Lina Nielsen says she entered the summer in "prime fitness" before being set back by a flare-up of multiple sclerosis symptoms; Nielsen's older sister Laviai received an early MS diagnosis prior to travelling to the Olympics last year
Wednesday 24 August 2022 16:47, UK
British 400m hurdler Lina Nielsen says she was unable to feel her lead leg while competing at the World Athletics Championships this summer after experiencing a relapse of multiple sclerosis symptoms on the eve of her heat in Oregon.
Nielsen revealed earlier this month that she had been diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, the most common form of the condition, just ahead of her 18th birthday.
Now 26, she had entered a packed summer schedule in the best shape of her life only to be hit by a performance-hindering flare-up.
"It's been such a busy summer and I didn't expect a flare-up to happen right before my first Championships of the summer so really bad timing," Nielsen told Sky Sports.
"I just suffered with some left-sided numbness as well as right-sided weakness, which did tend to clear up quite quickly, but it affected training going into those competitions. So I didn't do exactly as I wanted at those Championships but still went out and enjoyed it.
"It doesn't affect me too much, I've managed to stay healthy for five years with no flare-ups or relapses, so for it to happen a day before the World Championships was really unexpected.
"I just managed accordingly, I reduced the intensity of training, I just adapt really. I don't want to stop sport, I just make sure I listen to the body and really respect it."
Her decision to open up came after a relapse contributed to her missing out on the semi-finals of a World Championship she had entered on the back of a personal best in the Diamond League in June.
Despite the setback, Nielsen also later competed in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where she finished last in her first round race.
She said: "You go into these championships in prime fitness and you know exactly how to run the race, so for that to be in the back of your mind it's important not to panic and I just remember telling myself 'you've run this race so many times before in your career, just do exactly as you've always done'.
"It's muscle memory, even though I can't feel where the leg is. Unfortunately, I'm a left-leg lead so when I go over the hurdles it's the left leg that goes over and I couldn't feel the left leg going over the hurdle.
"I just had to have faith in my technique which I've drilled in for years now.
"It's what you do in sport, sometimes you rock up to the start line with an Achilles niggle or hamstring strain and you just have to trust in your training and your ability to perform.
"I don't think I've quite processed how I managed to get to the start line. I think in a few weeks I'll look back and be like 'how did I do that?', but at the time you just want to go and run the race you've run a thousand times before."
Nielsen's twin sister Laviai received an early diagnosis with multiple sclerosis last year, just two days before flying out to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. She has never experienced any severe symptoms and it has never impacted her training and performance.
Lina admitted it was difficult to tell Laviai that she might one day suffer with the condition, knowing how tough it had been for herself upon finding out.
"At the time when I got diagnosed, it was nine years ago now so a lot has changed since then, but I remember researching about MS and it was always sad things, you saw people in wheelchairs and people had to stop their day-to-day lives and it was really dark," she explained.
"I remember not wanting to look at any of that stuff, I think that's one of the reasons I didn't quite process it because I didn't have the courage to read on about it.
"I remember not wanting my twin sister to go through what I went through.
"At the time when I got diagnosed it was paralysis right down the right-hand side of my body and I did not want her to have to go through that so it was quite hard to tell her she might one day.
"That was a really hard period, especially being 17. It was a difficult period and I just wanted to continue doing life as I had been."
