Ebba Andersson, Cross Country | Opens up about unknown drama: – I felt shame

At the end of April, the Swedish skiing star Ebba Andersson will release the autobiography “From OS storm to WC gold”.

In the book, she reflects on her training and health, as well as how losing her period has affected her performance.

It was after the Olympics in Beijing in 2022 that the 26-year-old got an alarm clock. In the championship, there were no individual medals, despite the fact that Andersson had broken all personal records in the run-up to the season.

That made her wonder why she didn’t perform better. After the Olympic season, she did a proper self-examination, and that’s when it dawned on her.

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Something had to be done

She had not informed the national team doctor that she had had values ​​that pointed to overtraining ever since 2021. In addition, it had been several years since she had had her period.

– The first time it didn’t come, I reacted. It was a bit strange. But I understood that it happens to many elite athletes, it is a natural mechanism if you push the body hard, so I found acceptance in it. No period, nothing strange. I managed to train, I thought I ate what I needed and I continued to develop, says Andersson in an interview with Aftonbladet in connection with the book release.

The Swedish skier realized she had to take action. She decided that she should get her diet better and get her period back.

She made an appointment with a nutritionist and gynecologist, and she talked for hours with her mental coach. She understood that it wasn’t the training that made her not perform even better, it was everything else.

Andersson became more aware of his diet, and it didn’t take long for it to pay off. Just a few months later, she got her period back.

– The fact that I got my period back was the same as my body being on the right track, I thought. But it took more time than that. We checked other values ​​that did not respond as quickly, so it had to take more time. I wanted to train hard, but not foolishly, she says.

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– Have known shame

Andersson let a few more months pass, and then the values ​​were much better. But it was only when she got her skis on and started the WC season 2022/23 that she realized that all the pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place.

Then Andersson began to believe that WC gold was seriously attainable. And later that season, she had her dream come true.

She won gold in the 15 km skiathlon at the WC in Planica, and followed up with another gold in the three-mile at the end of the championship.

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The 26-year-old hopes that her openness about menstruation and diet can inspire younger skiers. She herself has felt ashamed about this.

– I will make an attempt in any case. When I didn’t have my period for periods, I felt a little ashamed. Or I accepted it even though there were question marks about whether I was in the right place in the health status. It was so easy to wave it away because the training was great and I felt strong. It is better that we normalize and that more people talk about periods, says Andersson.

At the same time, she makes no secret of the fact that there are also negative aspects to having your period as a top athlete. Andersson says that at times she has also experienced severe period pains.

She is nevertheless aware that it is better than losing her period altogether.

– I have been on the other side and know that it is worse.

Andersson has also delivered good results in the season she has just left behind. There were two World Cup victories and several podium places. Next year, she is among the biggest favorites during the WC in Trondheim.