Cerian Harries
CERIAN HARRIES
Swimming
Cerian was brought up in Anglesey and was initially introduced to club swimming due to her older brother going on a Friday night. It only took one session for her to realise that she loved it (even though she cried before her first session).
It soon became something she did more regularly with early morning sessions starting from the age of 10 balancing well with school and travel.
Cerian won her first Welsh National Champion title at the age of 14 in the 100m Breaststroke and then making her first Welsh Squad, the Welsh Skills squad, and representing Wales in every Intercounties event from here after. Later, she won the 200m Breaststroke Welsh Champion title too.
By the age of 16, Cerian first started to consider her period irregularities as a little worrying. Up until this point, she had just thought she was ‘settling into menstruation’, despite only having had her period a handful of times. By this point, she had become incredibly strict with her diet and training over 17 hours a week.
It wasn’t until lockdown that she realised she was struggling with an eating disorder. Cerian used this time to recover, and to try to get her period back (she was now nearly 18 and they had been missing for 2 years). Furthermore, she discovered she had been struggling with RED-S (relative energy deficiency in sport).
Her path to recovery coincided with her studies beginning at Loughborough University where she studied Biological Science alongside being a member of the Performance Swimming Team. It was a long road but Cerian worked really hard to build a stronger relationship with food, her body and soon after her period returned. She went onto achieve her fastest time at the British Championships in the 200m Breast Stroke.
“My dream is for female athletes to recognise that periods are for athletes too! I want to help female athletes realise that we thrive by fuelling, not by striving to be the smallest version of ourselves. ”
Cerian’s passion lies in raising awareness of RED-S and eating disorders in sport, doing so through her dedicated Instagram page, @female_athletetriad_awareness. Cerian shares her story through this page and has come to realise that she was not the only person going through this.
“In June 2023, I stepped away from swimming, and am currently finding my identity outside of the pool for the first time in almost 12 years. It was extremely difficult at the start, and some of the challenges I had faced earlier on in my swim career proved to be difficult again, but I have found a new passion for Crossfit. I’m enjoying the new challenge and the community of athletes I train with, and I am planning to compete in the near future!”
Working closely with the Female Athlete Pod, we can deliver sessions online or in person to support the understanding of female physiology.
