Team GB star Lina Nielsen broke down in tears and opened up on her battle with multiple sclerosis after she fell in the semi-finals of the women’s 400m hurdles at the Paris Olympics.
Nielsen had ambitions of making tomorrow night’s showpiece but the 28-year-old’s dreams went up in smoke as she clattered into the final barrier of the opening semi-final.
The Brit was able to return to her feet and eventually crossed the finish line in last place with time of 1:31.22, with Jamaica’s Rushell Clayton and the USA’s Jasmine Jones progressing in first and second.
Pictures showed a dejected and fatigued Nielsen close to tears, with the disappointment of the situation clearly beginning to set in at the Stade de France.
The defending Olympic champion, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, advanced from the second semi-final and will do battle with Femke Bol – the reigning world champion – in what promises to be a thrilling showdown in the French capital
Speaking just moments after her fall, Nielsen said she ‘really believed’ she could book a spot in the final before revealing the concerns she had for her health in the build-up to the race.
It comes after Nielsen went public with her MS diagnosis after suffering a relapse two days prior to the heats at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
‘I’m fighting every single day to try and get here. I really believed I could make the final which was why I was really fighting,’ Nielsen told Eurosport.
‘It’s just disappointing it had to end that way. I would have loved to end on a personal best.
‘To tell you the truth, I was panicking all week because I thought being in the village and being around so many people and Covid and the food… I was scared that I might suffer another relapse.
‘The last time I was at a major championships I couldn’t even make it past the heats so I have to be somewhat proud that I made it to the semi-finals and I’ll take that disappointment onto the rest of the season.’
Radzi Chinyanganya, working for Eurosport, offered his support and an arm around the shoulder after Nielsen’s emotions rose to the surface once again.
‘It’s been tough. Ten years ago I had to learn how to walk again,’ Nielsen said before putting her head in her hands.
In the Eurosport studio, Iwan Thomas heaped praise on Nielsen for the mental and physical resilience she had shown in making it to the semi-finals of an Olympic Games.
‘She’s had to learn how to walk again so you think how proud her family must be of her and how proud she should be,’ the former 400m runner said.
‘She has made an Olympic Games semi-final and unfortunately fell, but this is an athlete who was probably not given the hope of being an athlete anymore.’
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