Problematic periods left me powerless on the slopes
The Olympic skier tells Gemma Calvert how irregular periods and low iron levels damaged her professional career
She’s one of Britain’s most famous Alpine ski racers and competed in four Winter Olympics, risking life and limb to hurtle downhill at death-defying speeds. And during her 20-year professional career, Chemmy Alcott endured her fair share of injury. There were a total of 47 broken bones, including a double fracture to her right leg, which forced her to retire seven years ago.
But behind the scenes, the BBC Ski Sunday presenter faced a secret health battle with her menstrual cycle, which blighted her training regime and left her feeling isolated in an all-male team.
“I’ve seen research* that says 84 per cent of women accept disruptive symptoms of the menstrual cycle and I can believe it,” the 39-year-old Londoner says. “I’m a confident, strong woman and I did exactly that. I tried to seek help for my problematic periods and nothing worked, so I learned to live with it.”
Most girls start menstruating around the ages of 12 and 13 but Chemmy’s periods were suppressed during puberty, possibly due to the intense training she did as a youngster. She was 19 and preparing for her first Winter Olympics when her first period arrived, then her menstrual cycle failed to follow a regular 28-day pattern and she could go months without a period.
The inconsistency in Chemmy’s cycle inhibited her training, which female athletes usually tailor around the ebb and flow of their hormones as it can improve or limit strength, hand-eye coordination, endurance and muscle growth.
“Because I didn’t have a clue when my period was coming, my training was impossible to plan,” she says.
“Normally you taper your strength training before a period because of loosened muscles and ligaments. Then during a period, you alter the exercises and the volume of weightlifting because you are weaker through the centre, so more prone to injury. Because of the irregularity of my periods, I felt powerless.”
Three months before competing in her first Winter Olympics in November 2001, Chemmy had a copper intrauterine device (IUD) fitted, which quickly regulated her cycle but left her experiencing heavy Cooper monthly bleeds. Menstruation is the most common cause of iron loss and, on average, women lose around 220 to 250mg of iron per pint of blood during each cycle.
Many athletes have low iron levels partly because it is lost through heavy sweating, sparking tiredness, weakness and shortness of breath. For Chemmy, her substantial monthly blood loss led to a real slump in energy.
“I was sluggish and felt demotivated,” she recalls. “If I was in the gym and supposed to be achieving a personal best, I really struggled.
“When you’re trying to build muscle and work as efficiently as possible, low iron stops the body from delivering oxygen efficiently and that’s especially problematic for an athlete working at high altitude.”
After initially adding more iron-rich foods like spinach and black pudding to her diet,
Chemmy introduced an iron supplement, but soon suffered an uncomfortable side effect – constipation.
“I am prone to gut problems. Whenever I’m nervous or unwell, the first thing in my body to go is my gut. After general anaesthetic, I struggle with constipation,” explains Chemmy.
The discomfort had a detrimental effect on her sporting gains.
“You’ve got to be really fluid when you ski and if you’ve got a heavy, bloated stomach and are wearing back protection strapped around your stomach, it’s really unpleasant.” After three months of experimenting with “every iron pill on the market”, Chemmy gave up and “learned to live with” her situation – something many women in sport are all too familiar with.
In 2015, 789 female athletes were surveyed by UCL and St Mary’s University and more than half said their menstrual cycle impacts their training and performance but only 22 per cent had sought medical help for cases of heavy menstrual bleeding. “I had an all-male team of strength and conditioning coaches and physios. Back then there weren’t any other girls in the ski team, so tackling my menstrual issues felt a bit lonely,” says Chemmy.
“I now mentor young female athletes and when they say they are on their periods, we try to factor in more rest. I want to speak freely about it because I’ve been there.” Fortunately for Chemmy, her iron levels are finally stabilised. Since becoming a mum to Lachlan, four, and Cooper, two, she has switched to a hormonal IUD and takes a variety of supplements including vitamin D, collagen, CBD and Active Iron Strong and Kind, which is uniquely absorbed in the intestine rather than the stomach to maximise iron intake and reduce side effects such as constipation and nausea.
“I don’t have any side effects, I’m emotionally stable and I no longer suffer from fatigue. I can function through every menstrual cycle,” says Chemmy, admitting she cannot help but wonder how her career would have panned out had the supplement been available a decade ago.
“It could have been a game changer,” she continues. “If I’d had this continuity of energy and emotional balance, then I could have pushed myself harder and I would have been better. Maybe if my iron levels had been higher I wouldn’t have been so prone to getting hurt all the time. “It’s annoying that I couldn’t find a solution during my skiing career but it’s better late than never.”
■ Chemmy is supporting Active Iron’s new Better Days period campaign to help women feel less tired and more themselves during their menstrual cycle. Visit activeiron.com
‘‘I was sluggish and felt demotivated. If I was in the gym I really struggled
*A survey of 2,000 UK women, conducted by supplement experts Active Iron