‘We sacrificed a lot’ inside the lives of Team GB’s Olympian twin sisters – who battle MS and never knew their dad
GROWING up with Multiple Sclerosis, twin sisters Laviai and Lina Nielsen made a joint decision to never let it get in the way of their end goal.
Ranking among the world’s fastest runners, their dream is to bring back Olympic gold for Team GB this summer.
MS is caused by your immune system mistakenly attacking the brain and nerves, and according to the NHS it is still not clear why this happens.
Common symptoms include tiredness, muscle spasms, numbness, vision problems and problems with walking or balance.
Multiple sclerosis cannot be cured, but medicines and other treatments can help ease some of the symptoms.
This means the identical twins, 28, who are representing Great Britain at the Olympics in Paris this year, have had to learn to manage their symptoms on a day-to-day basis.
The pair, from East London, “love running fast,” and don’t want to let their MS be a “roadblock” in their running career.
Today Laviai starts her Olympic journey for Team GB with a mixed 4 x 400 heats, whilst Lina has her first 400m hurdles race on Sunday.
Laviai and Lina will both be running for Team GB in the 4 x 400m relay next Friday 9 August, with the final on Saturday 10 August.
Laviai and Lina, who were the fastest runners at their school, were fast-tracked into the elite athletics programme.
When Lina was 13, she first experienced symptoms and was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS four years later.
Lina, who has a heavy presence on TikTok with 55.2K followers, revealed that she even had to learn how to walk again at the age of 17.
At the time doctors told her that she may not run again, which caused Lina to fall into depression.
During this time, Laviai was picking up medals and in 2019 she ranked 15th in the world at the World Championships in Doha.
Laviai was diagnosed with MS two days before she flew out to the Tokyo Games in 2021.
But the twins, who were the fastest kids at their school and fast-tracked into elite athletics programs, want to raise awareness for MS.
That was really what kickstarted it. We wanted a taste of what that was like
Lina, 28
Since then, the pair have worked hard on their training to ensure they can keep running.
They want to “shine the light” and hope to “change the narrative” that those “living with MS can continue normal activity and exercise.”
But working hard to get to the Olympics hasn’t been easy, as Lina Mail On Sunday: “We sacrificed a lot of friendships from school as we got into our 20s.
“Athlete friends know why we won’t always be at birthday parties.
“They’re like, ‘We’ll be here when you finish your career, you guys have goals.’”
Speaking on their YouTube channel, Laviai said they had lost “friendships but not in the sense that we’ve had to give up friends, but rather what you do in those friendships.
“We’re not present all the time physically, or even emotionally because what we do is just such a big stress on our lives and we’re lucky to have incredible friends who completely understand it.
“But sometimes I think, we miss out on birthdays, and I don’t know if we’ve missed out on weddings, but we’ve missed out on certain events and we haven’t been able to show up.
“Sometimes you see it on Instagram and you’re training or you’re at home because you need to recover.
“That’s a difficult one, that’s the sacrifice, although I don’t really like to use the word sacrifice.
We sacrificed a lot of friendships from school as we got into our 20s. Athlete friends know why we won’t always be at birthday parties
Lina, 28
“They’re choices. We choose to do this.”
They also both agreed that putting their careers on hold has been a big sacrifice.
The twins were born in Leytonstone and were brought up by their single mother, who is from Sudan, in Waltham Forest. They both have no recollection of their Danish father.
Speaking on their YouTube channel, Lina said: “So when the Olympics came to London, we were 16 years old and there were so many opportunities for us to enter sports competitions.
“But the main thing was, we got to volunteer at the 2012 Olympics as kit carriers.
“That was really what kickstarted it. We wanted a taste of what that was like.”
What is Multiple sclerosis (MS) and how does it affect the body
According to the NHS website: “Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition that can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance.
It’s a lifelong condition that can sometimes cause serious disability, although it can occasionally be mild.
In many cases, it’s possible to treat symptoms. Average life expectancy is slightly reduced for people with MS.
It’s most commonly diagnosed in people in their 20s, 30s and 40s although it can develop at any age. It’s about 2 to 3 times more common in women than men.
MS is one of the most common causes of disability in younger adults.
MS can be a challenging condition to live with, but new treatments over the past 20 years have considerably improved the quality of life of people with the condition.
MS itself is rarely fatal, but complications may arise from severe MS, such as chest or bladder infections, or swallowing difficulties.
The average life expectancy for people with MS is around 5 to 10 years lower than average, and this gap appears to be getting smaller all the time.”
The sisters collected backpacks loaded with extra kits, snacks, drinks and phones for the athletes – including GB track athlete Jessica Ennis hill.
Lina continued speaking on their YouTube channel: “Laviai carried for Jessica Ennis Hill, and we just saw these athletes and thought these are normal people who just worked really hard to get to where they are now.
“Soon after that, we found our first athletics club and then the year after that we found our first coach who took us to professional level and took us to our first GB vests.”
Laviai and Lina, avoid taking medication for MS as it can weaken their bones, so instead they try to manage it through diet and listening to their bodies.
They both ensure their diet is rich in vegetables, wholegrain cereals, fibres and fish.
The twins both regularly update their followers with appreciation posts of how far they have got in their careers and give a behind the scenes sneak peak to what is happening at the Olympics.
They also post recipes and share their “love for effortless and nourishing dishes” on Instagram.