Swiss Olympic helping to bring taboos into the open
Maja Neuenschwander is a former elite long-distance runner and the Women and Elite Sport project director at Swiss Olympic. She loves her job, but what delights her even more is receiving letters from parents or athletes thanking her for her work or telling her their own personal stories about getting into elite sport. This is because the aim of the Women and Elite Sport project is to help women not only improve their performance but also look after their own health, by focusing more on themes such as training, nutrition and recovery in relation to the female body.
According to Swiss Olympic (in 2021), only six per cent of sports science studies focus on training, recovery and general well-being in relation to female athletes. This is why there is a lack of key expertise on how to provide women in sport with the best possible advice and support.
Addressing taboos
“We therefore want to shed light on female-specific issues that tend to be neglected in the sporting context,” says Neuenschwander. This means addressing taboo topics such as (unhealthy) weight management, the menstrual cycle and pregnancy in order to see how these things affect performance. “Female athletes normally receive good support from a physiological and psychological perspective. But willingness within elite sport to address issues of specific relevance to women and their bodies is very patchy,” she continues, adding that some sports organisations are very open to the idea while others have different priorities.
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