I went from volunteering at London 2012 to profitable an Olympic medal – now we’d like you to get entangled
Laviai Nielsen volunteered as a kit carrier 14 years ago at the London Stadium with her twin and fellow Olympic medallist, Lina, in a moment that kickstarted the two 400m runners’ athletics careers.
Athletes Lina and Laviai Nielsen during the Birmingham 2026 ‘Be a Champion’ Volunteer Campaign Launch at Utilita Arena Birmingham.
Laviai Nielsen’s first taste of live sport was stood next to Jessica Ennis-Hill on London 2012’s ‘super Saturday’ and it set her on the trajectory to her own Olympic medal.
Nielsen volunteered as a kit carrier 14 years ago at the London Stadium with her twin and fellow Olympic medallist, Lina, in a moment that kickstarted the two 400m runners’ athletics careers.
Having gone in search of a track after that formative moment, the pair now boast three Olympic bronze medals between them after success in the relays at Paris 2024.
“I don’t think we could fathom feeling and seeing 100,000 people in the stadium until we walked out with the heptathletes getting ready for the 200m,” recalled Laviai.
“The sun was setting, so the lights had just come on, 100,000 people took their phones out, camera flashes, people screaming Jess’ name. It was so loud the stadium was vibrating.
“I’ll never forget what that felt like. You just had so much pride to be British. Alongside the photographers and officials, we were the only other people that could stand on the track.
“After that I was like ‘I really want to experience this one day myself, and I would stop at nothing to achieve it’.”
For Lina and Laviai, who grew up in Leytonstone in east London, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park was just a short stroll down the high street.
It gave the Nielsens a unique perspective of the impact the visit a major sporting competition can have on both the local community and the athletes as it put them on the track from one to the other.
“We actually started from that moment,” explained Lina. “We didn’t know the route to going elite, so we just found our local club, which at the time was Woodford Green and Essex Ladies, very local club.
“We thought we’d be 800m runners. It took a whole year for us to find a coach who would actually tell us you are better at the 400m and coach us properly.
“But for a long time, we were actually coaching ourselves. We just wanted to be part of the sport. I don’t think we ever really believed we would be Olympians. We just wanted to replicate that feeling of competing in a championship.”
Now the Nielsens are encouraging others to sign up to volunteer when the UK hosts the European Athletics Championships for the first time at Birmingham 2026.
With just six months to go until the championships arrive at the Alexander Stadium from the from August 10-16, the duo now have the opportunity to set others on that same path when they take to the track this summer.
“What was really important is seeing sport like that, up close front and personal like really putting it into reality,” said Laviai.
“When you see it on TV you can feel so far removed from it, but to be standing there with the athletes right there in front of us, I started to realise that these were once young kids like myself who also had a dream and trained really hard to achieve that dream.
“It made me realise that I could do it as well and step into those shoes myself.”
Apply to Volunteer and find out more. Volunteer sign-up and FAQs: https://go.birmingham26.com/volunteer. Tickets and event information: https://tickets.birmingham26.com
