LINA NIELSEN: I Was Paralysed at 17 - Then I Won an Olympic Medal
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What inspired Lina Nielsen to pursue athletics?
You're 17 years old. You're wanting to become an athlete.
I sat there in the doctor's office, my mum sat next to me and they were like, you've got MS.
How did Lina's life change after her MS diagnosis at 17?
And I just remember the room just spinning and I literally just burst into tears. And my poor mum, Arabic is her first language. For my mum to be so worried and not know what was happening, that was really hard.
That is so hard.
Yeah, not good. At this point, my sister's now fully in training. She's at the national under 20 championships and I'm learning how to walk. And it just very much felt like, yeah, life was over. And it doesn't have to feel that way. Hi, I'm Lena Nielsen, and I'm in great company. Completed it!
It's going to be a one-two for the Nielsen family. She's smashed the British record, Lena Nielsen.
Wow. So I grew up in East London. You know, we grew up in a council estate. The borough that I grew up in was one of the Olympic boroughs, so we got to see 2012 rise from the ground up.
What misconceptions about MS does Lina want to address?
Wow.
And me and my sister were so fortunate we carried for Jessica Ennis. And I remember, I will never, ever forget the feeling of walking into an Olympic stadium for the first time
I've got shivers now. That's insane.
I just looked at my twin sister and I thought, we have to try. I want to be at the Olympics. And that was when the dream started.
Was your dad around?
No, I never knew him. I never questioned that lack of a male figure. Even now, I'm kind of in this phase where I do struggle to listen to men and trust men. I just think it's because I never needed it. Mum was everything and I think it would do her injustice if I think I need the dad there. She raised me to be a strong woman.
If you could achieve anything, what would you want to achieve?
How did Lina manage to overcome her paralysis and compete in the Olympics?
Guys, welcome back to Great Company. We have Lena Nielsen on the show today. She's an incredible athlete with an even better story. So get ready for this. Now, before we start, if you can click that subscribe button, it takes one second. It's completely free and you join the amazing community of people who are already following us. Thank you so much. Okay, enjoy this wonderful episode of Great Company with Lena Nielsen. For anyone who doesn't know who you are, can you explain who you are, what you've achieved?
So I would say I'm Lena Nilsson.
What role did Lina's upbringing play in shaping her resilience?
I'm an Olympian. That would be my first thing. It's a relatively new thing. And I am just a normal girl.
How does Lina cope with the pressures of being an athlete with MS?
But you are an Olympian.
I seem to be an Olympian as well. How I'd introduce myself in professional spaces.
Does that ever get old?
No, and I have my Olympic medal on display in my living room. And I literally legit walk down every morning to make my coffee and I look at it and think, what is that doing here? How does that belong to me? Like, it's weird. Yeah, it's very special. And when you think about the population of the UK, it's something like 70 million. And when we assemble Team GB for the Olympics, it's something like 360 people across different sports. I think athletics was 70 million. compared to 70 million. It's a very, very small group of people to be a part of. And that's something I don't take for granted.
You're the best of the best of the best.
Best of the best of the best.
It's amazing how you don't take it for granted. I really struggle with this. I think a lot of people maybe struggle with this. Is that if I could, I was actually messaging a friend of mine yesterday called Ruri, amazing guy. And he, I mean, just like in my own head about lots of different things recently, not major things, but a little bit. And he was messaging me and he's quite a good source of like encouragement. And sometimes I think we all need that kind of encouragement. And he said, if someone was, if you were to say to yourself 10 years ago, when I first met you, that you'd be doing this now. You'd be over the moon. You'd be so excited. You'd be like, no freaking ways. And as we gain what is success or do different things, we kind of lose that.
But you don't. You see your medal every morning and go, yeah, that's a great way to be.
Yeah. And I think it's because there's so many factors involved.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What inspired Lina Nielsen to pursue athletics?
0:00–0:07
2
How did Lina's life change after her MS diagnosis at 17?
0:07–0:53
3
What misconceptions about MS does Lina want to address?
0:53–1:34
4
How did Lina manage to overcome her paralysis and compete in the Olympics?
1:34–2:04
5
What role did Lina's upbringing play in shaping her resilience?
2:04–2:13
6
How does Lina cope with the pressures of being an athlete with MS?
2:13–4:09
7
What does Lina believe is essential for living with a chronic illness?
4:09–4:49
8
What are Lina's future goals and aspirations in athletics?
4:49–1:01:28
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Great Company with Jamie Laing
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