When Laviai Nielsen takes her mark in tonight’s 400m heats at the Athletics World Championships, she will be setting out to crown a season in which she has not only made the step into world class company, but also begun to feel at home in it.
The Enfield & Haringey star has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign and arrives in Doha ranked 15th in the world – 11th of those competing - having already cemented her place as Britain’s standout 400m runner with a maiden national title earlier this summer.
Now, with the promise of further improvement to come, the Londoner is eyeing a place in a first major global final as she revels in a new-found comfort at the highest level.
“I don’t want to go into my races and feel star struck,” Nielsen tells Standard Sport. “I want to feel like I belong, and I really did this year.
“Last year I was going into my races quite shocked. When I made the European final [in Berlin] I was really shocked. These things shouldn't shock me anymore. I should be able to not just make up the numbers but be there and contend with these girls and really get stuck in.
“Going into the World Championships I know there's a lot more there and I won't be scared on the start line. I want to contend for the final. That's my goal, that's my aim and I 100 per cent believe that I can. It’s something that doesn’t scare me at all.”
Having been an unused relay squad member at the 2015 Worlds in Beijing while still a teenager, and then a key part of the team that won 4x400m silver in London two years later, the 23-year-old’s debut individual global campaign somehow feels a little overdue.
Perhaps that is because we have been so aware of Nielsen for so long now. She is, after all, the very embodiment of the London 2012 Olympics’ promise to inspire a generation, and to this day barely an interview goes by – now this one included – that doesn’t offer a mention of her role as kit carrier for Jessica Ennis at those Games.
This summer, however, it has been her performances on the track that have finally become the headline act.
“The story has always been kit-carrier turns into athlete,” Nielsen says. “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.
“I've always watched other athletes in this position, and I'd be an idiot to take it for granted. I'm having the best time, I'm going into races relaxed and embracing it all, which adds to the success. It's been good fun.”
Somewhat ironically, it was back at the scene of the 2012 Games that Nielsen’s breakout performance came, during this year’s London Diamond League meeting.
Opportunities to compete on the sport’s premier circuit can be surprisingly hard to come by, even for elite athletes – last year, Nielsen ran in more university-level races than she did Diamond Leagues - but when the chance came, she took full advantage on home soil, breaking the 51-second barrier for the first time and jumping to 12th on the British all-time list in the process.
“At the start of the season I spoke to my agent and said, 'Any chance of any Diamond Leagues?' and he was like, 'Erm...no'.
“Once I was confirmed for London, I turned to both of my coaches and said, 'Right, I don't care what happens, I'm not going to run sh*t here!'.
“This year sub-51 was a big goal of mine. It was one of those things I was waiting for. I thought I was going to get it in my second race, my third race, but to get it there was so magical.”
Nielsen’s run of 50.83s was the fastest by a British woman since Christine Ohuruogu’s gold medal-winning performance in the 2015 World Championship final.
Ohuruogu, whose British record of 49.41 has stood since 2013, is another of Nielsen’s idols. The former world and Olympic champion was renowned for saving her best for the big occasion, with all five of her career sub-50-second clockings coming at major global championships, four of them in finals.
“I see myself in her quite a lot,” Nielsen says. “She always pulled out her best performances at champs. Last year I pulled out my best performances in the semis and the finals of the Europeans, and I want to emulate that this year.
“When I started training for the 400, I saw her British record and thought that's something that I'd want to go for at some point. It's incredibly quick.
“Back in the day I used to think she was superhuman, but now I just look at it and think I definitely want to be able to do something like that.”
As with Fifa and the 2022 football World Cup, the IAAF’s decision to send their flagship event to Qatar has drawn widespread criticism. Being of partial Egyptian descent, Nielsen says she is “very aware of the Middle East”, and the political tensions and controversies that come with hosting sporting competitions there.
However, having spent a significant amount of time in the region over the past few years, Nielsen insists that the legacy of these championships will be just as, if not more important, as they are elsewhere in the world.
“Sport is not very prominent in the culture,” she says. “I’ve coached in Dubai and for a lot of kids, sport is just not important to them. They don’t realise the benefits that it can have on your character development, or how well you do in school.
“It’s a shame sometimes that the focus is on politics, though I can understand why. It is such a unique opportunity to have the World Championships in the Middle East, and I hope there are amazing stories that come out of that.
“I hope there’ll be schoolchildren coming to watch, big families coming to watch. I’m hoping it’ll be a positive impact, and I’m excited to be there.”
