Nielsen combating misconceptions behind MS with new campaign

Yahoo

11-02-2025

By Megan Armitage
Olympic medallist Lina Nielsen is dispelling the misconceptions behind multiple sclerosis with the new MS without Barriers campaign, in a bid to assist others on their own diagnosis journey.
The 28-year-old, who helped Team GB win bronze in the women's 4x400m at Paris 2024 last summer, was diagnosed with MS aged 17 and initially believed that her athletics dreams were over due to her lack of education around the chronic disease.
From assuming that it only affected the elderly to now leading a brand-new campaign on how MS can affect anyone, Nielsen knows that she's come far in those 11 years.
"I got diagnosed and the only place I had ever seen MS was in a biology textbook for A-Level," she said.
"I remember so clearly that the image in the textbook was an older man in a wheelchair, and I thought 'that can't be me, this can't be the correct diagnosis' since I was a young woman who hadn't even turned 18 yet.
"So, I had those misconceptions myself and was therefore in denial.
"I was scared because I thought I would be in a wheelchair and my life would completely change and I could never continue my dreams of going to an Olympics."
MS is an autoimmune neurological condition, affecting the brain and spinal cord, where the body own immune system attacks its nerves. MS affects 2.5 times more women than men.
But Nielsen and her identical twin sister Laviai, who was also diagnosed with MS in 2021, have proved first hand that MS doesn't have to define your abilities, both having represented Team GB on the athletics track and won bronze medals at Paris 2024. MS affects everybody differently, presenting different challenges to overcome.
And with her dreams of becoming an Olympian finally coming true, the runner is now looking forward to pushing herself further to keep her spot in that pivotal relay.
"That relay completely changed my life," she said.
"Getting five out of five medals in Paris, people are now wanting to make these relay teams, it is really powerful.
"We've shown what it can look like and how it progresses."
It is estimated there are over 150,000 people with MS in the UK, around one in every 400 people, and Nielsen has joined forces with global pharmaceutical company Sanofi to form the campaign 'MS without Barriers' to promote awareness and education around the disease.
As well as public education via the media and social media, Nielsen will also be joining a delegation to the House of Commons later this year to discuss ways to support the MS community and admitted that she is thrilled to be at the forefront of a campaign she is so passionate about.
"Whenever I speak about MS, I think about someone who might be newly diagnosed and is figuring out how to navigate life and what this means for them," she said.
"I will speak to them because when I was diagnosed, I wish I had someone there to show how you could continue living life to the best that you can and to not let it limit you.
"My platform only goes so far so I'm really glad I have the partnership with Sanofi and to be working with the MS Society and MS Together.
"Hopefully we can remove some misconceptions about MS and provide education and awareness."