In 2015, she took gold medal in the 400 m at the European Junior Championships

Nielsen has an identical twin sister, Lina Nielsen, who is also an international athlete in the same events, but who has moved into 400 metre hurdles in recent years.[2][3]

In August 2022, Laviai disclosed that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the summer of 2021.[4] Her twin sister, Lina, had revealed that she was suffering from the same condition two weeks earlier, having been diagnosed in 2013, when she was 17. As MS has a genetic element, Laviai was considered to be at higher risk of the illness following Lina's diagnosis.[5] Laviai and Lina received support through the diagnosis from friend and Paralympic champion, Kadeena Cox, who took up paralympic sport after her own MS diagnosis[6] Despite the diagnosis, Laviai, and her sister, continue to compete in elite athletics rather than para-athletics.

Early life

Nielsen grew up in Leytonstone, East London.[7] At 16, she was a bag carrier for British heptathlete Jessica Ennis at the 2012 London Olympics, a pivotal experience in her development as an athlete. "I stood behind Jessica Ennis and when she came out the crowd cheering was the loudest thing I've heard in my life," she later recalled. "I thought, 'I want that'."[8]

As of 2017, she was taking a year out from her geography degree at King's College London.[8] Nielsen is an Athlete Ambassador for sport for development charity, Right to Play..[9]

Career

2011-19

Nielsen was initially a middle distance runner,[7] but in 2013 she and her twin sister were approached at an event and persuaded to change specialism to the 400 metres. Laviai proceeded to reduce her 400m personal best by 2 seconds within 2 months, and a further four seconds by the following season.[7]

Nielsen (left) with Dutchwoman Lisanne de Witte at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin

Nielsen's breakthrough year came in 2015, when she won gold in the 400 metres at the 2015 European Junior Championships in Sweden. She topped this off by running the final leg for the winning 4 x 400 metres relay team, with her sister Lina running the second leg.[10] Nielsen also lowered her personal best to 52.25s, the British junior's third-fastest performance of all time and the fastest time since 33 years.[11] She finished the season ranked number 2 in the UK.[12] This success earned Nielsen a place on the Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport programme, which offers financial support and mentoring.[13]

In February 2017, she recorded a personal best of 51.90s at an indoor meet in Birmingham.[14] In the summer, she reached the final of the 400 metres at the 2017 European Indoor Championships in Belgrade, finishing fourth to miss out on a bronze medal by just 0.27 seconds.[15] On the final day of the championships, she ran the anchor leg of the 4 x 400 metre relay, winning the silver medal behind a strong Polish team.[16]

2020-present

She became a double British champion when successfully defending her 400 metres title at the 2020 British Athletics Championships in a time of 51.72 secs.[17]

In December 2021, Nielsen had her lottery funding removed by UK Athletics after she refused to stop working directly with coach Rana Reider, with UK Athletics saying: "any athlete working directly with Rana Reider, given the confirmed complaints of sexual misconduct against him from US Safe Sport, will not be able to be supported through the World Class Programme."[18] Nielsen returned to the Olympic relay funding stream at the end of 2022.[19]

Achievements
Nielsen (right) with silver 4x400 m relay team at the 2017 World Championships

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTime
 Representing  Great Britain /  England
2014 World Junior Championships Eugene, OR, USA 2nd 4×400 m 3:35.37 [n 1]
2015 European Junior Championships Eskilstuna, Sweden 1st 400 m 52.58
1st 4x400 m relay 3:34.36
2017 European Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 4th 400 m 52.79
2nd 4x400 m relay 3:31.05
World Relays Nassau, Bahamas 4th 4x400 m relay 3:28.72 SB
European Team Championships Super League Lille, France 3rd 4x400 m relay 3:28.96
European U23 Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 5th 400 m 53.18
4th 4x400 m relay 3:30.74
World Championships London, United Kingdom 2nd 4x400 m relay 3:25.00 (SB h)
2018 European Championships Berlin, Germany 4th 4x400 m relay 51.21
2019 European Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom 2nd 4x400 m relay 3:29.55
World Relays Yokohama, Japan 6th 4x400 m relay 3:28.96 (SB h)
World Championships Doha, Qatar 22nd (sf) 400 m 52.94
4th 4x400 m relay 3:23.02 SB
2021 World Relays Chorzów, Poland 3rd 4x400 m relay 3:29.27
5th 4x400 m mixed 3:17.27 [n 1]
Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 5th 4x400 m relay 3:23.99 [n 1]
2022 World Championships Eugene, OR, United States 3rd 4x400 m relay 3:22.64 SB
9th (h) 4x400 m mixed 3:14.75 SB
European Championships Munich, Germany 12th (sf) 400 m 51.53 SB
3rd 4x400 m relay 3:23.79 [n 1]
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary 2nd 4x400 m mixed 3:11.06 SB
3rd 4x400 3:21.04 SB
  1. Time from the heats; Nielsen was replaced in the final.

References
  1. "Laviai NIELSEN – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  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. Euan, Crumley (16 August 2022). "Laviai Nielsen: "We want to be a beacon of hope"". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  5. Tim, Adams (5 August 2022). "Lina Nielsen: "I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy, experiencing paralysis"". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  6. "Lina Nielsen: "I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy, experiencing paralysis"". AW. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  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. Matt Majendie (2 March 2017). "Twins Lina and Laviai Nielsen set sights on medals at European Indoors after carrying kit at London 2012". Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  9. "Right To Play ambassadors". Right To Play. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  10. "Laviai Nielsen". britishathletics.org.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  11. "Records tumble for Performance Athletes". King's College London. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  12. Dev Trehan (9 February 2016). "Twin 400m runners Laviai and Lina Nielsen target Olympic Games". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  13. "Enfield sprinter Laviai Nielsen handed spot on Academy of Sport programme". Herald Scotland. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  14. "Laviai Nielsen". iaaf.org. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  15. 400m Womens final - results, European-athletics.org. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  16. "ME w Belgradzie. Żeńska sztafeta 4x400 m ze złotym medalem". Interia.pl (in Polish). 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  17. "Results list". British Athletics. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  18. "Reider, US coach under investigation, ejected from World Athletics Championships". www.insidethegames.biz. 17 July 2022.
  19. "British Athletics name athletes to receive funding ahead of Olympics". November 2022.
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