She started with modern pentathlon in Bulgaria.
Now Marlena Jawaid, 23, will make her Olympic debut – for Sweden.
The Swedish Olympic Committee (SOK) gives the green light to Marlena Jawaid and rifle shooter Marcus Madsen.
Jawaid was born and raised in Bulgaria.
In 2020, she moved to Sweden after a conflict with the Bulgarian federation.
In Bulgaria, many people tell you what to do. In Sweden, you lead and get support from others. No one tells me what to do here, she has said in an interview with TT.
In Sweden, Jawaid – whose father is a Swedish citizen – started training under double Olympic medallist Svante Rasmuson. Last week, she came seventh in the World Championship in China, which was enough to qualify for the Olympics.
Previously, she also achieved a fourth place in the U24 European Championship.
Sometimes I have to say that she cannot get up at 5 am every morning and train, Svante Rasmuson has said.
The next Swedish Olympic selection takes place on 26 June and a week later the blue and yellow squad is finalised.
The Olympics open on 26 July.
Correction: In an earlier version, the wrong country was mentioned in the introduction.
