Becky Wilde: Olympic medal-winning rower says eating disorder has become ‘normal’

Wilde, from Taunton, Somerset, started swimming as a child and went on to represent Wales, qualifying through her Welsh mother.

But the Olympics were always her ultimate dream, and after starting university in Bath, she took up rowing through a talent scouting programme.

In 2024, Wilde won bronze at the Paris Olympics as part of the women’s double sculls alongside Matilda Hodgkins-Byrne, while also claiming gold at the European Championships in the quadruple sculls and silver in the same event at last year’s World Championships.

But the 27-year-old described swimming as “my whole life for a really long time.”

“It’s one of those sports that you have to give your whole life to from a very young age, and I think I was training almost as well as elite athletes from the age of 11-12 onwards. When you dedicate so much of your life to it, it’s hard not to get caught up in it,” she said.

It wasn’t until her late teens that unhealthy habits took over.

“The main trigger for me is people telling me I’ve put on weight and then putting that down to why I was swimming slower, which wasn’t the reason – there’s a whole host of reasons why you might not be performing at your best,” Wilde added.

“Plus, I grew up at a time when social media was coming to the fore and we were faced with many different ideas about what bodies should look like – I think that played a role as well.”