"Not the race I was aiming for"- Alica Schmidt breaks silence after losing chance to qualify for World Championships 

Alica Schmidt spoke for the first time after her performance in the German National Championships in the women's 800m. The German athlete finished third in heat 1 and failed to qualify for the finals of the event.

Schmidt had shifted her focus to the 800m since the beginning of the 2025 track season. She faced certain setbacks in the indoor season and was optimistic about improving and returning to the outdoor season with a different zeal.

The German athlete showcased great improvements in her performance as the season progressed and even clocked her personal best that stood at 2:03.21 on July 15, 2025, in Switzerland.

Weeks later, Alica Schmidt marched on to the outdoor German National Championships in a quest to qualify for the upcoming 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Schmidt finished third in her heat with a performance of 2:06.47. She missed her chance to qualify for the finals by a minute margin via the fastest loser (two of the fastest finishers other than the automatic qualifiers receive a spot in the finals).

Schmidt expressed her thoughts about competing in the National Outdoor Championship. The 26-year-old shared that even though she could not put forward her best performance, she'll be carrying forward all the learning from the race and comeback stronger in the next season.

"First outdoor championship over 800m. Not the race I was aiming for but an important lesson for the upcoming season! We keep learning📈" she wrote.

Alica Schmidt expresses her thoughts| Instgram@alicasmd

Schmidt was optimistic about improving her performances in the future.

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Alica Schmidt opens up about her main priority

Alica Schmidt at the Berlin E-Prix Round 13 - Source: Getty

Alica Schmidt opened up about her main priority in an interview with Olympics.com. The German athlete weighed in on her massive popularity on social media and shared that it has given her multiple opportunities; however, her main focus is still the track.

Schmidt shared that social media was her hobby, and she enjoyed doing that alongside her track career.

"The training is, of course, the main focus and all other things come behind that. But I also love to do some model jobs or take the people with me on social media. It's a big hobby of mine and I love to do that. But the main focus is sports," she said.

The German athlete hoped to improve her performance and dominate the international track circuit while competing against some of the fastest athletes in the world.

Edited by Adityan Pillai