World’s ‘sexiest athlete’ Alica Schmidt announces change of event as she targets next Olympics after Paris disappointment
Olympic runner Alica Schmidt, who has been labeled ‘the world’s sexiest athlete’, has announced she is trying her hand at another event.
The 25-year-old German competed in her first Games in Paris this summer after being a reserve in Tokyo in 2021, racing in the mixed 4x400m relay at the Stade de France.
Schmidt was also controversially chosen over Luna Bulmahn in the women’s 4x400m event, despite her teammate being expected to start. Unfortunately, Germany were eliminated in the heat of both matches, with Schmidt later describing the three-week trip to Paris as ‘an emotional rollercoaster’.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, Schmidt reflected on the whirlwind 12 months and revealed she will be training to compete in the 800 meters.
“It’s been a whole year,” she wrote. “It was filled with so many highlights and I made some memories that will last forever: from the world relays in the Bahamas, where we qualified the mixed relay for the Olympics.
Olympic runner Alica Schmidt has revealed she plans to try out a different athletics discipline
The 25-year-old competed in her first Olympic Games this summer, running in the mixed 4x400m relay at the Stade de France
Schmidt and Team Germany finished a disappointing seventh place in the 4x400m race and failed to qualify for the final
‘To the European Championships in Rome, where we qualified the 4x400m women for Paris for the German national championships and of course: THE OLYMPIC GAMES
‘After Paris I tried something new and ran the 800 and 600 meters and really enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone. In 2022 I decided I wanted to give the 800 meters a try after the Paris Olympics, so now it means… I’m going for it next year. I’m heading to my first high altitude training camp where I’ll join an international 800m group to train alongside great athletes where I can learn a lot.
‘I’m super excited about this new challenge and what it will bring (I’m also going to run the 400 meters, but for now I’m focusing more on the endurance part of the training). Let this journey begin.”
Schmidt, who was named the world’s sexiest athlete by Australian magazine Busted Coverage in 2017, recently showed off her “first and only tattoo” in honor of her involvement in the Games, posting the intriguing design in a racy Instagram story .
She is seen in a video lying on a treatment table as a tattoo artist hovers over her with the needle before the camera pans to Berlin, including the iconic Fernsehturm in the distance.
The camera zooms in on the end product, a beautiful design of the Olympic logo on the German’s thigh. A caption reads: ‘I’m sooo happy!! It turned out exactly how I wanted it.’
The runner is known for entertaining her fans on social media and in August, as the Games came to an end, she shared on her Instagram a fun compilation of the activities available to athletes in Paris.
Highlights on the list included receiving a personalized stamp from official Games partner La Poste and enjoying free baguettes, croissants and fizzy drinks at the Athletes’ Village.
Schmidt has revealed that she will train to compete in the 800 meters next year
Previously labeled the “world’s sexiest athlete,” Schmidt recently debuted her very first tattoo
She was named ‘the sexiest athlete in the world’ by Australian magazine ‘Busted Coverage’ in 2017
Schmidt remembers having to keep her physical fitness at the highest level – possibly as early preparation for the next Olympics – by cycling around the village and attending meditation sessions.
She is hoping for a better performance in Los Angeles in 2028 after her mixed relay team crashed out of the event in the heats, losing to Great Britain, the Netherlands and Italy.
Schmidt suffered a similar disappointment in the women’s event, where her quartet was defeated by Jamaica, the Netherlands, Ireland and Canada.
The race took place amid growing tensions in the Team Germany camp after the rejected Bulmahn expressed her frustration, saying: ‘Yes, I am the second fastest 400 meters athlete on paper. No, I have not been nominated for the mixed relay.’
After the Games, Schmidt said: ‘As an athlete I’m still not where I want to be and maybe I never will be. And to the athletes who didn’t make it to Paris this year: always believe in yourself.
“It’s a bumpy road and one day all your hard work will finally pay off!”