Climbing-Athletes demand eating disorder action before Olympics

LONDON : Kai Lightner was a youth climbing world champion but after being told at 14 that his liver was close to failure and fracturing his spine in two places he realised the restrictions he put on eating to pursue success had spun dangerously out of control.

Lightner, now 24, is among a group of elite climbers speaking out about eating disorders and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), where athletes do not eat enough to fuel themselves.

They want the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) to stop unhealthy athletes competing - including at this year's Olympics in Paris which start in July.

"For many years, the IFSC would tell us that it was impossible for them to come up with any regulations from the legal side, that their solution was to leave it up to the national federations," said Jenya Kazbekova, a Ukrainian climber and member of the IFSC's advisory Athletes' Commission.

"National federations get funding and recognition only when they bring results and lots of organisations are concerned way more about the results than about the athletes," she said, adding that the commission had expressed concerns about climbers' health to IFSC management for years.

Stronger rules are being developed for 2024, IFSC President Marco Scolaris said. "I am convinced we will find a way to protect the athletes," he added.

DROPPING WEIGHT

As they fight gravity, climbers benefit from a higher strength-to-weight ratio. Many find losing weight easier than getting stronger, not realising the damage that can be done to their health.

Lightner, tall for a climber at 6 foot 2 inches (1.88m), was told by coaches he had "junk in the trunk".

"For me, it was like, I can't control how tall I am but I can control how thin I am," he said.

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