Laviai Nielsen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Laviai Nielsen

Nielsen in 2017
Personal information
Nationality	British
Born	(1996-03-13) 13 March 1996 (age 29)
Height	1.71 m
Weight	58 kg
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	400 metres
Club	Enfield and Haringey AC
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 m: 11.47 (Johannesburg 2024) 200 m: 23.32 (Johannesburg 2024) 400 m: 49.87 (London 2024) Indoor 400 m: 50.89 (Glasgow, 2023)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games Bronze 2024 Paris 4×400 m relay Bronze 2024 Paris 4×400 m mixed World Championships Silver 2017 London 4×400 m relay Silver 2023 Budapest 4×400 m mixed Bronze 2022 Eugene 4×400 m relay Bronze 2023 Budapest 4×400 m relay World Indoor Championships Bronze 2024 Glasgow 4×400 m relay World Relays Bronze 2021 Chorzów 4×400 m relay European Championships Bronze 2022 Munich 4×400 m relay European Indoor Championships Silver 2017 Belgrade 4×400 m relay Silver 2019 Glasgow 4×400 m relay World Junior Championships Silver 2014 Eugene 4×400 m relay European Junior Championships Gold 2015 Eskilstuna 400 m Gold 2015 Eskilstuna 4×400 m relay

Laviai Nielsen (born on March 13, 1996) is a British sprinter. She is known for running very fast in races, especially the 400 metres.

In 2015, Laviai won a gold medal in the 400-meter race at the European Junior Championships. She has also won many medals as part of Great Britain's 4x400 meters relay teams. This includes silver medals at the 2017 World Championships and the 2023 World Championships. She also earned bronze medals at the 2022 World Championships. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, she won two bronze medals in relay races.

Laviai has an identical twin sister named Lina Nielsen. Lina is also a talented athlete who competes in similar running events.

In 2022, Laviai shared that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2021. Her sister Lina had been diagnosed with MS earlier. MS is a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord.

Her Early Life and Inspiration

Laviai Nielsen grew up in Leytonstone, East London. Her mother is from Egypt and Sudan, and her father is from Denmark. When she was 16, Laviai had a special experience at the 2012 London Olympics. She was a bag carrier for British athlete Jessica Ennis.

This moment was very important for Laviai. She remembered the loud cheers for Jessica Ennis. It made her think, "I want that!" This experience helped her decide to become a top athlete.

As of 2017, Laviai was studying geography at King's College London. She also works as an Athlete Ambassador for a charity called Right to Play. This charity uses sport to help children around the world.

Her Amazing Career

Starting Out (2011-2019)

Laviai first started as a middle-distance runner. But in 2013, she and her twin sister were asked to try the 400-meter race. Laviai quickly got much faster. She improved her 400-meter personal best (her fastest time) by two seconds in just two months!

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

Her big year was 2015. She won a gold medal in the 400 meters at the European Athletics Junior Championships in Sweden. She also helped her team win gold in the 4x400 meters relay race. Her sister Lina ran the second part of that race. Laviai set a new personal best of 52.25 seconds. This was one of the fastest times ever for a British junior runner.

In 2017, Laviai ran her fastest indoor 400 meters race, finishing in 51.90 seconds. She reached the final of the 400 meters at the 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships but just missed a medal. However, she won a silver medal in the 4x400 meter relay race there.

Recent Successes (2020-Present)

In 2020, Laviai became a double British champion. She successfully defended her 400-meter title at the 2020 British Athletics Championships.

In 2022, Laviai won a bronze medal at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in the 4x400m relay team. This was a great achievement for her and her team.

Laviai equaled her personal best in the 400m in 2023. She ran 50.83 seconds in Bern. She also won two medals at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. She earned a bronze in the Women's 4x400 relay and a silver in the Mixed 4x400 relay.

In 2024, Laviai competed at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow. She finished fourth in the 400m final. But she won a bronze medal in the 4x400m relay with her twin sister Lina. She also competed at the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome. There, she set a new personal best of 50.71 seconds in the 400m final.

After winning a silver medal at the 2024 British Athletics Championships, Laviai was chosen for the Great Britain team for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

On July 20, 2024, Laviai ran an amazing personal best at the London Athletics Meet. She finished the 400m in 49.87 seconds, breaking the 50-second mark for the first time!

At the Olympics, she was part of the mixed 4x400 team. They won a bronze medal and set a new national record. She also helped the women's 4x400 team win a second bronze medal, setting another national record.

Achievements

Nielsen (right) with her silver 4x400m relay team at the 2017 World Championships

International Competitions

Representing  Great Britain

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
2014	World Junior Championships	Eugene, OR, USA	2nd	4×400 m	3:35.37
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
	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	5th	4x400 m relay	3:23.99
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
2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	2nd	4x400 m mixed	3:11.06 SB
			3rd	4x400 m relay	3:21.04 SB
2024	World Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	4th	400 m	50.89
			3rd	4x400 m relay	3:26.36
	European Championships	Rome, Italy	6th	400 m	50.71
	Olympic Games	Paris, France	12th (sf)	400 m	50.69
			3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:19.72

Living with Multiple Sclerosis

In August 2022, Laviai shared that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the summer of 2021. MS is a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord. It can cause different symptoms for different people.

Her twin sister, Lina, had also shared that she was living with MS. Lina was diagnosed in 2013 when she was 17. Because MS can sometimes run in families, Laviai was tested for the illness after Lina's diagnosis.

Laviai and Lina have received support from their friend, Paralympic champion Kadeena Cox. Kadeena also has MS and started competing in Paralympic sports after her diagnosis. Even with their MS diagnosis, Laviai and Lina continue to compete in Olympic athletics. They do not compete in para-athletics, which is for athletes with disabilities.

See also

In Spanish: Laviai Nielsen para niños