From BBC Sport · · 1m 20s
Olympic sprinter calls for ME research funding
Beth Dobbin, bedbound with myalgic encephalomyelitis, writes to PM Andy Burnham urging investment in a neglected condition affecting over 400,000 UK people.
In brief
Beth Dobbin, bedbound with myalgic encephalomyelitis, writes to PM Andy Burnham urging investment in a neglected condition affecting over 400,000 UK people. Former British sprinter Beth Dobbin has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham calling for increased government funding into research for ME, a chronic condition…
Sprinter reveals ME diagnosis
Former British sprinter Beth Dobbin, thirty-two, who raced at the Tokyo Olympics five years ago, revealed on Friday she has been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis.
What is ME and how common is it
Myalgic encephalomyelitis is a chronic, fluctuating disease causing sleep problems, memory issues, pain and severe persistent fatigue that does not improve with rest.
Dobbin's letter to Prime Minister
In a letter to Andy Burnham, Dobbin said ME has been neglected and psychologicalised for years, receiving little government funding for research compared to other illnesses.
“ME has been neglected and psychologicalised for years.”
The cost of raising awareness
Dobbin decided to do the interview with BBC Sport to raise awareness of the condition, despite knowing it could trigger a brutal deterioration in her health.
Government investment to date
Between April two thousand nineteen and March two thousand twenty-four, the UK government invested around six point five million pounds in research into ME.
The takeaway
Former British sprinter Beth Dobbin has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham calling for increased government funding into research for ME, a chronic condition that has left her spending twenty-two hours a day in bed.
