Beth Dobbin ran the 200 meter sprint at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Like any Olympian, that was monumental for her.
But now, five years on, her life could not be any more different. She is now battling myalgic encephalomyelitis, as reported by the New York Post.
ME is also known by its alternative name, "chronic fatigue syndrome". Health experts describe the debilitating disease as something that "makes any form of physical and mental exertion difficult".
The former Olympain described her condition as making her body feel like it "is shutting down", adding "it feels like you are a few days from death".
The tragic disease is incurable and lasts for a lifetime. Dobbin says that the whole thing has seriously impacted her life, making previously simple tasks have months of consequences.
"I've done little things like attend a blood test at the doctors and been in bed for months after," she explained. She said that the conversation she was having, which was for BBC Sport, "chatting away for 30 minutes, that could have an impact on me in 2027".
She believes that her condition could have started following two infections back-to-back in 2021-2022. The former Olympian had battled Covid and then a severe glandular infection, back to back.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The Former Olympian Experienced More Severe Symptoms
But those infections were just the start of her woes. She said she started experiencing restlessness and dizzy spells, even having her legs lose all feeling just before the start of a race.
"I think I saw four or five different specialists," the former Olympian recalled, "because the symptoms that I was having, they were across multiple body systems."
"All the specialists said 'this is ME' and we don't want it to be that because there's nothing out there for it."
She said that her condition has made her want to "speak about it" because of her "slight platform". "It's not necessarily that I want to discuss it, it's raising that awareness. And unfortunately, athletes are believed a lot more than the average person."
"A lot of people that have this illness that I've spoken to have said to me... 'I don't get believed, people think I'm lazy.'"
