Dhe Swiss Lena Häcki-Groß assumes that biathlon athletes also have to struggle with eating disorders. “I wouldn’t say it’s a huge problem. But there are already some affected. Many have not been diagnosed with an eating disorder, but are on the way there – or at least have an ambivalent relationship to food,” said the 27-year-old in an interview with “t-online.de”.
Häcki-Groß, daughter-in-law of the German Olympic champion Ricco Groß, was the first ski hunter to make her eating disorder public a year ago. “There are many people who are affected by this – especially in sports,” she said. “Professional sport is particularly vulnerable because it’s always about optimizing something. Eating is an easy and obvious goal.” She would appreciate it if more awareness of the topic were raised.
“Regular feeding attacks”
Previously, in the ARD documentary “Hungern for Gold”, former biathlon world champion Miriam Neureuther and former gymnast Kim Bui pointed out the problem of eating disorders in competitive sports. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Kim Bui also spoke in detail about her “double life” and the problems that arose from it.
The path to an eating disorder is often a gradual process. “I’ve been trying to lose a lot of weight fast and willing myself to eat almost nothing for days. At some point, the body can no longer take it and there are real binge eating,” explained Häcki-Groß, adding: “I completely lost control and just ate everything that was there. Sometimes I ate the entire fridge in one evening.”
She was also asked by trainers to lose weight. Her current trainer, Sandra Flunger, asked her about her problem and after talking to her, Häcki-Groß realized “that I need professional help. I’m not quite through with therapy yet, but I’m feeling much better.”