{"id":2202190,"date":"2026-10-16T05:31:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T02:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2202190"},"modified":"2026-10-16T05:31:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T02:31:22","slug":"beth-dobbin-british-olympic-sprinter-in-bed-for-22-hours-a-day-after-me-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2202190","title":{"rendered":"Beth Dobbin: British Olympic sprinter in bed for 22 hours a day after ME diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/branded_sport\/1200\/cpsprodpb\/9cf5\/live\/da01e790-c7d7-11f1-a64c-550be9e3c66b.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"ssrcss-2fe4mx-ArticleWrapper e1nh2i2l0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-15twdc6-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<div data-block=\"headline\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-usmnse-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<header data-testid=\"headline\">\n<h1 id=\"main-heading\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"ssrcss-8zqj65-Heading e10rt3ze0\"><span role=\"text\">The Olympic sprinter now bedbound for 22 hours a day<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"media\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1uy5kw5-FullWidthWrapper ep2nwvo1\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-hc6arm-StyledFigure e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\">\n<div data-chromatic=\"ignore\" class=\"ssrcss-dtyrnv-MediaPlayerWrapper e1h75hkw2\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1553su4-ErrorMessage eitf6465\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-h7lv7m-StyledInnerContainer eitf6464\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nbxsk2-TextContent eitf6461\">\n<h2 class=\"ssrcss-89o2pv-Heading e10rt3ze0\">To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">This video can not be played<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ssrcss-3uli8u-StyledFigureCaption ehbdhz00\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Figure caption, <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-15twdc6-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8216;It feels like you&#8217;re days away from death&#8217; &#8211; Beth Dobbin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"byline\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"single-byline\" class=\"ssrcss-sevsa1-ContributorContainer ee66fvo3\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-dt4z-ContributorInfo ee66fvo0\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">By<\/span><span class=\"ssrcss-nsjd43-TextContributorName epw3ir01\">Katie Falkingham<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-dqo7s5-ContributorDetails ee66fvo2\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1m5444d-Text ee66fvo4\">BBC Sport senior journalist<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"metadata\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"metadata\">\n<div>\n<ul role=\"list\" class=\"ssrcss-9tw7r1-MetadataStripContainer eh44mf03\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-10q9h22-GroupChildrenForWrapping eh44mf02\">\n<li role=\"listitem\" class=\"ssrcss-sf7vdp-MetadataStripItem eh44mf01\">\n<div class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Published<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-m5j4pi-MetadataContent eh44mf00\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1pvwv4b-MetadataSnippet e4wm5bw3\"><span class=\"ssrcss-61mhsj-MetadataText e4wm5bw1\"><time data-testid=\"timestamp\" datetime=\"2026-10-16T05:31:22.946Z\">16 October 2026, 06:31 BST<\/time><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/div>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"rich-text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b>Beth Dobbin is so determined to raise awareness of the illness that has decimated her life that she is speaking out, despite knowing it could trigger a brutal deterioration in her health.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Five years ago, she ran for Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics. Now, at 32, she spends more than 22 hours a day in bed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve done little things like attend a blood test at the doctors and been in bed for months after. So doing this interview, chatting away for 30 minutes, that could have an impact on me in 2027,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;But I felt like it was really important to do that to get the message out.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She now only gets out of bed to eat and use the bathroom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Dobbin has been diagnosed with ME, or myalgic encephalomyelitis &#8211; a chronic, fluctuating disease, causing symptoms such as sleep problems, problems with thinking and memory, pain and severe, persistent fatigue that does not improve with rest, and more. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A conversation, or even something so simple as a light too bright or a sound too loud, can cause a &#8220;crash&#8221; that lasts 24, 48 hours, or in the worst cases, months on end.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">This year, Dobbin has left the house on just five occasions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;It&#8217;s life-decimating like I can&#8217;t even put into words,&#8221; she says. &#8220;I feel like I&#8217;ve lost everything.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I have still got my family, but I&#8217;ve lost my independence, my health, the ability to work, the ability to exercise.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">For Dobbin it all started with back-to-back Covid and glandular fever infections in the winter of 2021-22. She had not been unwell with either, only discovering she had contracted both through retrospective tests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She had been sleeping a bit more and her running times were slightly down, but nothing that raised alarm. As time went on, she noticed soreness in the glands of her neck and armpits and a general sense of not quite feeling herself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">British Athletics doctors ran tests that gave no answers, so she carried on, assuming it was lingering glandular fever that would eventually pass.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She qualified for that year&#8217;s World Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Championships in what was an unusually condensed season owing to the backlog from the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Her health progressively deteriorated. At the Worlds, she struggled with a painful throat and was waking at unusual times in the night. At the Commonwealths, she was dizzy while running and her body was more sore than normal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">At the Europeans, she false-started after losing all feeling in her legs while in the blocks. She spoke of her &#8220;year of hell&#8221; in an emotional interview with BBC Sport after that race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"media\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1uy5kw5-FullWidthWrapper ep2nwvo1\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-hc6arm-StyledFigure e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\">\n<div data-chromatic=\"ignore\" class=\"ssrcss-dtyrnv-MediaPlayerWrapper e1h75hkw2\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1553su4-ErrorMessage eitf6465\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-h7lv7m-StyledInnerContainer eitf6464\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nbxsk2-TextContent eitf6461\">\n<h2 class=\"ssrcss-89o2pv-Heading e10rt3ze0\">To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">This video can not be played<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ssrcss-3uli8u-StyledFigureCaption ehbdhz00\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Figure caption, <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-15twdc6-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8216;It&#8217;s been a year from hell&#8217; &#8211; Dobbin emotional after false start<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"rich-text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;When the Europeans had finished, I had this huge rest and the symptoms were just piling on. Things were getting worse and worse,&#8221; Dobbin says. &#8220;I was struggling to stand up, I was sleeping loads, in bed all the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;After six weeks, I went back to training. I managed three weeks. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;[Doctors] were just really shocked that I still wasn&#8217;t doing well and I&#8217;d had these viruses months ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I think I saw four or five different specialists because the symptoms that I was having, they were across multiple [body] systems. All the specialists said &#8216;this is ME&#8217; and we don&#8217;t want it to be that because there&#8217;s nothing out there for it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">ME has no known cure or specific treatment, with patients often relying on off-label medication to manage a condition that can cause more than 200 symptoms, including nausea, headaches, poor cognitive function and brain fog.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The condition is also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a label Dobbin strongly rejects. As a former athlete who balanced working eight-hour shifts with training before turning professional, she says she has &#8220;known fatigue my whole life&#8221; and believes the term fails to capture the severity of the illness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I wish it was just fatigue, that would be a walk in the park,&#8221; she says. &#8220;It&#8217;s so much more than that. If I thought of fatigue in my top 20 symptoms it might just make the cut.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Instead, she says, it feels like her entire body &#8220;is shutting down; it feels like you are a few days from death&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">More than 400,000 people in the UK are thought to have ME, although the true figure could exceed one million, with severity ranging from people able to work or study to those requiring round-the-clock care and tube feeding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Despite the length of time she spends in bed, Dobbin often feels too unwell to sleep and requires medication to help her do so. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Even things like sitting up for a prolonged period of time can take it out of me so I prefer to be just propped up in bed, and that doesn&#8217;t mean I feel fine. It doesn&#8217;t get rid of my symptoms, but it makes them less hellish.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"media\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1uy5kw5-FullWidthWrapper ep2nwvo1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1w8ucfj-PortraitVideoWrapper e1pbfhqo0\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-hc6arm-StyledFigure e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\">\n<div data-chromatic=\"ignore\" class=\"ssrcss-dtyrnv-MediaPlayerWrapper e1h75hkw2\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1553su4-ErrorMessage eitf6465\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-h7lv7m-StyledInnerContainer eitf6464\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nbxsk2-TextContent eitf6461\">\n<h2 class=\"ssrcss-89o2pv-Heading e10rt3ze0\">To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.<\/h2>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">This video can not be played<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ssrcss-3uli8u-StyledFigureCaption ehbdhz00\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Figure caption, <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-15twdc6-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The Olympic sprinter who can&#8217;t leave her bed<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"rich-text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">For Dobbin&#8217;s parents and sister Faye, who sit close by to her in support during the interview at the family home in Doncaster, the impact is clear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I&#8217;m just so desperate to help her but I can&#8217;t because there is nothing. I&#8217;d take her anywhere, I&#8217;d take her to America if I had to, but there&#8217;s nothing,&#8221; says her father Jim, a former footballer who played for Barnsley, Grimsby and Doncaster Rovers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Mum Jean adds: &#8220;You wake up every day and just feel sad. She should be building her life, living her best life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Every day you worry about how she&#8217;s going to be that day. It&#8217;s a worry about what our future life&#8217;s going to be like, who&#8217;s going look after her if we can&#8217;t look after her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;There is nothing out there. There is nowhere to go. You go to the GP and there&#8217;s nowhere for them to send you to. It&#8217;s really at the back of the queue as far as research, knowledge, expertise, funding.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">There are limited specialist services for ME within the NHS and Dobbin says she has found herself educating the GPs she spoke to about the condition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She had to wait 22 months before she got a face-to-face appointment with a private specialist she sourced herself after her British Athletics funding ended.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">On Sunday, Dobbin&#8217;s younger sister Faye will run the Yorkshire Marathon to raise money for ME Research UK.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;You just feel so helpless and we&#8217;ve been saying this for years now, what can we do?&#8221; Faye says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;It feels like [the marathon] is all I can do other than supporting her emotionally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;It does feel quite like grief in a way. I&#8217;m always worried about Beth. She&#8217;s always on my mind. I&#8217;m worried about what kind of day she is having. What if she never improves? What if she gets worse? What if she gets another virus?&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"image\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"ssrcss-1uy5kw5-FullWidthWrapper ep2nwvo1\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-hc6arm-StyledFigure e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1pflr6j-Placeholder etlorgc0\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/240\/cpsprodpb\/d9e7\/live\/51308dd0-c7c4-11f1-993a-152cbb068da1.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/320\/cpsprodpb\/d9e7\/live\/51308dd0-c7c4-11f1-993a-152cbb068da1.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/480\/cpsprodpb\/d9e7\/live\/51308dd0-c7c4-11f1-993a-152cbb068da1.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/624\/cpsprodpb\/d9e7\/live\/51308dd0-c7c4-11f1-993a-152cbb068da1.jpg.webp 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/800\/cpsprodpb\/d9e7\/live\/51308dd0-c7c4-11f1-993a-152cbb068da1.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/976\/cpsprodpb\/d9e7\/live\/51308dd0-c7c4-11f1-993a-152cbb068da1.jpg.webp 976w\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><\/span><span role=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-tzgxt7-StyledFigureCopyright e34k3c20\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Image source, <\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"ssrcss-3uli8u-StyledFigureCaption ehbdhz00\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Image caption, <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-15twdc6-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Beth Dobbin competes for Scotland at the 2022 Commonwealth Games during a summer in which she was suffering debilitating early symptoms of ME<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"rich-text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Asked about her future, Dobbin is straight to the point: &#8220;It&#8217;s very bleak, unfortunately.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;The only positive thing really to say is that Covid happened six years ago now and it&#8217;s like the whole medical community has woken up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Since the Covid pandemic and the emergence of long Covid, for which there is a significant overlap in symptoms with ME, there has been a surge in attention and increase in research funding for the condition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">She added: &#8220;There will be something, I hope, in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I said I wanted to speak about it. It&#8217;s not necessarily that I want to discuss it [but] it&#8217;s raising that awareness. And unfortunately, athletes are believed a lot more than the average person. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;A lot of people that have this illness that I&#8217;ve spoken to have said to me &#8216;I don&#8217;t get believed, people think I&#8217;m lazy&#8217;. I&#8217;ve never experienced one person that doesn&#8217;t believe me and that&#8217;s because, why would an athlete just suddenly stop after 20 years?<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve got a slight platform. If this happened to most people they wouldn&#8217;t be able to speak about it, so I do feel like I&#8217;ve got a bit of a duty to do that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"topicList\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-tcr9z1-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"topic-list\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nj9heb-StyledTagContainer ed0g1kj1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1pfbb52-TopicListHeaderWrapper etw6iwl0\">\n<h2 class=\"ssrcss-89o2pv-Heading e10rt3ze0\">Related topics<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17ehax8-Cluster e1ihwmse1\">\n<ul role=\"list\" class=\"ssrcss-w8zanw-ClusterItems e1ihwmse0\">\n<li>Athletics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sport\/athletics\/articles\/crd6dj26v4e4o&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/branded_sport\/1200\/cpsprodpb\/9cf5\/live\/da01e790-c7d7-11f1-a64c-550be9e3c66b.jpg&#8221;] The Olympic sprinter now bedbound for 22 hours a day To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, &#8216;It feels like you&#8217;re days away from death&#8217; &#8211; Beth Dobbin ByKatie Falkingham BBC Sport senior journalist Published 16 October 2026, 06:31 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2202190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2202190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2202190\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2202190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2202190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2202190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}