A woman won gold at the Olympics by eating more and exercising less to gain 22 pounds

• Ellie Aldridge won gold in Olympic kitefoiling on Thursday.
• Heavier kitefoilers have an edge over their rivals because they can go faster.
• The British athlete put on 22 pounds of weight, but didn’t enjoy the process.

A British athlete won an than many people think. But Aldridge also stopped doing cardio exercises that could burn unnecessary calories, meaning she had to give up running, cycling, and climbing, which she loves. She even had to stop swimming back to shore after training, she wrote on Instagram.

“I’ve always been an athlete and physically very active. To suddenly be told I’m not allowed to do any cardio, it’s really tricky,” she told the British Sailing Team in 2023.

Aldridge told The Telegraph didn’t enjoy the process of gaining weight: “It’s definitely the bit I don’t like about the sport and one of the reasons I don’t think it will be very sustainable.”

Following her gold medal win, she told the outlet: “I can’t wait to not have to eat food now.”

“I’ll definitely aim to do another Olympic campaign,” she said, “but I can’t live my life forever not doing cardio and being on weight gain. It’s not really the way I want to live my life.”