 'Leading up to it [the diagnosis], performance wise I was doing the best I'd ever done,' Morris told Mirror Sport. 'I ran a PB on the track for 5k, so I did like 16:23. Training was going really well and I){kind=link}
Issy Morris secured an impressive 19th place at the Commonwealth Games but the fact she was there at all was a miracle in itself following her diagnosis in 2020
Welsh triathlete Issy Morris may only be in the early stages of her career, but she has already overcome far more than most.
At the Birmingham Commonwealth Games she secured an impressive 19th place in the women’s triathlon race, a promising achievement from afar. But when you dig deeper into what the 23-year-old has gone through, the fact she was even on the start line is a miracle in itself.
In 2020, after changing her form of contraception, it was discovered that Morris was suffering from Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport – also known as RED-S – as well as osteopenia; low bone density. It was the outcome of her 20-hour-a-week training schedule but, unknown to Morris at the time, her lack of nutrition as well as her contraception was doing untold damage to her body.
RED-S can have serious and occasionally fatal effects on metabolism, menstrual function, bone health, immunity as well as cardiovascular and psychological health. British runner Bobby Clay is another promising athlete who has endured the brutal impact the condition can bring, after being diagnosed with osteoporosis at just 18 years of age due to overtraining and under-eating. It’s a story Morris can more than resonate with.