Tokyo Olympian Beth Dobbin spends almost all day in bed with ME

Beth Dobbin, a British sprinter who represented Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics, now spends more than 22 hours a day in bed. The 32-year-old has been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis, known as ME, a chronic condition with symptoms including sleep problems, difficulties with thinking and memory, pain and severe fatigue that rest does not relieve. In an interview with BBC Sport she said she is speaking out to raise awareness, even though doing so may worsen her health.

How it began

Dobbin says her problems started after she had Covid-19 and glandular fever in the winter of 2021-22. She learned of both infections only through later tests. In a season compressed by the pandemic backlog she still qualified for the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and European Championships. Her health steadily declined: she had a painful throat, dizziness while running, and at the Europeans she false-started after losing feeling in her legs in the blocks.

After seeing several specialists, doctors concluded it was ME. The illness has no known cure or specific treatment and can involve more than 200 symptoms. Dobbin also rejects the name chronic fatigue syndrome, saying it does not reflect how severe the illness is.

Daily life and family support

This year she has left the house only five times. Even a short conversation or a bright light can trigger a "crash" lasting from 24 hours to months. She waited 22 months for a face-to-face appointment with a private specialist. More than 400,000 people in the UK are thought to have ME, and the NHS has no specialist service for it.

Her sister Faye is running the Yorkshire Marathon on Sunday to raise money for ME Research UK. Dobbin hopes treatment will come in future and notes that research has received more attention since the Covid pandemic.