Recent widespread media coverage of an Olympic sprinter’s ME/CFS illustrates how this condition can have a devastating impact on people’s lives. She describes the feeling that her entire body “is shutting down” and that “it feels like you are a few days from death”. Many of us know exactly how that feels. We recognise the hopelessness and terror.
But there is hope.
People can find a path out. In an earlier blog, we outlined experiences from people’s recovery journeys, drawn from research studies. Part of recovery is about realising it is possible, and this can sometimes come from discovering stories of others who have recovered.
For some, recovery has started by being open to a “mind-body” explanation for symptoms. With advice, support, and a growing sense of agency, what seemed impossible can become a reality.
Here we share some hope from elite athletes with ME/CFS. These three stories are of Olympians who had this condition, fully recovered, and went back to their sport. Two of them compete in the Olympics again.
1
Anna Hemmings
Anna was World Champion and Olympic Athlete (Kayaker) for Britain. She developed ME/CFS. She fully recovered and went on to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Anna was already a world champion and Olympian when she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in 2003. Unable to train, she spent two years away from her sport.
Yet she continued to believe that her circumstances could change:
“I believed that there had to be a way out and I believed that I would recover and return to training and racing again.”
Anna describes a turning point after discovering Reverse Therapy, a mind-body approach that allowed her to recover. With support from her family, coach and sports psychologist, she began rebuilding her health and confidence.
In early 2005, she started gentle running and kayaking. By May, she said she was back to full training. That year, she regained her World and European Championship titles
She went on to win three further world titles after her illness and competed at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Her experience shows how substantial recovery can be with the right treatment and approach: returning to a demanding, active life with new ambitions ahead.
More information
annahemmings.com
aftenposten.no
2
Tina Røe Skaar
Tina Olympic Games Competitor (taekwondo fighter) competing for Norway. She developed ME/CFS. She recovered using a mind-body approach. She went on to compete in the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.
As a teenager, Norwegian taekwondo athlete Tina spent long periods bedridden with ME. Pain, exhaustion and sensitivity to light and sound restricted her life. She missed school and watched friends progress in the sport she longed to return to.
In her recovery account, Tina describes finding a way forward through the Lightning Process. She gradually returned to training, resumed her education and began competing again. Two months after the course, she competed in her first Norway Cup in four years and won a silver medal. A year later, she became Nordic champion.
Then came Rio. In 2016, Tina represented Norway at the Olympic Games.
“But here I am – an Olympic athlete, a way of life I could then only fantasise about.”
Her published story includes a later update confirming that, after retiring from elite taekwondo, she remained well from ME/CFS.
More information:
Recovery Norway (Tina’s full story)
3
Francie Aitken
Francie was New Zealand’s first Olympic rowing coxswain. She learned the hard way that success takes more than work and discipline. She developed ME/CFS, and recovered fully through a mind-body approach.
Francie had episodes of fatigue that would last weeks or months, during which she could not work or exercise. She also had other symptoms of tinnitus, night sweats, extreme thirst and irritable bowel symptoms.
She was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome by a specialist after finding “nothing wrong” with her.
She recovered from chronic fatigue using the Lightning Process, and none of these has recurred. She’s had full health since and can’t remember the last time she has needed to go to the doctor for health concerns.
On the outside, it looked like she had mastered her mindset. But behind the scenes, perfectionism, overthinking, and relentless self-doubt drove her. Her inner critic was loud, and while it helped her perform as an Olympian, it came at a great cost.
Within six weeks of consciously breaking the mental patterns she had assumed she was stuck in forever, she began to feel like herself again. She could enjoy her loved ones and her life. This valuable work became especially crucial to her wellbeing when she became a mum.
Now, using the tools she has honed at work and practised at home, she helps mums break free from overthinking and mum guilt, so they can rediscover the joy, confidence, and love of life that she did.
More information:
Francie’s website
A future beyond illness
These athletes describe different experiences, and their stories cannot predict another person’s recovery or determine which treatment will help.
But they do show why recovery deserves a place in our conversations about ME/CFS and Long Covid.
At The Recovery Channel, we believe recovered people have experiences worth listening to and learning from. Their stories can offer encouragement, practical insights and questions for research.