Alica Schmidt – who was once voted the sexiest athlete in the world – is confident that she can beat striker Erling Haaland in the 400m race.

Haaland is in the top 10 fastest players, with a top speed of 36km/h. The Norwegian striker reached this speed when he ran 60 meters in 6 seconds 64 in a 3-2 Champions League win over Sevilla in the 2021 Champions League, when he scored twice and set up a goal for Dortmund. This parameter is only 0.3 seconds behind the world track record in the 60m distance set by Christian Coleman in 2018.

However, Schmidt is confident that he can beat Haaland on the 400m race. The best record of the German female athlete at this distance is under 55 seconds. She came up with the idea of competing against Haaland during the press conference at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest 2023 on August 21.

Asked by the Norwegian daily Dagbladet about the possibility of beating Haaland in the running race, Schmidt thought about it and replied: “I don’t know, maybe. 200m would be more difficult, but I think I can beat Haaland on the track. 400m. I’ll be happy if that race happens.”

When asked when the match against Haaland could take place, Schmidt said: “I don’t know, I have to ask him. But I’m always ready.” The 24-year-old German runner then turned to the camera to say: “So Haaland, if you’re ready to race, I’ll be happy. Let’s see who runs faster.”

Schmidt once defeated Mats Hummels – Haaland’s former teammate at Dortmund – on the 400m run in North Rhine-Westphalia in October 2020. After finishing, the German centre-back lay on the field, gasping for air and said: “Oh my God, this is the worst thing I’ve ever done. I’m so glad I chose football. She makes running look so easy.”.

Schmidt posted the video on YouTube with the caption: “I met 2014 World Cup champion Hummels in Dortmund in a very interesting event. We wanted to see who could sprint faster over the 400m. This is one of them. the most exciting challenges of the year for both me and Hummels.”

Schmidt, born in 1998, is a promising German runner. She won a silver medal in the 4x400m relay at the European Athletics Championships U20 in 2017, and a bronze medal in the content at the 2019 European Athletics Championships. She used to be Dortmund’s fitness coach for the Bundesliga season. 2020-2021.

Schmidt was selected to the German reserve relay team for Tokyo 2021, but did not play. She finished second in the 400m at the 2022 German Indoor Championships, behind Corinna Schwab. After that, she decided not to attend the 2022 Indoor World Championships to focus on running outdoors. She was a member of the German team that finished sixth in the 4x400m relay final at the 2022 European Championships.

In 2017, Australia’s Busted Coverage magazine voted Schmidt as “the sexiest athlete in the world”. “I don’t understand why I was given that title. Obviously, sport comes first,” Schmidt told Bild in 2020. “There are thousands of other good-looking girls on Instagram. There are many fans. doesn’t make you feel interesting. To me, running is just a sport to compete.”

The German runner was once approached by Playboy and asked her to model for this adult magazine. However, Schmidt refused, maintaining the view that improving performance on the track was a top priority.