Back on track: 'World's Sexiest Athlete' Alica Schmidt returns to training after quarantine (PHOTOS)
Alicia Schmidt might not be competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics this year for one reason or another, but the German sprint stunner has returned to training this week in Germany after Covid-19 quarantine.
READ MORE: From scrums to scrubs: Russian rugby referee talks work as nurse during Covid-19 pandemic
The 21-year-old runner, who specialises in the 400m, had been touted as an extreme outside chance for Tokyo Games, even though the odds of her representing Germany were perhaps as long as the legs that made her originally famous.
Also on rt.com Alica Schmidt - German track star & ‘World’s Sexiest Athlete’ chasing Tokyo 2020 dreamsSchmidt had the title ‘World’s Sexiest Track and Field Athlete’ bestowed upon her by men’s magazine Busted Coverage in 2017, and subsequently grew a large following on Instagram, we're she has amassed a cool 716,000 followers.
But the SCC Berlin athlete doesn’t just flaunt her pins on social media but has returned to put them through painstaking drills and is back training on the track after a month of isolation.
“I can finally train on the track again. The last month I did everything alone or in pairs outside. I am so happy to be able to train in the stadium again as usual even if nature was not that bad for the training session!” the runner wrote back on April 19, after getting back into her training grind.
The long-awaited return wasn’t without its own hiccups, as Schmidt was forced to take another miniature layoff due to a wisdom tooth ailment, beginning training again this week.
“My week off (because of my wisdom tooth) is almost over now. I hope I can start training again on Monday. It is so strange to have so much more time now for other stuff."
Courtesy of her athletic build and good looks, Schmidt has caught the attention of Puma, the same sponsor as sprint legend Usain Bolt, and with whom she signed a lucrative sponsorship deal and was part of a lengthy ad campaign, as signing with model management company Vitesse.
But it looks as though Puma ads and Instagram is just about the level Schmidt is prepared to go to push her name into the limelight, having turned down an offer to pose for cult men’s magazine Playboy in the past, and was surprised at receiving her 'sexiest track star' crown.
"I do not know why I got this title," a bewildered Schmidt said about her surprise moniker. "Sport comes clearly first," she added.
"There are thousands of girls on Instagram who look good and still do not have as many fans. makes you interesting, and that's just competitive sport for me."
The Berliner also has track pedigree and helped Germany take silver in 4x400 relay at the European Athletics Under-20 Championships in 2018.
In 2019, Schmidt carried on her success by helping the national quartet to the U23 European Championships bronze in the same event in Gävle, Sweden.
A return to action might be closer than expected for Schmidt, Germany's football top tier Bundesliga is set to return on May 9.
It was hoped that Schmidt could have furthered her potential in preparation for this year’s Olympics but the event of course fell victim to the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed 6,467 lives from 162,000 confirmed cases in her homeland.
That event will now be held next year, and will certainly be marked on Schmidt's calendar, training for which began with the first steps out of quarantine.
