A Greater Manchester sporting ace is backing calls for greater awareness of how low iron levels can affect women who regularly exercise.
Melissa Booth, 21, from Altrincham, put her constant tiredness down to training full time alongside studying bioengineering at Loughborough University.
It was only when the uni’s nutrition team tested Melissa’s bloods they found her iron levels had dropped dramatically in the space of just a few months – prompting swift action.
Melissa, a rising star in the triple jump and member of Sale Harriers, is now part of iron supplement brand Active Iron’s campaign to call for an end to women ‘suffering in silence’ with tiredness and fatigue. She wants to encourage others to speak up about how lower iron levels can take a toll on training, performance and recovery.
Melissa who scooped a bronze medal at the British Universities and Colleges Sport Indoor Championships (BUCS) in February, said: “It was October last year when term had just kicked back in, training had ramped up after some time off and I was getting back into lectures. I thought it was natural to be this tired.
“I put it down to the increase in that, even when people were saying I seemed really tired. I thought that because I’m a busy person it was normal for me.”
Iron is an essential nutrient as it helps to make red blood cells which transport oxygen around the body. If you haven’t got enough it can lead to tiredness and fatigue, brain fog, headaches and dizziness.
Those with heavier periods are at risk, due to the blood lost each month through menstrual cycles, as well as people with vegetarian diets and women who regularly exercise.
Strenuous activity can dilute iron levels through sweat and foot-strike hemolysis, where the repeated impact of hitting the ground can destroy red blood cells in the feet.
Melissa, who bagged a podium place at BUCS with a personal best of 12.74m, said: “In athletics the smallest margins make the difference. You’re talking centimetres sometimes for medals.
“I’m really focused on the recovery aspect of training at the moment and after just a short time taking Active Iron my body is feeling really good and I’m hopeful that will continue.”
Melissa’s journey into athletics began at the age of eight when her father took her down to the local club to try out a range of disciplines.
She said: “I really enjoyed it and found I was good at sprinting and jumping. I think I was 14 when I first tried the triple jump. I ended up beating all the boys in a competition, so I thought I must be ok.”
She went on to win the triple jump in the England Athletics Under 17 Championships and competed for England.
After sitting her A-levels at Loreto Grammar School, Melissa took two years out before joining Loughborough with her sights firmly set on academic accomplishment alongside sporting success.
She said: “I’ve just PB’d this season and I am hoping to make the British Championships final again. Training has been going well. It’s a lot sometimes but I like being busy.”
