WHEN life gave Lina Nielsen lemons, she sprinted straight to the Olympics.
The 28-year-old was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 17 years old, leaving her terrified of disability.
Doctors gave her “pitying looks” and a list of lifestyle changes for what Lina thought was an “old man’s disease”.
For nine years, Lina kept her diagnosis a secret, even from her own twin sister, Laviai – who has since also been diagnosed with MS but has not experienced symptoms.
But now she is ready to raise awareness of the condition through a new campaign with Sanofi and the MS Society.
Lina tells Sun Health: “I had dreams of becoming an Olympian, and suddenly, everyone around me was questioning if those dreams were even possible.”
Spoiler alert – they were. Lina would go on to win a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics for the 4 x 400m relay.
It came after Lina fell into the last hurdle of the 400m hurdle semi-final, leaving her collapsed in heartbreak on the track.
Leading up to it, Lina had suffered panic attacks while in the Olympic village, terrified her condition would attack just before the race.
It’s exactly what happened two years prior before her World Athletics Championships heats in Oregon, in which she ran with numb legs.
While she currently is living without symptoms, they could strike at any moment and there’s no way to tell how long flare-ups will last.
Lina says: “I’m really fortunate that I’ve made full recoveries from my relapses. I’ve got no ongoing symptoms at the moment, living completely healthy.
“But I live with that uncertainty every day. That could change in a year or tomorrow….It’s really difficult to navigate and it’s about being brave.
“There is no way of knowing how it will manifest in the future.”
The misconceptions around her condition mean people ask Lina why she doesn’t compete in the Paralympics instead.
“One comment that I’ve had multiple times on various kinds of social media platforms is, why do I not compete in the Paralympics,” she says. “And I think that just kind of encapsulates the misconception people have about MS.”
When I was in my early 20s, I was paralysed with fear, no pun intended.
Lina Nielsen
Even Lina admits she was shocked when she was diagnosed, not fitting what she believed someone with MS looked like.
She recalls: “I had just touched on the topic of MS in my biology classes and from the get-go, it was a picture of a man in a wheelchair.
“So when I was diagnosed, I thought, ‘This can’t be me’, because the last time I heard about MS, it was an old man in a wheelchair.
“It’s not older men that get commonly diagnosed, it’s actually younger women.”
LABELLED AT SCHOOL
Some of the biggest misconceptions about MS are that it is a terminal illness or that it causes muscles to waste away until a person is left in a wheelchair.
Some 67 per cent of people believe that people with MS cannot run, and 44 per cent believe they cannot walk, according to a 2025 survey commissioned by Sanofi.
While MS is considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010, and it can have a debilitating impact on people’s lives, it is a highly variable condition.
The symptoms range from mild to severe and Lina has what’s called relapsing-remitting MS, which has flare-ups and periods of remission.
Lina tried to detach herself from the condition in fear that it would impact her career.
She says: “I was just trying to be a normal 17/18-year-old.
“Back then, I had right-sided paralysis, so that affected my whole life.
“At the school that I went to, I was known as the ‘girl with the lift key card’. So if anyone was going to lift, I was the girl who had the key card because I couldn’t climb the stairs.
“Then that was the label that was given to me in school, by people I didn’t even know. So I quickly realised that labels will just get attached to you.
“I volunteered at the 2012 Olympics, and all my idols were Olympians.
“I wanted to be a sports person as good as them – I didn’t want to be known as ‘a sports person who has MS’.”
But the stigma she felt has shifted and she now feels a “social responsibility” to show what real people with MS look like – and that can be an Olympian.
It is estimated there are over 150,000 people with MS in the UK, around one in every 400 people.
I had panic attacks and anxiety attacks in the village, which I did not plan for, did not even think it was going to happen
Lina
Who gets multiple sclerosis?
You’re not born with symptoms of MS.
If you develop MS it’s usually diagnosed in your 30s or 40s, according to the MS Society.
But it can also develop earlier or later than that. There’s currently no way to tell whether someone will develop MS later in life.
The NHS says you may be more likely to get MS if:
- you’re aged 20 to 50
- you’re a woman – women are more likely than men to get MS
- you have a brother, sister or parent who has MS
- you smoke – people who smoke are about twice as likely to develop MS
- you’ve had the Epstein-Barr virus (a common virus that causes illnesses such as glandular fever)
Only a third of people are aware that MS is an autoimmune neurological condition, with over half (54%) believing it to be a muscular degenerative condition.
MS causes the body’s immune system to attack nerves, which can cause symptoms of numbness or tingling, dizziness, muscle cramps, spasms and stiffness and balancing difficulties.
It can also cause fatigue, problems with vision, memory, concentration and more.
Lina says: “It’s human nature to put everything in one box and say people who have MS will have disability.
“But I know so many people who live with MS, whose symptoms are fatigue day-to-day so it just means navigating the workplace a bit differently.
“Some people have never had physical disabilities, but vision problems or things like vertigo. I’ve had double vision and blurred vision in the past.”
Lina first experienced symptoms at the age of 13, a sudden weakness in her left arm.
But it wasn’t until she had a flare-up aged 17, causing full-body mobility issues, that her symptoms were looked at more closely – and she got her diagnosis.
She recalls crying the whole day, her future dreams shattered.
“There were two people, a consultant and a nurse, and they both looked at me with pitying eyes and asked me to think about lifestyle changes, and that I needed to take it seriously,” Lina says.
“I was treated as a minor so they spoke to me in a way that was quite condescending.”
Lina continued to train, despite doctors telling her to slow down, and participated in several national events, mainly 400m hurdles.
PANIC ATTACKS AT OLYMPICS
She was added to the Great Britain team in 2024, and in July of the same year, suffered her biggest flare-up yet.
It was the day before her World Championships debut in Oregon in July.
Lina says: “It affected movement completely, I was experiencing disability. I went out and raced anyway, and was three or four seconds slower.”
Lina finished last in the race despite the fat her whole left side was numb and her right side starting to weaken.
Unbeknownst to her, it hugely affected her psychologically, which became apparent by the time the 2024 Olympics rolled around.
Lina says: “I had panic attacks and anxiety attacks in the village, which I did not plan for, did not even think it was going to happen.
“But there’s a psychological aspect of it… ‘I could, face disability again’, or something could happen. I could get a relapse or a symptom, and it would completely squash my dreams.
“Because of the anxiety, I had a stiff diaphragm. That meant I couldn’t move my hip flexors properly and I had to change my stride pattern in the race.”
Heartbreakingly Lina fell at the last hurdle of the 400m semi-finals, landing on the track and coming last place.
“It was a deep fear that I didn’t realise was going to show up in the Olympic Games,” said Lina.
“But on a day-to-day basis, more so now that I’ve lived with it for close to 15 years, I’m not that scared of it anymore.
“When I was in my early 20s, I was paralysed with fear, no pun intended.”
Lina won’t know when her next flare-up hits.
And doctors can’t tell her if she will get secondary progressive MS, which can follow relapsing remitting.
It means symptoms are there persistently and get slowly worse.
Lina says: “A lot of us who have been diagnosed live with a bit more purpose because we just know how quickly life can just change.
“So in a way, it’s given me purpose to continue chasing my dreams in sports.
“MS is unpredictable, but understanding how it affects you personally can help you navigate it.”
MS without Barriers is a campaign by Sanofi supported by Lina Nielsen which aims to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis and address misunderstanding and stigma. For more information about MS visit mssociety.org.uk
What is multiple sclerosis (MS)?
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex condition that affects the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord.
It’s an autoimmune disease, meaning the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the protective coating (myelin) around nerve fibres.
This disrupts the flow of electrical signals and causes a range of symptoms that can vary wildly from person to person.
The good news? MS isn’t a death sentence, and with advances in treatment, many people live full and active lives.
In the UK, over 130,000 people are living with MS, and around 7,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.
It’s typically diagnosed in people in their 20s and 30s, with women three times more likely to develop it than men.
Despite its challenges, many with MS find strength and resilience they never thought possible.
Common symptoms of MS are:
- Fatigue: Not your average tiredness—this is bone-deep exhaustion.
- Vision problems: Blurred or double vision, or even temporary vision loss.
- Numbness and tingling: Often in the face, arms, or legs.
- Muscle weakness: Making everyday tasks feel like climbing a mountain.
- Mobility issues: Trouble walking or balancing.
- Cognitive difficulties: Memory lapses or a “foggy” brain.
- Spasms and stiffness: Muscles that just won’t cooperate.
- Bladder and bowel problems: A less glamorous but common challenge.
MS is unpredictable—you might have periods of remission where symptoms vanish, followed by flare-ups when they return.
This “on-again, off-again” nature can be frustrating and means people can be in anticipation of a flare.
While there’s no cure yet, treatments like disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), physiotherapy, and lifestyle changes can help manage symptoms and slow progression.
