MS SPRINTER READY TO BREAK DOWN BARRIERS

LINA NIELSEN is heading to the World Championships with a fresh outlook after her Olympic experiences altered her perspective on athletics and life with multiple sclerosis.

- By Laura Howard

The 29-yearold British athlete, who made her MS diagnosis public in 2022, bagged 4x400m relay bronze in Paris last summer.

But she missed out on a place in the 400m hurdles final after falling in her semi.

Both experiences have given Nielsen fresh impetus as she prepares for the World Championships in Tokyo in September.

“The fall at the Olympics definitely changed me as an athlete,” she said. “I realised there and then that the final is not made in the semi-final.

“The final is made in the winter, the hard training sessions, and the choices you make when it comes to going out with friends. I have a thing where I drink kombucha [a fermented tea] in a wine glass. It’s my thing.

“Last year, I would have had a little glass of wine at a birthday party but that’s the shift in mindset this year.”