'You're malnourished; you are overtrained': Olympic gymnast's warning

Alexandra Kiroi-Bogatyreva got her first period at 19, and says no one questioned why. (Europa Press via Getty Images: Oscar J Barroso) Link copiedShareShare articleAlexandra Kiroi-Bogatyreva spent years sacrificing her health for a shot at making the Olympics. "I was so driven that injuries didn't stop me," the 24-year-old told ABC Sport. "I really wanted to achieve my goals, show the world what I'm capable of and give back to my family." The rhythmic gymnast competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics and medalled at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. She retired at 22 years old, noting that most athletes typically leave the sport between 17 and 21. "The sport demands significant physical commitment, as well as considerable psychological resilience," she said. Kiroi-Bogatyreva trained up to 10 hours a day, six days a week, but it was often without the proper nutrition. "It's very hard for a gymnast [being an] aesthetic sport, to be told you should eat more carbs when you're raised in the culture of being thin is better," Kiroi-Bogatyreva said. It meant her body wasn't functioning the way it should have been. Kiroi-Bogatyreva didn't get her first period until she was 19. At that age, most women have had theirs for about seven years. Doctors told Kiroi-Bogatyreva that her body didn't have enough energy to have a period. (Getty Images: Alex Pantling) After that, it would only come once a year, when she had a two-week break from gymnastics. "No one really questioned why, or if it's okay for that to be happening," she said. It wasn't until years later that doctors explained what was going on. "I was [told] 'you're malnourished, you are over trained and your body just doesn't have the energy to even have a period," she said. "Before that, I never really linked it with my food intake or how many hours I trained at the gym." It's this normalisation of menstrual dysfunction that athletes like Kiroi-Bogatyreva want to see changed. They also want more knowledge about how to approach the menstrual cycle, and to raise awareness about the serious consequences if overlooked. Kiroi-Bogatyreva wants coaches to have more awareness of women's health. (ABC Sport: Patrick Stone) Getting your period late, or being irregular, isn't unusual among elite athletes. In partnership with Deakin University, ABC Sport surveyed 152 women and gender diverse athletes across 47 sports. Seventy-five per cent of respondents said they experienced menstrual irregularities as an athlete. The same number said menstrual cycles weren't taken into consideration when developing their training programs. Professional ironwoman Harriet Brown said she didn't remember anyone asking about her menstrual cycle over the course of her 15-year career. "Back then it was seen as you are really fit if you didn't have your period," the 35-year-old told ABC Sport. Harriet Brown says when she was competing, not having your period was seen as a good thing. (Getty Images: Chris Hyde) And Kiroi-Bogatyreva was led to believe just that. "It was just well-known that if you're an athlete you get your period later," she said. Low pay, discrimination, disordered eating, sexism and online abuse are just a few of the prevalent issues ABC's Elite Athletes in Women's Sport Survey has revealed. "There was just so much lack of education that we are really starting to realise can be really helpful," Brown said. "These are the topics that I think would have made a really big difference to so many female athletes, including myself." Several athletes told us that their menstrual irregularities and symptoms were dismissed or ignored by coaching staff. "I was told to go to training anyway, when my chronic illness (PMOS, formerly PCOS) left me bedridden for a few days during my period each month, to 'practice what it would be like if it happened in competition'. No opportunity for reasonable adjustments. There was never a question of whether I could train, or care for whether I should." "There is no consideration of support for athletes on their period, how to manage pain or recovery. There's also no acknowledgement or tailoring of training. Sometimes my pain is so bad I can barely walk yet I push through a training session, how is this helpful?" To help with managing the menstrual cycle, some athletes are put on the contraceptive pill, including many survey respondents. Although using the pill can help some people, it can also hide more serious issues. "It can be pretty impactful as an athlete because what it can be masking is RED-S [relative energy deficiency] in sport," Brown, who is also an exercise physiologist, said. RED-S happens when you use up more calories than you take in. You might feel tired, miss periods, or get colds or infections. You're more likely to get hurt because your body will take longer to recover after exercise, and down the track there's a risk of fertility problems, bone weakness and osteoporosis. "The body starts to slow down

'You're malnourished; you are overtrained': Olympic gymnast's warning

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