Why My New Favorite Olympian is... Alix Klineman
Olympic beach volleyball player Alix Klineman wants to help other women understand their bodies. So she's talking about her years-long struggle to understand and regulate her hormones and menstrual cycle in an attempt to destigmatize these topics that have long felt taboo.
Klineman joined NBCLX's Ngozi Ekeledo and Olympic fencing medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad on our podcast "My New Favorite Olympian" to discuss her mission, and her Olympic journey. (CLICK HERE to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform or CLICK HERE to watch the full video.)
Episode Summary
In this episode, Klineman reveals how she first went on birth control when she was 15 years old to treat an unrelated medical condition, and how her body reacted when she was ready to come off the pill years later. "I went off, I got cystic acne all over my face and I was like, this is not normal….I knew that this was my body telling me something's wrong and something's off," she said. That was just the beginning of her journey to understand how her menstrual cycle affects her body and her athletic performance.
Quotables
Tokyo Olympics
Watch all the action from the Tokyo Games Live on NBC
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'I think this is something that is not talked about enough. And just to even know that there's this huge link between injuries and birth control — I don't even think that most female athletes know this. And I think this should be baseline information.'
Reccomended Resources:
Dr. Georgie Bruinvels, FitrWoman
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