Given her history of juggling a track career with her moniker as the “world’s prettiest athlete,” Alica Schmidt is no stranger to modelling various attire.
The blue-eyed beauty qualified for the 400-meter semi-finals, but the Munich 2022 European Championships proved to be the wrong event for a wardrobe change. She registered for the penultimate stage of her speciality event after running one of her faster times at the Olympiastadion (52.52 seconds).
Schmidt accomplished it while donning a yellow and black leotard, but for the final on Tuesday, he substituted a vest and pair of trunks. Some criticised the 23-year-decision old’s to change after she finished last in her semifinal and was denied a spot in the final.
Schmidt has just once so far this year run a slower competitive 400-meter time, and some onlookers thought the decline in form was due to dress code. Sports like athletics, where even the smallest advantage (or disadvantage) can be the difference between winning and losing, are filled with superstitions.
Don’t tamper with good juju Alica, advised Barstool Sports in response to the mid-competition alteration. Schmidt’s decision to change a successful formula for her attire was criticised by the sports media outlet Outkick as “playing with fire” and “inexplicable.”
“I’m not saying Schmidt deserved to lose, but she had to know she was playing with fire adjusting her clothing,” their account said.
“You don’t wash your uniform during a hit streak and you don’t switch the track outfit until after the finals. I don’t know why sports works that way, but it just does.”
Schmidt was a successful athlete and model in addition to serving as Borussia Dortmund’s fitness coach for the 2020–21 Bundesliga season. The possibility has maintained, though, that her preference is to succeed in athletics, despite an expanding portfolio of work outside of her initial passion.
According to her interview with Bild, “I just want to be seen as an athlete. I want to inspire young people and offer them an insight into my lovely sport.” “I still find it remarkable that I get to meet so many extremely intriguing people, and I am incredibly appreciative for all of these encounters.”
Schmidt may not have lived up to expectations in the European Championships, but she is now focused on qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics for Germany.
The sprinter, who was not chosen for the Tokyo Games last year, is raising her profile once more in the hopes that she will compete in France.
Read More: Why did Alica Schmidt lost 400-metre semi-finals of 2022 European Championships