- Dorothea Wierer shares how menstruation impacts her biathlon performance.
- She faced an unfortunate timing with her menstrual cycle before the normal distance race at the home Olympics.
- Research shows many female athletes experience fluctuations in form during menstruation.
- However, there is no evidence of systematic differences throughout the cycle.
- Wierer chooses to accept her period without hormonal preparations.
– Sometimes I secure criticized for poor performances, but they don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. Sometimes it’s really tough. Every month is different, sometimes you suffer more, sometimes less. It’s not always easy for us women,” Wierer told VG.
The Italian biathlon star openly discussed how the timing of the opening distance race at the home Olympics was unfortunate, as her period began right before the event.
She finished fifth in the normal distance race.
– Physically, it wasn’t particularly pleasant. Unfortunately, that’s just how it is for us women once a month, you just have to suffer through it. I know it will get better in the next few days,” she said according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Wierer stated that it’s “the most natural thing in the world” to talk about her own menstruation. When asked how she notices differences in performance throughout the various stages of her menstrual cycle, she explained:
– It’s always different for me. In the last few days before menstruation and the first two days of it, I don’t have the best legs or feelings. I feel heavy and have back pain… I feel like crap!
Wierer laughed, but emphasized the seriousness of the situation.
– You still have to perform, train, and compete. You can’t just say you’re going to stay in bed on competition day.
– Can Impact Performance
Guro Strøm Solli is an associate professor at Nord University and a consultant at the Norwegian Olympic Committee.
She is part of the so-called FENDURA project, which researches how hormonal and other female-specific aspects affect endurance athletes.
Associate Professor, Faculty of Education and Arts
She writes that, based on current research, there is no evidence that performance systematically improves or worsens during the menstrual cycle or if menstruation coincides with competition days.
However:
“Studies that ask athletes about their experiences show that a significant proportion experience variations in both physical form and performance throughout the menstrual cycle. Many experience reduced physical form and performance in the days before and during menstruation,” Solli writes.
She explains this is linked to athletes experiencing various menstruation-related symptoms (PMS) such as pain, bloating, changes in mood or mindset, and poor sleep.
“These factors can affect both actual performance and the experience of being physically and mentally ready to perform,” Solli writes.
The discrepancy between research findings on objectively measured performance and what athletes experience is likely due to the impact being highly individual and the fact that athletic performance is complex and multifaceted, Solli writes.
Won’t Seize Pills
She added that it’s not uncommon for female athletes to take hormonal preparations to postpone menstruation if it coincides with important competitions.
Wierer, however, doesn’t wish to do that.
– I could of course do something, but I don’t want to. I just accept it, I don’t want to take pills. I don’t like that feeling,” she said.
Solli further points out that a challenge is simply the lack of research on top athletes measuring performance in sports with complex performance requirements like biathlon.
She writes that taboos surrounding menstruation in sports have diminished in recent years.
