11 hours, 21 minutes, 15 seconds — that’s how long it took Flora University to jump into Norway’s Hardangerfjord and celebrate atop the 1,883-metre Gaustatoppen mountain. “It’s a dream come true,” the 37-year-old Briton said of winning this year’s Nordic triathlon. “This was my fifth attempt to win this event.”
After two second-place finishes in 2019 and 2021, College has finally climbed to the top of the podium and can now be called the XTri World Champion. XTri stands for Extreme Triathlon, a course that offers an additional challenge on top of the distances of an Ironman race (3.8km swim, 180km cycle, 42.4km run). In the Norseman he has to overcome about 3,000 meters of elevation on his bike, but in the marathon he climbs over 1,800 meters.
In addition to being an extreme athlete, Flora College is also a sports scientist who is currently researching the phenomenon of sports addiction, particularly obsessive-compulsive, excessive sports activities, and behavioral addictions.
Risk of addiction after 7 hours a week
“I didn’t start watching it because I felt it would put me at risk. The subject matter chose me,” College told DW, laughing. “As a high-level athlete, I am excited to explore the difference between sports addiction as a disorder and high-intensity training in a healthy way.”
College himself trains about 25 hours a week. In her research, she identified approximately 7 hours per week as a possible threshold for sports addiction.
“An hour a day is no small amount of time for someone with a full-time job, family, and other commitments. If they’re still playing sports and neglecting other commitments, then about 7 “We can talk about sports addiction from the amount of training per week,” explains the scientist working at the University of Lucerne in Switzerland.
The phenomenon of sports addiction was discovered by chance in 1970. New York physician Frederick Baekeland wanted to investigate whether large amounts of exercise could promote deep sleep. To this end, he funded passionate runners who train every day. Instead, they ended up giving up the sport for a month. Even when scientists offered large amounts of money, most of them refused. Baekeland coined the term “exercise addiction.” He now has more than 1,000 scientific papers on this phenomenon, and research has progressed in earnest over the past five years.
In contrast to gambling and gambling addiction, sports addiction is not yet recognized as a separate mental illness. College acknowledged that some studies should be treated with caution, as some of the forms of measurement used to identify sports addiction are “too simplistic.”
A frequently used survey asks athletes whether their training load has increased and whether they use sport to improve their mood. These are two of his six questions. “Athletes will answer both questions with a resounding yes,” College explains. “Of course, the training load increases. And it’s perfectly fine that physical activity leads to a good mood. That’s why I recommend sports.”
Symptoms of anxiety and depression
But when does passion start to become an addiction?
“Sport can play a central role in your life, but it shouldn’t be your only priority,” College says. People who are passionate about sports have clear goals, but unlike addicts, they can cope well with interruptions in training.
“Taking a day off is fine and does not cause withdrawal symptoms. On the other hand, sports addicts report severe anxiety, severe depression, and even suicidal thoughts when they are unable to exercise regularly.” Mr. Colledge says. This inner urge to exercise at all costs and never reduce the intensity is one of the major warning signals.
Amateur athletes may therefore be at even greater risk.
“Professional athletes generally understand that not only do they get fit through training, but they also need a recovery phase to supplement their intensive training,” says Colleger, who also holds a pro triathlon license. “Sports junkies don’t understand this. The important thing is not to get better, faster, healthier, but to just complete a daily training program. And that tomorrow will be better than today. It won’t be less, it might be a little more.”
Training despite broken bones and fever
Scientists also disagree about the number of active people who are into sports. Endurance sports are considered to be particularly at risk. For example, in 2022, researchers determined that the risk of sports addiction in cyclists was as high as 6%. The risk for marathon runners was just under 7 percent.
However, high risk does not necessarily mean a medical condition. Estimates by Simone Breuer and Jens Kleinert of the German Sport University Cologne are often cited in this context. According to this estimate, approximately 1 in 100 athletes will exhibit an isolated abnormality, and 1 in 1,000 athletes will exhibit specific signs of the disorder. And perhaps 1 in 10,000 people require treatment. This is also true, for example, if the symptoms of an eating disorder match those of a sports addiction.
“When sports become psychologically taxing, it becomes pathological,” says Flora College, who uses the following example to highlight the point where people should seek treatment: “I don’t really have time to train for two hours today because I have to work or take care of my family. But I train anyway, even between 2 and 4 a.m. if I have to. Is there any other way? Because there is none.”
The sports scientist says treatment is also needed for people who simply ignore an illness or injury and continue training. “There are sports addicts who continue to play sports despite stress fractures and high fevers. They can no longer listen to their bodies.”
Find the right treatment
How do you treat behavioral addictions that are not yet officially recognized as mental illnesses?
“We’re still in the early stages of research, so we haven’t even been able to test the treatment,” Colledge answered. “There are no clinical trials for the treatment of sports addiction.”
However, there is evidence that so-called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may be helpful. “You learn to deal with your feelings about the sport in a different way. You try to slowly reduce your workload in order to come to terms with the feelings that come with the sport.” Like with alcoholism. , it makes no sense to leave the sport completely. “Total abstinence is not an option because people need sports.”
College said she will continue to participate in extreme triathlons.
“I’m good at endurance sports, the longer the better,” Collegge said, adding that he enjoys competing in dramatic natural environments and on small fields. “Rather than fighting against other opponents, you’re trying to do your best in difficult situations like this. I think that’s great.” And of course it’s not addictive.