Lina Nielsen is less than six months removed from a bronze medal at the Olympics in Paris. However, there are still a bunch of idiots at the gym who genuinely believe they can beat her on the track.
Yes, her challengers are male. Yes, the 28-year-old British sprinter put them in their place with a humbling blowout victory after accepting their foolish challenge.
Neilsen went into the Olympics with legitimate medal hopes in the 400-meter hurdles after the best season of her life. Unfortunately, she suffered a nasty fall during the semifinals and she missed out on the opportunity to run for the podium. It was gut-wrenching.
Fortunately, it was not the only race of Neilsen’s trip to France. She and Team Great Britain finished third in the 4×400-meter relay. They returned home with a bronze medal!
All of this goes to say that Neilsen is one of the fastest women in the world at 400 meters— hurdles or flat. And, believe it or not, one of the fastest women in the world is significantly faster than the average man. That is also true for the slightly above-average man.
By “above-average man,” I mean those guys at the gym who played Division-III hockey or played professional basketball in Estonia or Venezuela. You know the ones. Their poop doesn’t stink, or so they think.
Neilsen recently encountered a group of those “above-average men” while training in London.
Some random dude approached Lina Nielsen with a proposition. He claimed to be a professional athlete and challenged her to a race because he “bet he is faster than her.” The bronze medalist quickly proved him wrong. She absolutely smoked him.
Not only did Nielsen win by at least 50 meters, it seemed like she was jogging. The challenger never stood a chance. He was humbled.