Opens up to severe dehydration to lose weight – young athletes warn

“I will likely have reduced burnout for the rest of my life. So pushing the limits as I did has a price.”

Narrated by an open-hearted Lundby in the book “Meeting with Marine”.

NRK has been given exclusive access to the book, opening its doors about what happened during WC in Oberstdorf. For the first time, she talks about the drastic method she resorted to in order to achieve her dream of WC gold.

The consequences of this diet were tragic for one of Norway’s largest sports car brands.

– I felt confident that this would go well, but I He never thought it would have consequences, Lundby tells NRK.

Because it is uncertain whether Lundby will return to the snowboarding hill. The Golden Leap at Oberstdorf is still her last.

Intense diet

We have to go back to February days in 2021. For the first time, women will be allowed to jump on a big hill through the restroom. A battle for which Maren Lundby stood in breach.

But the jump favorite who has won the World Cup three years in a row – has not won a single race this year.

It hasn’t happened in seven seasons.

In the new book, Lundby opens up about her struggle with her weight throughout the 2020/21 season, and not just during WC. She also had “crossover knee” that had plagued her all summer, making it hard to reach the same level she had in previous seasons.

In consultation with the support staff, Lundby decided to take action when they were in WC, Germany.

In the book, she describes how they embarked on an intense diet, which consists largely of sweating from weight.

Has anyone tried to say “Don’t do that, Marine”?

– No, I had the playroom I wanted myself. I expressed my great desire to make it happen and to be a part of the fight for a medal, and then they are there to help me make it the best they can. There was no one to warn me, says Lundby.

– It was up to me what I wanted myself, so that’s okay. Then, in a way, I just have to thank myself.

– I couldn’t take it anymore

Lundby took the silver in his first WC competition, which was a jump on a small hill. But the medal had another side.

Lundby had to undergo doping control and had to drink several liters of water to control and urinate. Weight gained again.

Thus, the intense dieting continued until the team competition. After that, she wasn’t taken out for doping control, and she didn’t have to drink herself and start the slimming process all over again. Two days later, mixed teams competition was expected, but then it happened again.

The new silver led to a new doping control, so the process continued – the high point of the higher hill jump was next.

– I ran a loop before the big hill as I was too tired to drive from the previous week. I At one point, I wasn’t sure if I could afford to drive another round with the dry and caddy in there, says Lundby.

Lundby had lengthy talks with national team coach Christian Mayer after this situation. It gave a clear message that she would have to decide for herself. The 27-year-old asserts that this was her choice and that she was allowed to do so because she is a mature and well-established athlete.

After the conversation with Meyer, I realized that giving up would cost more:

– When I woke up the next day, I was ready to fight again.

Lundby won the competition and took home the gold medal at the big hill. Competition He and the national showjumping team have been fighting for the WC program for a long time.

‘Perfect crisis’

The historic celebration of gold nonetheless had a bitter taste for Lundby. Her body had a great reaction after what she went through during the tournament. The weight has increased much more than it used to be.

For this reason, there was no holiday in Lundby after WC gold in Oberstdorf, as is the norm.

But despite intense training – the weight continued to increase. Before the summer was over, I gained a lot of weight.

– It was a very strong reaction to what I had been exposed to, says Lundby.

She described that her body was out of balance when it came to nutrition. Feeling this way, Lundby says, was a “complete crisis”. She felt that she had lost all her athletic qualities. The feeling of being overweight affected her in many ways.

“And no matter what I did, it was a mistake. The body did not work in training, the legs were heavy.”

met a little understanding

In the book, Lundby also describes that the hardest thing was thinking about things she shouldn’t actually spend her energy on. about what other people think of her. She had little to no understanding, and was told things like ‘It’s just a matter of exercising a little more and eating a little bit’.

The period from April to September was the worst. He nodded and Lundby was frustrated. No matter what I did, it was wrong.

– It wasn’t a simple thing, no. No, Hof, it was stupid, she says.

She admitted in the book that she thought she was never quite as low as she was at that particular period. She describes it as “dark”.

– Extreme method

There was also a great fear that what she was doing might affect children and young adults.

“This is not the way young athletes should continue, it is not their calling,” she says in the book.

Professor at Noreg Idrettshøgskule, Yoron Sundgot-Borgen praises Lundby for her progress and for speaking about the difficult period she went through. But:

– The challenge is that some younger athletes can read it as a “recipe” on how to lose weight fast, says Sundgot-Borgen.

Sweating for weight loss is a well-known method in parts of the major sport, but one it’s fiercely opposed to.

– It’s an extreme method that athletes use in some special sports, but it’s one we don’t recommend at all for changing body composition. It is not a performance enhancer or health enhancer.

Despite the fact that Lundby faced great difficulties in the aftermath of the World Cup, the national team coach is not sure if they could have done it otherwise.

– This is the big question. We don’t feel it. Then we’ll do it right away. But we must remember that this is not a single cycle in the water cycle. This is something that lasts over time. But it’s important going forward that we, along with our specialists, can learn something from it, so that we avoid ending up in similar situations in the future, says Mayer.

– I probably got over the line

In the book, written by the daughter of national team manager Claes Brady Brathin, Selji Brathen, Lundby says it was too stressful not to be able to share this with the world.

Lars Hogvad, a chiropractor at Olympiatoppen, was close to Lundby during this time.

“It was really painful to watch, how scared she was to talk about her case, how frightened she was of the effect that would have on others, and the signal that would be sent,” he says in the book.

But he chose in the end To bring up the weight problem in an interview with NRK. In the book, she described it as kind of easy. Suddenly it went from being very sad, to being not like that anymore.

Over the winter of last year, Lundby’s situation has improved, but there are still stagnations in her weight, even though she trains three to six hours a day.

For a Norway show jumping queen, this is the most frustrating thing I’ve ever been in.

At some point I may have crossed the line and I can only say that I think I learned from it. It’s hard to tell where the line is when you haven’t tested it, but I feel like I’ve learned from it and I’m on the right track now, says Lundby.

Although things are still uncertain, the goal is still to get the skates back on their feet during the fall. And the dream extended a little further.

– Do you dare to believe that you are standing on a big hill in Planica and will defend WC gold?

– Yes, of course. I think this is quite realistic.