Laviai and Lina Nielsen at the Olympic Games closing ceremony in Paris

ISLINGTON-EDUCATED identical twins made Britain proud with bronze medals at the Paris Olympics – ten years after celebrating their A-level results from a Clerkenwell sixth-form college.

Laviai and Lina Nielsen, who won bronze for Team GB in the women’s 4x400m relay, both attended City and Islington College, near Angel.

Geography teacher Mike Govender taught the twin Olympians during their time at the college and remembered them being superstars in the classroom as much as they were on the running track.

“They are some of the loveliest, calmest students we’ve ever had,” he said. “They were unbelievably disciplined. Their commitment to athletics certainly came through in their work.

“But successful as they were in athletics even when they were here, they were very much down to earth and connected with staff and students.”

Lina and Laviai Nielsen on A-Level results day ten years ago [Yves Salmon]

Mr Govender, who was also a keen athlete during his own school years, remembers talking to the pair about their sporting prowess and having a “jolly old chat” about their respective heritage – the twins’ father is Danish and their mother Sudanese, while Mr Govender is originally from South Africa. He still has a photo of Laviai and Lina in his classroom from a field trip when he was their teacher.

“My relationship with my students goes through time,” Mr Govender said. “It doesn’t matter what they go on to do, I always remember them.”

Laviai and Lina, who now share a flat in Islington with their Cavalier King Charles spaniel, were already sprinting for their country at junior level when they left sixth-form in 2014, despite the college not offering PE at that time.

The twins both got an A*, A and B in their A-levels, and Lina went on to study chemistry at Queen Mary University while Laviai did geography at King’s College London.

Mike Govender and Dominic Eady

Assistant principal of City and Islington College Dominic Eady said: “It is always immensely rewarding to witness our alumni achieving remarkable things in their careers. I make a point of following the progress of many of our former students, and I was especially proud to watch Lina and Laviai compete together in the Olympics.

“Their incredible performances were truly inspiring and filled me with a deep sense of pride. Seeing them reach such heights on a global stage is a testament to their hard work and dedication, as well as the strength of our community.”

Laviai won a second bronze medal for the mixed 4x400m relay in Paris, but Lina sadly lost out in her other Olympic event, the 400m hurdles, falling at the final hurdle in the semi-finals.

Speaking to the media after her fall, Lina said: “It’s just disappointing that it had to end that way.

Olympic bronze medal

“To tell the truth, I was panicking all week because I thought, you know, being in the [Olympic] village and surrounded by so many people, Covid, and the food, I was scared that I might suffer another relapse.”

Lina was referencing the fact that she has multiple sclerosis (MS) and has suffered with the illness since she was 13 years old, but was not properly diagnosed until she was 17.

“I have to be somewhat proud that I made it to the semi-finals,” she added. “It’s been tough. Ten years ago I had to learn how to walk again.”

Shortly before she did her A-levels, Lina’s MS left her almost paralysed on the right-hand side of her body, but since then she has learned to manage her condition in a way that still allows her to compete at an elite level.

Laviai, who also has MS but was diagnosed just three years ago, has said that she hopes the sisters can be “a beacon of hope” for people facing MS or other chronic illnesses.