NIELSEN Laviai

Date of Birth: 13 Mar 1996

Age: 25

Gender: Female

Place of birth: LONDON

Birth Country:

Great Britain

Place of residence : LONDON

Residence Country:

Great Britain

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Women's 4 x 400m Relay GBR Great Britain	5

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 4 x 400m Relay Round 1 - Heat 2	Finished
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 4 x 400m Relay Final	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

World Athletics Championships

Year	Location	400m	4 x 400m
2019	Doha, QAT	SF (52.94)	4th (3:23.02)
2017	London, GBR	-	2nd (3:25.00)

World Relays

Year	Location	4 x 400m
2021	Chorzow, POL	3rd (3:29.27)
2019	Yokohama, JPN	6th (3:28.96)
2017	Nassau, BAH	4th (3:28.72)

European Championships

Year	Location	400m
2018	Berlin, GER	4th (51.21)

Diamond League overview - Three best ranks per season and event since 2017

Year	400m
2021	1 x 8th
2020	1 x 2nd, 1 x 7th
2019	1 x 3rd, 1 x 4th, 1 x 5th

Diamond League - Ten best performances since 2020

Rank	Year	Event	Location	Result
2	2020	400m	Stockholm, SWE	52.16
3	2019	400m	London, GBR	50.83
4	2019	400m	Lausanne, SUI	51.31
5	2019	400m	Zurich, SUI	51.70
7	2020	400m	Rome, ITA	52.45
8	2021	400m	Gateshead, GBR	53.96

World Athletics Continental Tour - Ten best performances since 2020

Rank	Year	Event	Competition	Location	Result
2	2021	400m	World Athletics Continental Tour	Hengelo, NED	51.44
3	2020	400m	World Athletics Continental Tour	Szekesfehervar, HUN	52.24
7	2021	400m	World Athletics Continental Tour	Szekesfehervar, HUN	52.82

World Challenge - Ten best performances since 2020

Rank	Year	Event	Competition	Location	Result
7	2018	400m	World Challenge	Zagreb, CRO	53.73

Legend
SF - Semifinal, QF - Quarterfinal, 1R - 1st Round, Qual. - Qualification, QR - Qualification Round, DNF - Did Not Finish, DNS - Did Not Start, DQ - Disqualified, NM - No Mark, [Relay athlete without time] - Did not run in final

Occupation:

Geography - King's College London, Great Britain

Languages spoken:

Enfield and Haringey AC [London, GBR]

Christine Harrison-Bloomfield [personal], GBR

Sporting relatives:

Her twin sister Lina has represented Great Britain in athletics, including at the 2015 European Junior Championships in Eskilstuna, Sweden, where she won a gold medal in the women's 4x400m relay. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Apr 2020)

In June 2020 she suffered a toe injury due to changing surfaces in training frequently. She recovered in time to compete in late July 2020. (runblogrun.com, 02 Nov 2020)

She had a minor injury in 2019 but recovered in time to compete at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. (telegraph.co.uk, 04 Jan 2020)

She was injured in early 2016, returning to training at the end of February. (Twitter profile, 28 Feb 2016)

When the 2012 Olympic Games in London was announced her school was turned into a specialist sports school. She began as a middle-distance runner before switching to the 400m in 2013. "We'd spend every lunchtime on [the track], running and running. We had more opportunities because we lived in one of the Olympic boroughs. There were chances to join free sports clubs, and suddenly, we were exposed to that environment." (standard.co.uk, 02 Mar 2017; le-sommelier.com, 01 Jan 2015)

She was a kit carrier at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, which was the moment she knew she wanted to take athletics seriously. "Before London 2012 we were training once a week for fun and just showing up for competitions but it was a game-changer. I stood behind Jessica Ennis and when she came out the crowd cheering was the loudest thing I've heard in my life. I thought, 'I want that'." (dailymail.co.uk, 22 Jan 2018, 26 Jun 2015)

To reach the final at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and to break the 400m British record. (telegraph.co.uk, 04 Jan 2020; standard.co.uk, 30 Sep 2019)

British heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill. (london-athletics.com, 28 Oct 2016)

Her twin sister Lina. (standard.co.uk, 30 Sep 2019; le-sommelier.com, 01 Jan 2015)

Philosophy:

"I always used to think that as an athlete you can't have too many emotions and you need to have a poker face. [Coach Christine Harrison-Bloomfield] would always talk to me about how emotion is important to make you the athlete that you are. So I became vulnerable to my emotions, which makes me the athlete I am. I am passionate about my sport and I do care about what I do. I don't want to brush things under the carpet. I have to have my personality in my athletics. She taught me that." (telegraph.co.uk, 04 Jan 2020)

General Interest

General
KIT CARRIER TO CHAMPION
Her family home is a 20-minute walk from the Olympic stadium for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where she volunteered as a kit carrier at age 16. "[My] story has always been 'kit-carrier turns into an athlete'. It's an incredible story and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that experience, but I definitely want to make my own mark in British 400m history. To be able to do that, I have to become my own story. I want to blaze my own trail." (standard.co.uk, 02 Mar 2017, 30 Sep 2019; telegraph.co.uk, 25 Feb 2017; dailymail.co.uk, 22 Jan 2018)

DOHA DISAPPOINTMENT
She struggled to return to training after failing to qualify for the 400m final at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, but rekindled her love for the sport by running with a local jogging club. "It was more of a mental thing because I wasn't ready to go back into running and I just needed to run without thinking about times or distance or targets or anything like that. So I literally just showed up at 09:00 on a Saturday and just ran with feeling and rhythm. I actually really enjoyed it. It was nice to be surrounded by a community of runners. It was nice to remind myself that running could be enjoyable because after Doha I needed that." (telegraph.co.uk, 04 Jan 2020)

TWIN SISTER
She credits the influence on her career of her identical twin sister Lina, who is also a competitive runner. "We have both said that if we didn't have each other, we wouldn't be in the sport. She is the first person I come to if I have had an especially good or bad race or training session. And she is the same. We are different with pre-race nerves, I talk a lot while she gets quite introverted. I think she likes to listen. But we fit together like two puzzle pieces." (telegraph.co.uk, 04 Jan 2020; bbc.co.uk, 06 Feb 2019; standard.co.uk, 30 Sep 2019; le-sommelier.com, 01 Jan 2015)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She has worked in modelling, including at Paris Fashion Week in 2019. "It is not particularly hard. Running around a track in less than a minute is much harder." (bbc.co.uk, 06 Feb 2019; Instagram profile, 21 Apr 2020)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos